Roast Chicken with Pecan Stuffing from Craig Claiborne's Southern Cooking by Craig Claiborne

Ingredients

• ½ pound bulk sausage
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup tousled pecans
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup fine, fresh bread crumbs
• 1 roasting chicken (about 3½ pounds), with giblets
• 2 tablespoons butter, or the fat rendered from the inner chicken fat
• 1 onion, peeled and quurtered
• Salt to taste, if desired
• ¼ cup water
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon loosely packed leaf sage