The perfect turkey is moist with a crisp skin. to get it right, you need to prepare it carefully:

Early in the morning or the night before Thanksgiving, wipe your turkey all over including inside the cavity (don't wash it). Remove and save the giblets. If you have a good quality bird you can put stuffing inside the cavity as well as under the skin, or you may prefer to cook it an a separate dish so it goes crisp on top. (There are too many stuffing recipes to look at here - I like a sausage based one, but you can find plenty of different types here.

Cover the bird with butter - lots of it, smear it thickly all over - and season, just with pepper and salt for a plain but delicious bird, or with herbs and spices or lemon for something different. I would then cover the breat with slices of bacon to keep it moist. Then wrap the bird loosely in tin foil, leaving an opening for steam to escape.

Roast the turkey at 375 f (190 c) for 20 minutes per pound (including stuffing.) For the last half hour, pull back the foil to let the breast go brown. Let it stand for half an hour before serving and use the giblets to make gravy.