I'm sticking to my guns. Everyone is putting too much thought and effort into roasting turkey. Go simple and it will be perfect. I made possibly the juciest, most tender turkey ever for Christmas. I was going to barbecue it as those turkeys, at least at my house are legendary. But I found myself without charcoal and so opted to oven-roast the critter.
T mkae this extraordinary bird, I simply boiled the giblets and neck to make a broth. I added chicken and beef soup base to add flavor and salt (a little at a time then taste until it's the flavor you want). I then added a bit of honey to sweeten things a bit, as an experiment. I injected about 1/4 cup into the breast meat on either side (total of 1/2 cup), and about the same amount into the thighs. I rubbed it with olive oil, salted the skin with kosher salt, and put the whole thing into a large roasting pan, on a turkey rack, and popped the whole thing into a 450' oven. I checked this 18 lb bird after two hours. The temp read 160' and I pulled it from the oven. It cooked a bit faster than I had expected and so I was glad that I had the meat thermometer in to beep at me when the desired temperature was reached.
I put the bird, uncovered into the trunk of my car, the gifts into the back seat, picked up my daughter from her house, and drove to my sister's for Christmas dinner. I carved the breasts off and cut them against the grain. Everyone commented on how tender and juciy the turkey was. It stoled the show, which was unintentional. I dodint' try any until today, as I know what my turkeys taste like. When I did, a day after it was cooked, and reheated in the microwave, it was still the juiciest and most tender turkey I have ever made, or eaten. And it was the cheap store-brand frozen bird.
Don't spend big bucks for a special turkey. Don't go through special preperations, and put a great deal of fuss into cooking the bird. Just heat the oven to 450' F., oil and salt the skin, inject flavorful fluids in if you want to, and bake until the thickest whicte meat reads 160' F., and pull from the oven. Your turkey will be the star too.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North