Some key turkey points

Buying. Figure on about 11/2 pounds per person, which should provide enough for leftovers.

If dark meat is your thing, go for a fresh heritage turkey. It will have a more balanced ratio of dark meat to white, and a more intense flavor. A tom turkey and a hen turkey taste the same. Toms are bigger.

Defrosting. It's late in the game if you are going with a frozen turkey. It's best to allow 24 hours of defrosting for each five pounds of turkey. But, you don't have to defrost a frozen turkey. The USDA says: "It is safe to cook a turkey from the frozen state. The cooking time will take at least 50 percent longer than recommended for a fully thawed turkey. Remember to remove the giblet packages during the cooking time. Remove carefully with tongs or a fork."

Salting. Done correctly, pretreating the bird with salt produces a tender, juicy result. Soak the turkey in a light brine (3 to 6 percent salt by weight) in the refrigerator for a day or two. You can also dry-brine the turkey with 11/4 teaspoons of salt per pound for about 18 hours. We tested wet brining against dry brining five years ago, and we preferred the wet method for its more uniform results.

Encasing and roasting a turkey breast in a salted-dough crust yields extremely juicy and evenly seasoned meat, and there's no rack or pan to clean up. (There's also no crisp skin to nosh on.) Don't brine or salt kosher or self-basting turkeys; they have already been salted.

Prep. Stuffing butter or other fat under the skin doesn't protect the meat from overcooking, but adds fat. So even if the meat comes out dry, it won't seem like it.

Spatchcocking, or butterflying, a whole turkey exposes all parts of the bird to even heat. Just cut out the backbone and push down on the turkey to flatten it.

Roasting. Covering the breast with aluminum foil during the first part of roasting helps reduce the risk of dry breast meat.

Basting with fat during roasting will speed cooking. Basting with water (or defatted cooking juices) will slow cooking.

The turkey is safe to eat once it has been cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees, measured with a thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh and the thickest part of the breast.

Post-roast. Let the cooked bird rest for at least 30 minutes or even an hour before carving. That allows the liquid and gelatin in the meat to set, increasing juiciness.

You can inject the bird with juices after roasting to return some of the lost moisture and fat. Much of it will run out again, but enough will remain to make it worthwhile.

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Trained cooking aides, online information, and hotline recordings are available to answer queries and help resolve problems that arise during Thanksgiving meal preparation.

Butterball Turkey Talk Line: 1-800-288-8372. Experts answer live questions during November and December, or www.butterball.com.

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline: 1-800-535-4555. Food specialists address questions of food prep and safety, or go to www.foodsafety.gov.