Page 33 - Barbecue Chicken Made Easy

at the juices as is said in most cookbooks. You must get a good
digital thermocouple thermometer.
This myth is thoroughly busted.
Breaking down a chicken
Cooking whole chicken is our least favorite cooking technique. That’s because when you roast a whole bird, the inside of the cavity remains pale. When you break down the bird you expose the cavity to heat and it can brown. Brown is beautiful. When proteins, amino acids, and sugars in meat turn brown, they develop more flavor. This is called the Maillard reaction, a chemical change in the meat that creates complex flavor molecules, especially when they mix with the seasonings in your spices.
Also, when you leave a bird whole it takes longer for heat to penetrate from the outside surfaces to the center, a recipe for crispy skin, but moisture loss in the outer layers which will overheat before the center heats to a safe temperature.
We prefer to spatchcock, a naughty sounding word for butterflying the bird because it allows you to brown all surfaces and the bird cooks faster with less moisture loss.
We also like breaking the bird down into six pieces: Two breasts, two legs, and two wings. This allows us to cook each piece to optimum temperature and get crispy skin on all sides of the wings. We can also offer guests their choice of cuts. Here’s how to do it.
The first thing to do is look at the bird and remember who is winning this contest. You are smarter than a dead bird. Interestingly, the process of cutting up a bird is the same for a raw bird and a cooked bird. It is not hard once you understand the logic.