My experience has been that people who don’t like turkey, usually complain that it is dry as dust, which it can be, if you roast it in an open pan until it looks like a Norman Rockwell picture. I always cook it covered, with an open vent. It still gets brown, but not dry. Putting it in a cooking bag helps, too. I’ve never brined one, because almost every one you buy has been injected with 7-15 % salt and sugar solution. One thing I’ve noticed, though -— every turkey I buy tastes exactly the same. Same with most chicken. I might try one that’s been raised free range this year, or at least on a small organic farm. All the rest are fed exactly the same food, for uniformity, at the factory farms. Boring!
Yup. My uncle can make a turkey sit up and beg, but I usually go with duck for a holiday meal. :) Roasted chicken with herbs and butter is my usual poultry thing, but it’s rare for me to spring for a free-range bird. I finally got my hands on a decent fixer-upper chicken coop and am hoping for Real Live homegrown chicken next year, if I’m brave enough to kill one or two. :)