BBQ chicken gives cooks a nice backyard escape

Most men relate differently to their grills than women. At least at my house, a man with tongs, meat and fire has an excuse to hide in the backyard, sip beer, and play the banjo - preferably for a very long time.

As you might imagine, certain grilling recipes tolerate this scenario more successfully than others. Take today's Barbecued Chicken Quarters with Fred's Red Barbecue Sauce: The meat cooks slowly and with little fuss. Beer sipping and strumming need be interrupted only at sporadic intervals. Even then, all that's required is a quick brushing or turning. Dousing is in order if flames erupt, but that's considered a bonus.

Fire, man, meat. It's a foolproof, incredibly easy recipe. There's just one more thing you need: terrific taste, and that's covered, too. Today's recipe comes as a special delivery from Beverly's brother-in-law Fred Bisel, another banjo-strumming, slow-grilling guru. Maybe it's something about the bluegrass music that makes the chicken great, but I don't think so. My money is on the spices.

If slow grilling isn't in the cards for you anytime soon, check our new Web site at kitchenscoop.com for our quick "Emergency Grilled Chicken" recipe. Both work great with Fred's Red or any other barbecue sauce.

Suggested menu: Barbecued Chicken Quarters with corn on the cob and potato salad.

•Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are co-authors of "Desperation Dinners!" (Workman, 1997), "Desperation Entertaining!" (Workman, 2002) and "Cheap. Fast. Good!" (Workman, 2006). Contact them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. Kitchenscoop.com.