Easy Roasting for Moist Meat and Crisp Skin

You've prepped and planned, now let's get that bird in the oven!  To keep it simple, we'll think about 3 things.  Simplicity, crisp skin, moist meat.  We've got a video showing the step-by-step process below, but here's the quick version:

You will need:
Your turkey, rinsed, patted dry and room temp
1 stick of room temperature butter or 1/3 c oil (sunflower, olive, canola, etc.)
Handful of aeromatic herbs of your choice ( I use sage, rosemary, thyme)
Another Tbsp(ish) of each your choice herbs, minced
1 lg or 2 small lemons
1 med-lg onion
Salt

Prep for Roasting

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Remove giblets from inside the cavity.
3. Quarter the lemon and onion and place in the cavity, along with the handful of herbs.
4. Mash your minced herbs into your room temp. butter or stir into your oil.
5. Run your hand gently between the breast meat and breast skin to make space to season the breast meat.  Generously season this space with your flavored oil or butter.  Some people like to slip herbs, lemon slices, or even bacon in the gap to flavor their meat!
6. Season the skin all over with the rest of your herbed oil/butter, then sprinkle lightly with salt all over.  If you haven't brined, be generous with the salt.
7. Some people like to inject their bird with butter, oil, spices, or maple syrup at this point.  For a brined bird this is pretty unnecessary (but still fun and tasty). If you haven't brined your bird, I highly recommend doing this with a mix of some type of fat+seasonings+maple syrup.
8. Truss your bird by tying the legs and tail together at the bony end of the legs, and by tying the wings close to the bird or tucking them behind the back (see video if you need explanation).  You bird will cook more evenly this way.
9. Set your bird on a rack in a roasting pan.

Roast

1. Place your prepared turkey in the 500 degree oven.
2. Immediately turn the oven down to 325 degrees. This lets the skin crisp and dry out at the high heat and starts the browning process. Keep the door shut in this first hour or you'll lose the benefit.  Roasting at a low heat keeps the meat moist and tender.
3. After 1 hr, start the checking and basting cycle.  You'll want to temp the thigh at the deepest point, next to the bone, to get a reference for how quickly your bird is cooking.  Fresh birds cook quickly, so don't be caught off guard.  Check every half hour if you'e got a ways to go, or every 15 minutes if you're approaching 165 degrees, which is fully cooked.
4. If you're cooking a stuffed bird, make sure the temperature of the middle of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees before you remove it from the oven.
5. You may take your bird out of the oven at 160 or higher, because it will continue cooking out of the oven for about 5 degrees more.
6. Cover the whole roasting pan with foil and let it stand 30 minutes before carving.  This allows the juices to reabsorb and equalize throughout the meat.  And you won't burn your hand when carving, which is a plus.
7. Remove to a large, sturdy surface.  Ideally something like a cutting board with a well for juices.  In a pinch, put a towel under your cutting board to minimize the mess and whole your cutting board steady.
8. Get a platter ready for your meat.
9. Carve (this is a great video to show you how to carve a turkey, but for the love of all that is holy do NOT remove the skin.  I can't believe he recommends that!  A little bit of me dies every time I watch him do it!  Otherwise this is the best explanation I've found).
10. Give Thanks.
11. Enjoy.