Credit: Serious Eats / Julia Hartbeck Butterflying the chicken ensures that the legs will cook through before the breast meat becomes overcooked and dry.Starting the chicken on the cooler side of a two-zone grill fire promotes even cooking and renders fat from the skin without causing flare-ups.Choosing a larger chicken extends the cooking time, which allows the bird to absorb more smoky flavor on the grill.Applying several coatings of sauce as the chicken cooks creates a thick, savory glaze on its surface. The term "barbecue chicken," is somewhat a misnomer, as barbecued chicken does not follow any of the normal conventions that, say, barbecue ribs or brisket do.

The confusion arises from two different definitions of the word "slow," and two different definitions of the word "barbecue."

Southern barbecue is a method of "slow" cooking, but it doesn't simply mean that the cooking takes a long time. It does, but there's more to slow cooking (definition one) than that. At the molecular level, it's a process similar to say, braising or stewing. Meats high in connective tissue are cooked until that connective tissue breaks down into rich gelatin, causing the meat to tenderize. Southern barbecue is, by definition, cooked to a degree well beyond well done. It's only because of the magical lubricating powers of gelatin that the meat still tastes moist and succulent. That's what's meant by slow cooking.

"Southern barbecue is, by definition, cooked to a degree well beyond well done. It's only because of the magical lubricating powers of gelatin that the meat still tastes moist and succulent."

Meats low in connective tissue—say a beef tenderloin—make poor barbecue (or braising) choices, because once they're overcooked, they have no gelatin to rescue them from dryness. They benefit much more from "fast" cooking—methods in which you bring it up to a final temperature, and serve it pretty much straight away. No waiting around for connective tissues to break down, no gelat