Simple Spatchcock Chicken (pix)

We decided on a simple spatchcock chicken tonight.  I usually remove the cavity's membrane (rib plates, etc) when I spatchcock, but tonight I decided to leave it intact.  My past reasoning for removing them was that I could get more rub directly on the meat itself, thus adding more flavor.  But tonight I discovered that both the white and dark meat ended up much juicier without removing the cavity's bones.  The dark meat cooked to a perfect 180 deg, and the breast cooked to a perfect 159 deg, which raised a couple degrees during the rest.  It was probably the best spatchcock chicken I've ever cooked.  Less rub penetration, but the chicken really didn't need it.  It still had plenty of flavor from the skin, as well as the rub I shoved under the skin.  I think that by leaving the cavity intact, it protected the breasts, allowing them to cook slower than the leg quarters.  The breasts were pretty big too, so I'm thinking that also was a factor.   

Grilled direct, raised on top of the AR at around a 385 deg f dome temp.

The Legs and Thighs were removed, and then the Breasts were sliced up since the chicken was so big.

That big hunk of thawing meat you see in the background is a boneless venison ham that I'm about to thaw in the fridge for deer jerky purposes. 

My wife's plate:

My plate:

The chicken was served up with fresh Green Beans and Risotto, which my wife whipped up inside.  Pretty good Friday night meal!  Sometimes simple is better...