Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry the bird.

Place the herbs and garlic inside the cavity of the bird.

Rub the bird with the butter and sprinkle with the paprika.

Place the bird in a roasting cradle or in a roasting rack and place into a well-insulated pan to prevent scorching the drippings.

Sprinkle the onion quarters on the rack under the bird.

Let the bird come to room temperature and place into the oven on the center rack.

Turn temperature down to 350 and roast for 90-100 minutes and the internal temperature of the deepest part of the thigh muscle reads 160 on a meat thermometer.

Remove chicken from rack and let rest on a platter while you make the pan gravy.

Drain away all the liquid from the roasting pan, reserve the fat for another use and separate out the juices.

Add the butter/flour mixture to the pan and place pan over high heat.

Swirl the butter and flour for a minute or two. Add the stock to the pan, scraping to deglaze.

Bring the stock to a boil and place the liquid and solids into a sauce pan over medium heat to reduce to sauce consistency, adding the pan drippings pulled from the fat.

Season when texture is up to snuff and serve with the carved chicken.