Personally, I'm a pro-brine, anti-truss kind of roaster, and you couldn't pay me to stuff my turkey—the sodden gunk that comes out of the very back of the cavity is gross. But I was pleased with the evenly browned, crackly skin this recipe yielded, and it made fabulous gravy (with a little bonus for future meals):

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Liberally salt and pepper a 13- to 15-pound non-self-basting, room-temperature turkey. Tie (truss) the legs to the body to make the bird easy to flip, and tuck the wings under the thighs.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a bowl or skillet. Brush it onto the breast side of the bird, then salt and pepper liberally (don't coat the bird, but don't be shy, either). Turn the turkey back-side up and nestle it into the rack. Brush with the rest of the butter, and salt and pepper again.

Roast the bird for an hour, then remove from the oven and turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Flip the bird breast-side up on the rack, and baste it with the fat and juices that have pooled on the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to the oven, basting the turkey with its own juices every 30 minutes. Let it cook until the fleshiest part of the thigh (between the thigh and the body of the breast) measures 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 hours. Nearing the end of the cooking, set a small pot with 3 cups of chicken stock on the stove and bring to a simmer.

Move the cooked turkey to a platter to rest for 20 to 30 minutes, pour the fat* out of the pan, and then set the pan on top of the stove (medium heat), adding 3 to 4 tablespoons of flour. Push it around with the spatula, combining with the few teaspoons of fat and the browned, crystallized juices, for a minute or two. Add the hot stock. Stirring constantly, let the gravy bubble and thicken for 5 to 10 minutes; then strain. Now you're ready to carve and serve the bird.

*A bonus tip I discovered after cooking turkey No. 5: When you're pouring off the mix of basting butter and turkey fat before you start making gravy, don't throw that grease away. After the holiday, toss root vegetables in a couple of spoonfuls of this meaty, caramely elixir and roast them until soft and browned. Yum!