Splitting chicken

Looty

Was reading in this post about cooking up some cornel chicken on the egg http://www.food-fire.com/index.php/2012/08/13/slashed-cornell-chicken-quarters/ The piece talks about slashing or cutting into chicken quarters to allow the marinade to penetrate deeper into the meat, makes sense, but I would think that would allow the juices of the chicken to flow out during cooking. What's your opinion?

Brownie

Give it a try and see what you think... @Griffin commented on their site and that accounts for something in my book. He does some really great cooks and posts here.

Griffin

funny. just tuning in. been offline since Friday afternoon and this pops up. honestly, I can't recall my exact reactions to this method...might have something to do with not having to go to work tomorrow and bourbon consumed. I don't recall it being bad, but for some reason I have never repeated it. I actually forgot about it too tell you the truth. if I wasn't so chickened out right now, I'd try it again tomorrow. gonna have to revisit it, but I don't remember it affecting the quickness of the chicken.

Charlie tuna

I don't think it necessary to cut into chicken for brining.  True, it might allow the brine to enter the flesh easier, but you will loose the internal liquid of the chicken as it cooks -- thats what gives the chicken it's taste!!  I have a Broaster, which is a pressure frier, mainly designed for frying chicken in 375 degree oil under 13 pounds of pressure(commercial equipment).  The Broaster(copyright) sells the brine that their cooking process uses.  It is called "chickite", and is a salt based brine, with a few secret ingredients i suppose??  I brine chicken parts of whole chickens in this brine for six to twelve hours, prior to frying.  They tell me the brine enters the chicken's flesh and displaces the bacteria in the meat, which allows the juice(taste) a place to go during the cooking process.  And that is the real secret of the seccess of Broasted chicken -- the pressure fryer quickly seals the outside of the chicken because it maintains the oil at 375 degrees.  The chicken actually cooks in it's own juices, and those juices are stored in that area of the flesh that the brine removed the bacteria.

Looty

Gave it a go and I did notice a slight increase in flavor on the scored chicken, but not enough to make it worth my while.

And I know this is blasphemous, but the best way to do Cornell chicken is over a large pit, over a couple hours, basting every 5-10min.  The egg did an ok job, just not as awsome as I have made before.  But that wont stop me from trying a few more times on the egg to dial it in.