Originally Posted by travelmad478

Breast down at first, then flip it for the last hour to get the skin looking and tasting nice.

That sounds kind of odd and I've never heard such an instruction before. Water? You're roasting, not braising. Seems like this would end up with a mushy result.

You don't need one. Don't worry about it. Neither do you need cheesecloth, or a sock, or any of that. If it's a small bird and you do the breast-down method, it will be fine.

I do a butter massage beforehand and maybe 1-2 bastings midway for a 12-pound turkey. I use a brush for basting. I've also heard that basting is not necessary at all if you do the butter massage and breast-down method, but I do it anyway in an abundance of caution.

Again this sounds like a recipe for a mushy turkey. It's not necessary.

Mix 1/2 cup of KOSHER (not regular!) salt plus 2 T baking powder. Sprinkle it evenly over the turkey, but don't get the turkey totally encrusted (there will be extra salt mixture--throw it out). That's it. You don't even need the baking powder, really. Store the brined turkey in the fridge, uncovered, until tomorrow.

I hate stuffing too but other people like it, so I make it. I do not cook it inside the turkey, and no, it is not there to keep the bird moist. It's there to get the turkey flavor into the stuffing. I find that cooking it inside the turkey just makes the stuffing gummy and also makes a giant mess when you go to carve the turkey. You can make it in a baking dish instead.