Preheat oven to 550 (or whatever full blast is on your oven). Rinse bird and dry with paper towels. Rub the skin with butter or olive oil. Salt the outside. Put garlic and onion pieces in the cavity, along with fresh herbs. Fold the ends of the wings under the bird.
Take a piece of foil and fold the top corners to the middle to make a triangle, sort of like making a paper airplane. Fit the foil over the breast, then remove and set aside for later.
Put the bird in a shallow pan on a rack. Put it in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the smoke detector goes off. This gives a great crispy skin.
Remove bird from oven and turn down to 350. Put the foil piece over the breast, making sure the legs and thighs are exposed.
Insert a probe type thermometer into the breast. Put bird in the oven. Set the thermometer to alert at 165 degrees. Once it reaches 165 remove from oven, let sit for 5-10 minutes, then carve.
This gives the great tasty skin, cooks the breast to 165 which is still juicy, and cooks the thighs to 180 which is what they need.