Prepare Chicken See notes for doing this ahead
Prepare chicken by laying breast side down on a cutting board. Use kitchen sheers or a sharp knife to remove the backbone (save for making stock!). Cut through the breastbone to separate chicken into two halves. Use boning knife to remove breast bone from each half (leave the bones in the the rest of the bird). Salt and pepper well, flip over so that the skin side is up and season liberally with more salt and pepper.
Make sure oven is preheated to 450°f .Place chicken in oven proof skillet just large enough to hold chicken. Drizzle olive oil all over and place lemon halves in skillet next to chicken.
Place skillet on center rack and roast, basting every 10-15 minutes, for approximately 40 minutes or until digital thermometer inserted into center of thigh reads 170°f. *See notes for variances in cooking time*
Remove chicken from oven and squeeze lemons over meat. Place chicken halves on a cutting board with juice moat, cover with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Resting will allow the juices to flow back into the meat, so don't skip this step.
Make Herb Salsa While The Chicken Cooks
Place capers, garlic, anchovy paste and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped.
Add the herbs, red pepper flakes, a pinch of salt and the olive oil and pulse, scraping the sides occasionally, until everything is combined and finely chopped but with a little texture intact (you don't want it totally smooth).
Scrape herb salsa into a bowl. Squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice, stir and taste. From here add salt, lemon juice and maybe a little more olive oil until it has the flavor and consistency you like.
Cut chicken into pieces and arrange on a platter,. You can drizzle with some of the herb salsa before serving or allow people to add salsa individually. Enjoy!
