Perfect Roasted Chicken And Gravy - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the Chicken
1 chicken, 5 to 6 pound
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium head of garlic
For the Gravy
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper

Preparation

For the Chicken---.
Preheat oven to 400\u00b0F.
Mix the spices in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, melt butter and blend with the olive oil.
Clean out the chicken and rinse completely. Put the wings up and back so that the tips of the wings are behind the neck cavity, as if the chicken is scratching it's back. Pat the chicken dry and place on a roasting pan, elevated on a roasting rack in the pan.
Cut the top off the head of garlic and remove the excess skin. Place inside the chicken.
Pour the oil and butter mixture over the chicken, coating well. Pour the rest in the roasting pan under the chicken on the rack.
Rub the Spice mixture all over the chicken, inside and out. It's okay if there is a little spice left over, you don't have to over do it. These spices will blend with the drippings and flavor your gravy too!
Place in oven.
Baste the chicken completely every 25 minutes until chicken is done. I like to use the pop up timers but if you prefer, the internal temperature should reach 170\u00b0F at the thickest point in the thigh, not touching the bone.
After the chicken is done, drain it out into the pan, let as much of the juices flow out as possible.
Place the roasting pan on a burner on your stovetop and bring the juice to a simmer, scraping all the little brown bits off the bottom with a spatula.
Pour in the 3/4 cup of water and bring back to a simmer, continue to stir and scrape the bits up.
Meanwhile, blend your cornstarch, lemon juice and broth, making sure there aren't any lumps.
Whisk the Cornstarch mixture into the drippings and water, continuing to simmer. Gravy will start to thicken if kept over medium to low heat, be sure you whisk constantly to prevent clumps and to keep the gravy blended. Feel free to add more or less cornstarch until the desired consistency is reached.
When the thickness of the gravy meets your satisfaction, pour it into a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can strain the gravy if you'd like, but I prefer it with the little pieces of chicken.