Whole Free-range Chicken

Roasting a whole chicken is a major thermodynamic challenge: the breasts (fragile, done at 65°C) are attached to the same carcass as the legs (rich in collagen, requiring 75°C). Haute gastronomy employs several subterfuges: dry brining with salt (which modifies proteins to retain water), spatchcocking to flatten the bird and homogenize the radiant exposure surface, or inserting butter under the breast skin to act as a thermal insulator and internal lipid basting.