Marcella Hazan's perfect roast chicken - no butter, no oil,
no herbs, just two lemons, salt & ground black pepper (plus I added the
beloved GARLIC).
During cooking, the chicken puffs up like a balloon separating the skin from the flesh, making the skin very crisp, but very moist and juicy under the skin, something to do with the lemons in the cavity.
Roast Chicken with Two Lemons
A 3 to 4 lb chicken
Salt and ground pepper
2 smallish, thin skinned lemons, washed well and dried
2 to 3 cloves garlic
Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly wash the chicken. Let the bird stand on a slightly tilted plate for about 10 minutes so that all the water drains out. Dry all over.
Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper; rub in the seasonings.
Set the lemons on a counter and roll them back and forth, pressing
with your palm. Puncture each lemons in at least 20 places.
Put lemons and garlic cloves in the cavity & seal the opening with toothpicks; close well, but don't make an airtight job of it because the chicken may burst. Run kitchen string from one leg to the other and tie it at the knuckle ends; the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin.
Set the chicken breast down in a roasting pan. Place it in the upper third of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Carefully turn the chicken over onto its back and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.
Turn the oven up to 400 F and cook for additional 20 minutes.
(Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time per pound.)
Spoon the juices over the chicken and serve.