My reasoning, the judges and eating chicken. More than one at my table says they don't like chicken...
Remember this, in scoring what the weighting factors are:
- Taste 2.2858
- Tenderness 1.1428
- Appearance .5714
Spend time on taste and tenderness first, the appearance, of the three has the least value.
I've seen/heard them all.
Legs/thighs
Breast
Legs/thighs/wings
Whole chicken dissected and parted out
everything above mixed
As a certified judge, Table Captain, competitor my take (and unfortunately I don't think the norm) is to judge the entry as submitted. If someone submits perfect breast (moist/tender/flavorful) I'll just it accordingly.
I've also had those at my table say "I don't like white meat" and then they get a verbal correction from the Retired Military Table Captain (me).
But if they turn in dry breast I'll judge it also accordingly.
I think you hit it exactly. Thighs are most forgiving, look pretty all in the box. Cooking any white meat (whole breasts or whole chicken) present a challenge of getting the dark done and not overcooking the white.