The Macquarie Dictionary describes barbecue as a metal frame for cooking meat etc above an open fire of coals, wood etc. My Oxford Dictionary is a little bit more general in describing it as 'a framework for smoking or broiling'.

In Australia, we use barbecue to refer not only to the actual appliance used to cook food (wasn't it former ocker Paul Hogan who said: "Throw another decapod crustacean on the barby"?) but also the social occasion itself (come over for a barby tonight).

Things are different in the United States. Smoky Hale (author of The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual) states firmly: "Barbecue, whatever the origin of its name, means slow cooking in the dry heat of wood coals". Noted American restauranteur and writer Chris Schlesinger in the foreword to Smoke & Spice, defines barbecue in culinary terms as: "A process whereby a large cut of tough meat is cooked by the smoke of a hardwood fire at low temperatures (around 210 degrees F or less) for a long period of time with doneness determined by the meat's tenderness".

While most dinkum Aussies will argue that barbecuing involves charring steaks, chops and sausages in the shortest time possible over the hottest fire imaginable, I think we should make some allowances for the Americans - for two reasons:

1. They have had a name for what they have been doing for the past few centuries. The word barbecue (barbeque, BBQ or bar-b-q are just variations on the theme) only started to be widely used in Australia after the Second World War. No doubt, it was introduced by the many thousands of United States servicemen who passed through Australia during the Pacific campaigns.
2. They have to drink their beer.

What we have traditionally done in our backyards is termed 'grilling' in the States. This placing of food directly over high heat is, not surprisingly, often termed 'direct' cooking in some barbecue books.

What happens inside a closed kettle barbecue (or a trolley barbecue with a hood) at temperatures of 150 degrees C or more is termed roasting. This is also referred to as 'indirect' cooking as the food is not placed directly over the heat source.

If food is cooked at lower temperatures for long periods (measured in half days or days rather than hours), the result is similar to what the American purists call barbecue and which I refer to as slow smoking.

While I will try to adopt these terms wherever possible because they are more descriptive of the cooking process involved, I cannot bring myself to use 'grill' or 'pit' in reference to the equipment involved. You simply have to draw the line somewhere.