I did a lot of research before hosting a decade ago, and have now had to host all future thanksgivings since I am apparently the only one in the family who can make a decent turkey. Read on at your own risk:

1. Turkey bag or a covered roasting pan is a must. Turkey gets very dry easily.
2. Carefully lifting the skin away from the meat (without ripping it!) will allow you to put an entire stick of herb butter between the meat and the skin.
3. Flavor injectors are another essential. Just a salty mix of basically Worcestershire sauce and vegetable oil and garlic and pepper. About a half cup total injected all the way in the meat every few inches. Back the injector out partway and push back in on a new path a few times for adequate coverage.
4. Inside the bag or roasting pan should have some veggies. These cook down to help make a better gravy but I think also just provide more steam to keep the turkey moist.
5. Sliced apple in the neck might be a myth but I do it anyways haha.
6. Meat thermometer to make sure you don’t overcook it. Should be slid into the meat like a millimeter away from the inside cavity in the thickest part of the turkey.
7. Let the turkey “rest” in the pan or bag for an hour after you pull it out of the oven, otherwise the very hot juices will just evaporated away when you start carving.
8. Carving direction matters. YouTube it. Basically, you remove half of the entire breast in one go and put that on a cutting board and cut it like a bread loaf.

Seriously I used to hate turkey but with all the above I actually look forward to it.

Have you tried smoked? It really is nice. But generally yeah, I’d rather just eat a nice vegetarian dish than a bland turkey.