First off, the disclaimer…  These instructions are for suggestion only.  Please use your own judgement and a meat thermometer to decide if your turkey is cooked properly or not.  Every oven cooks a little differently and this is the method we use but there are hundreds of ways to prepare a turkey.  This is what works for us, but if you have a different method, by all means go ahead.

Remove the neck and any organs from the inside of the turkey.  Rinse off the turkey with cold water and then pat completely dry with paper towel.  Stuff the turkey with your favourite dressing if you prefer.  Brush the turkey with about ½ cup of melted butter.  Season with about 1 tablespoon of regular salt or 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.  Sprinkle with pepper and other herbs.  Try thyme, sage, rosemary, savoury, fresh or dry.  Place the turkey in a large roasting pan with 2 heads of garlic (cut in half), about 4 cups total of 1/2 inch dice carrots and celery, ½ cup of cubed butter, and the neck and organs.  Wrap the entire roasting pan and turkey in foil.

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Place the turkey in the center of the oven.

Roast at 425F for 30 minutes and then turn the oven down to 350F.  Roast at 350F for 15 minutes per pound less the 30 minutes already at 425F.  Uncover the turkey for the last hour of cooking to baste and brown.  So, for a 20 pound turkey, roast for 30 minutes at 425F, and 4 ½ hours at 350F for a total of 5 hours (5 ½ hours if stuffed).  Uncover at the 4 hour mark (4 ½ hour mark if stuffed).  

If you aren’t sure if the turkey is done (and aren’t too worried about the appearance of the turkey) you can cut in between the thigh and body of the turkey.  Free range birds will tend to be a little pink down in here because they are so dense but the meat should look cooked.  If it doesn’t, you can cut between the thigh and body on both sides and bake the turkey a little longer.  When the turkey is out of the oven, wrap it in foil and let it sit for at least 15-30 minutes before carving.  Enjoy!