First of all, you`ll need to prepare your turkey. If it comes with a bag of giblets inside, make sure you take those out. You may want to rinse your turkey under running water just to clean it up a bit and then put it into the roasting pan. Now, your pan should be fairly large, you don`t want the turkey getting all deformed in there! The disposible aluminum pans are great, though I just line my roasting pan with tinfoil to make cleanupeasier.

Preheat your oven to 425º and then put that turkey in there. Most people use a meat thermometer stuck into the leg without touching the bone. The temperature inside the turkey needs to hit 160º. I personally don`t have a thermometer, but haven`t had any problems. Here is an approximate guide to cooking an unstuffed turkey.

8 lbs. = 1 hour

12-14 lbs. = 1.5 hours

16-20 lbs. = 2.25 hours

Stuffed turkeys will take even longer, but I prefer to cook the stuffing separately, myself.

On to the Garlic-Herb Turkey . . .

Garlic-Herb Rub

4 sticks margarine

1 head garlic, peeled and minced

2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped fine

2 Tablespoons fresh oregano, minced

2 tsp. dried sage

Blend all ingredients together with an electric mixer until the butter is uniform in color and texture.

Now comes the hard part. Not really. Starting at the opening in the turkey, slide your fingers carefully under the skin, breaking the connective tissues. You may need to use a butter knife to help with this part. Avoid tearing holes in the skin, though if there is a little one, it`s not a big deal.

Loosen all the skin, right around the turkey, including the legs. Now, take a big gob of the garlic-herb butter and push it under the skin with your fingers. Rub it right into the flesh. Do this with all the butter, trying to get it fairly evenly distributed under the skin on both sides of the turkey. Again, precision isn`t vital.

The final step is to give your turkey a massage. Just gently rub it on the outside of the skin, smoothing out the lumps of butter until the turkey is fairly evenly covered.

Now, put your bird in the roasting pan, breast side up. You may want to tie the legs together with string at this point, to keep them from flopping down. Put the turkey in the oven and let it roast. Check toward the end of the time to see if the skin is burning. If it is, you can lay some tinfoil over top to prevent this.

I recommend making the turkey ahead of time and letting it sit for up to an hour before dinner. This lets the butter soak in a bit and gives you time to use the oven for side dishes, which we`ll be covering over the next week and a half. You`ll have a tender, tasty turkey with crispy, buttered skin and a lovely garlic flavor.

To start with, if you are planning to make the Garlic-Herb Turkey that is featured in this Perfect Thanksgiving Series, then you want a plain, frozen turkey. It`s a good idea to buy it now, before supplies start to run low  . . . it`s no fun hunting through half a dozen stores the day before Thanksgiving, trying to find a turkey, any turkey!

To help you out a bit, we`ve put together a FAQ for buying your turkey.

How much turkey do I need?

You should allow for 1 lb per person . . . more if you want leftovers. So if you are feeding a family of 4, you could easily go with a 5 lb turkey.

Which brand should I buy?

For the best flavor, you`ll want to stick with birds that have been allowed to grow naturally. Heritage is a good choice for flavor, but any turkey that has “organic” or “pastured” should be good, as well. Avoid Butterball turkeys, while popular, they also tend to go mushy thanks to being injected with flavoring.

How do I know if a turkey is good?

You do need to be careful when selecting a turkey to ensure that it`s a good one. Look for packages that aren`t leaking and that have the latest sell by date, since these will be freshest. If the turkey smells odd, don`t buy it. If you are buying early and going for frozen, you probably won`t have any problems at all.

Frozen or fresh?

We recommend frozen, since you can buy it now and keep it until Thanksgiving, but if you don`t have the space in your freezer to store a whole turkey, you can certainly go for fresh and keep it in the fridge for up to three days.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Perfect Thanksgiving series . . . How to Cook Your Turkey.

This Perfect Thanksgiving series will show you everything you need to know, from choosing the right one, to thawing it and then turning that sucker into the most delicious bird you`ve ever tasted in your life. A little later in the month, we`ll take a peek at side dishes, as well, so if you stick around you`ll be able to whip up an entire Thanksgiving dinner . . . even if you`ve never tried anything more complicated than making Jello before.

On to the good stuff! Don`t let the thought of making your very own, homecooked Thanksgiving meal stress you out . . . it`s really quite easy if you follow the steps in this series.