Turkey cooking tips PLUS 11 flavourful roast turkey recipes

Articles
• Turkey...and all the trimmings
Want to spend less time in the kitchen on the big day? Yes, you can -- with make-ahead dishes, family helpers and smart-serving strategies.

• Turkey 101
Roast turkey is one of those glorious dishes that evoke both great memories (of family gatherings and luscious meals) and great fear (of overcooking or making lumpy gravy). But there's actually very little that's more straightforward than roasting a turkey to plump, moist, golden perfection. In this lesson you'll also learn the best way to carve that beautiful bird.

• How to cook a turkey
So it's the holidays, and you have never cooked a turkey before. Don't worry, you're only five steps away from the perfect bird.

• Safe turkey tips
Don't let poor prep work ruin your holiday dinner. Learn the turkey safety tips from the experts.

Tasty turkey recipes
• Barbecue-Roast Lemon Herb Turkey with Gravy
Roasting turkey on the barbecue is surprisingly easy. Perhaps the crisp-skinned, bronzed bird, with its hint of smokiness, will create a whole new Thanksgiving tradition as guests gather around the grill instead of the television. It also frees up space in the oven for accompaniments, such as stuffing and vegetables.

• Barbecue-Roasted Turkey
This unstuffed barbecued bird has a hint of smoky flavour that you'll love. It also frees up oven space for accompaniments such as biscuits, scalloped potatoes or apple cobbler. We find that turkeys 14 pounds (6.25 kg) and under are more suitable for roasting on the barbecue than larger ones.

• Classic Roast Turkey and Gravy
Simple aromatic herbs lend gentle flavour to the meat, and a butter rub makes the skin crisp and golden.

• Roast Turkey with Corn Bread Pepper Stuffing
Baking corn bread for this colourful and chunky stuffing does add a little time to prepping the bird. But given that this is an extraordinarily tasty stuffing, it's worth every minute. And you can bake and freeze the corn bread ahead.

• Sage and Cider Roast Turkey
Turkey cooks more quickly in a convection oven than a conventional one (about an hour less) and the stuffing might not have time to reach the safe temperature of 185°F (85°C). But that doesn't mean you can't have stuffing. Bake it in a separate dish while the turkey is standing.

• Roast Turkey with Herb Stuffing and Gravy
This stuffing is dark and aromatic with a generous amount of herbs.

• Roast Turkey with Hazelnut Bread Stuffing
This turkey fills the bill with its crisp golden skin, rich brown gravy and well-seasoned stuffing crunchy with hazelnuts.

• Roast Turkey with Pacific Northwest Stuffing
Give this savory stuffing a try at your next holiday dinner.

• Roast Turkey
The perfect recipe for your traditional roast turkey dinner.

• Roast Turkey with Corn Bread Stuffing
Start a new tradition with a sage-and-oregano corn bread stuffing for roast turkey. If time is too tight to make Corn Bread Loaf, buy corn bread at a local bakery.

• Roast Turkey with Pecan Corn Bread Stuffing
Give your holiday bird a southern twist with this pecan stuffing. The turkey and gravy are further flavoured with a little bourbon or Tennessee whisky, a surprising but excellent flavour enhancer for poultry. Even without the bourbon, the stuffing is delicious.