Heat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit or 220 degrees Celsius.
Wash and pat dry the chicken. Place on a sheet tray. Remove the backbone. Turn chicken over and press with the heel of your hand so the breastbone cracks and the chicken stays flat. Alternatively, you can cut the breastbone a little before turning the chicken over.
Mix the dry seasonings in a bowl. Place chicken breast side down and sprinkle some of the seasoning all over. Turn chicken over and slip your fingers under the skin to loosen it - over the breasts and thighs. Place seasoning under the skin directly over the meat as much as you can all over the chicken. Sprinkle any remaining seasoning on top of the skin. Gently distribute the melted butter over the skin - pat it, don't rub it so the spices stay on the skin. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp coarse salt over the top of the skin. If using lemon slices or thick onion slices, place a few on the sheet tray and put chicken on top, breast side up. Garlic cloves should be placed under the chicken.
Cook chicken in the heated oven for approximately one hour. After 30 minutes in the oven, turn the pan around for even cooking. You don’t need to do that with a convection oven. To check if it’s cooked, insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh without hitting the bone. It should be close to 170 degrees F or 77 C. Generally, 165 is enough, but I find the thigh tastes better closer to 170. Once you take the chicken out of the oven, cover it and leave it aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Taste the pan juices, if it's not bitter from the lemons, you can spoon it over the chicken or make a quick gravy. If you used onions instead of lemon, you don’t have to worry about any bitterness. The garlic cloves can be smashed to a paste, mixed with the juices and served with the chicken.
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