Originally posted by: silverpig
So much fail in this thread.
Don't pull the legs away from the chicken. You want to truss your chicken up (directions can be found on the internet). Basically you pull the wings back under the body (sort of like the chicken is relaxing and is putting it's wings behind its head), and you tie them there, then tie the string up around the breast to plump it up, then tie the legs together tight to the body, and then wrap around the butt and pull it up to form a nice compact shape.
Like this
Put it in a cast iron skillet, coat it with salt and pepper (kosher or pickling salt... you want it coarse, and fresh ground pepper), then roast it at 475 for 45 minutes.
It's pretty much automatic when you do it this way.