Spatchcocked crispy-skin chicken with herbs, lemon and garlic

Method

1. The day before you plan to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge and rub the baking powder and salt all over it. Return to the fridge, ideally uncovered.
2. The next day, take the chicken out of the fridge and pat it dry. Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Finely zest the lemon into the softened butter and stir in the finely chopped garlic cloves and a pinch of salt and pepper, then set aside.
3. Flip the chicken so it’s breast-side down on a board. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut along either side of the backbone, removing it. Put the backbone in a heavy roasting dish or shallow casserole (it will flavour the sauce). Flip the bird back over, then using the base of your palm, push down between the breasts to flatten it (you should hear a crack as the breastbone breaks). Cut off the small tips from each wing at the first elbow-like joint, then put them in the dish/casserole along with the halved garlic bulb and rosemary. Cut the zested lemon into very thick wheels and add those too. Drizzle with oil and pour in the wine.
4. At the front of the bird, near the wishbone, tease the skin away from the breast meat, taking care not to tear it. Begin pushing the flavoured butter up inside this opening, massaging it with your hands to push it further up the breasts. Keep going until most of the butter is used up, then try to push some under the legs too. Push the butter under the skin and around to try and get an even and complete covering over as much of the chicken as you can.
5. Put a wire rack over your casserole and put the bunch of thyme in the middle. Season the flat underside side of the chicken with salt and pepper, then put it on top of the thyme, breast side up. Sprinkle over a little more salt and pepper, then drizzle over a little oil and rub it into every nook and cranny.
6. Cook for 45-55 minutes or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced. Don’t open the oven or be tempted to baste the bird while it cooks.
7. Remove the dish from the oven and put the chicken on its wire rack onto a board to rest for 25 minutes (don’t cover it with foil). You can either make a gravy with the juices in the bottom of the casserole or serve the chicken in it (discard the backbone and wing tips) – I like to leave the garlic and lemon  pieces whole so people can smush and squeeze them into the infused juices to spoon over the chicken as they eat it.