Marcella Hazan's roast chicken with two lemons

Wash the chicken thoroughly inside and out and let it drain on a tilted angle for 10 minutes.

Pat the chicken dry and salt it generously all over and inside the cavity, then pepper it the same way and rub it in.

Roll the lemons on the cutting board and puncture them in at least 20 places all over.

Put the lemons in the cavity and close the opening with a trussing needle and string, well but not airtight.

Run kitchen string from one leg to the other, tying at both knuckle ends, leaving the legs in their natural position without pulling tight.

Heat the oven to 350F; he used 340F on convection.

Put the chicken breast side down in a roasting pan with no cooking fat of any kind; it is self-basting.

Roast about half an hour, then rotate the chicken breast side up without puncturing the skin and roast another half an hour.

After a full hour, turn the oven up to 400F, he used 390F, for around 20 to 25 minutes depending on the weight of the bird.

Cut the strings off but leave the lemons inside, and carve.

Pour the juices that run out of the chicken over the top.