Another problem I see often is “Help, I forgot to that the turkey!”.  Really unless your wanting to stuff the bird, there is no need to thaw.  Except for one Thanksgiving year, I have always cooked my chickens/turkeys from frozen.  This saves a lot of space in the fridge, since you don’t have a big bird taking up space all week.

• Remove chicken from it’s bag and rinse well.  Place in a roasting pan.
• Add a little water to the roasting pan.  I use a cup or so.
• Sprinkle desired seasonings over the bird.  I like garlic powder, pepper, rosemary, marjoram
• Place your bird in the oven at 350F.  I usually cover my roaster as I find the breast meat is more tender that way.  But if the lid doesn’t fit it’s not a big deal.  Add a cover of tin foil in the last hour of cooking.  This will help keep the ends of the legs from burning.
• Check on your bird every few hours and baste with cooking juices.
• For a dark brown skin, brush with olive oil.
• Cook the bird for 20 minutes per pound.  If you have a thermometer the temperature in the thigh should be 180F. If you do not have a thermometer, your bird should be nicely browned the legs should be loose and movable away from the body.  Cut between the leg and the body and the juices should be clear.