Maple-Butter-Glazed Turkey

Chances are you’re going to cook no more than one turkey this year (if any at all). Please let it be this one. Yes, this recipe involves breaking down the bird into parts before roasting, which means removing the legs and wings and part of the backbone so the turkey can lie mostly flat on a large rimmed baking sheet. This method may sound tedious—we promise it’s easy to do following our step-by-step, or you can ask your butcher to do it—but it has many benefits. So please hear us out.

First, it allows for a dry brine (think mostly salt and sugar) to reach parts of the turkey that normally stay hidden when it is left whole for the most even seasoning possible. Second, it guarantees more even cooking so the breast doesn’t dry out before the legs are cooked through. Third, it creates more surface area so that the oven’s heat can render more fat and brown even more skin. Last, it makes the work of resting and carving the finished roast so much easier since most of the hardest work already happened. Instead of a last-minute carving marathon, simply remove the breasts, slice, and you are done. Another bonus: Roasting a bird in parts and in a near-flat state means it will cook up faster, freeing up precious oven time for side dishes and desserts. While seasoning the turkey a day in advance is ideal, this approach means that even applying the dry brine one hour before roasting will still be very effective.

Less stress? Better turkey? Those are some traditions we can get behind.