1.  Split the chicken in half and remove the breast section of one half with the wing attached. Leave the skin between the breast and the leg attached, cracking the thigh joint of the chicken and cutting through to separate the leg from the body while it remains attached to the breast by a thin strip of skin. Remove the drumstick completely, trying to leave as much skin from the leg intact as possible. Make an incision in the thick along the thighbone and remove the thighbone. Repeat on the other side and with both chickens. Ask your butcher to do this for you, if you like. (Reserve the drumsticks and carcass for stocks).

2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

3.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper

4.  Heat 2 large ovenproof sauté pans over medium-high heat. Put ¼ cup of clarified butter or oil in each pan and cook the chicken halves, skin side down, for about 4 minutes. Transfer the pans to the oven and cook for about 12 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chickens from the pans and let them rest for about 5 minutes.

5.  Put the lemon slices in the pans and let them cook over high heat for about 1 minutes so that they can caramelize. Add the wine and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up any browned bits, for 2 to 3 minutes, until reduced by half.

6.  Add the unsalted butter and capers and stir the sauce to emulsify the butter with the pan juices. Squeeze the lemon juice into the sauce, remove from the heat, and continue stirring until blended. Stir in the parsley.

Serves 4

Source: by Rick Tramonto with Mary Goodbody in Best of the Best Cookbook recipes, Food and Wine

Note: Clarified butter has a high smoking point, so it’s great for high-heat cooking. To make it, simmer unsalted butter over low heat until the milk solids have sunk to the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes. Skim off the foam and pour the golden butter through a fine strainer; discard the solids.