Two Roast Chickens

Dissolve the salt and sugar in 1 gallon cold water in a large container. Submerge the chickens in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a roasting pan on the rack, and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat a turkey-sized V-rack with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Remove the chickens from the brine, rinse well, and pat dry with paper towels.

Following the illustrations below, use your fingers to gently loosen the center portion of skin covering each breast. Place one-quarter of the butter (1 tablespoon) under the skin, directly on the meat in the center of each breast on each chicken. Gently press on the skin to distribute the butter over the meat. Tuck the wings behind the backs. Rub the skin of each chicken with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and season with pepper. Place the chickens, wing-side up, on the prepared V-rack. Place the V-rack in the preheated roasting pan and roast for 25 minutes.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven and, using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate the chickens so that the opposite wing sides are facing up. Return the roasting pan to the oven and roast for another 25 minutes.

Using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate the chickens again so that the breast sides are facing up. Add 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the pan to prevent the drippings from burning, and continue to roast until the thickest part of the breasts registers 160 to 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thighs registers 170 to 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 25 to 30 minutes longer. Transfer the chickens to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve the chickens and serve, reserving some as desired for leftovers.