We go through it every year, don't we? Roasting the Thanksgiving turkey.

In recent years, food science has helped us to learn a lot more about how to make this difficult task easier, or at least more successful. Because the thing is, a turkey is an unwieldy thing, oddly shaped, prone to uneven cooking, dry in one spot, half-raw in another.

Here are some tips for building a better bird.

BRINING FOR TENDERNESS

Although it's a bit late in the game for this, it's highly recommended to produce moist, tender meat. If you get busy right now, you can brine for four hours then air-dry overnight (air-drying creates crisp skin, a technique borrowed from the Chinese who use it for roast duck).

In a cooler or a large bucket, combine 2 cups table salt or 1/2 cup kosher or Hawaiian salt, 1 cup sugar, 1 gallon water. Immerse turkey, weighting it down. Keep it cool with ice or ice packs or place it in the refrigerator. After brining, remove turkey and rinse. To air-dry, just place the turkey, uncovered, on a rack in a baking pan in the refrigerator.

Brine can be flavored with herbs, spices or aromatics; in that case, you need to heat the brine and allow the flavorings to steep for a few minutes. Cool and then proceed with brining.

TRUSS, TENT, BASTE AND TURN

If you want the most highly developed flavors, the most beautifully brown skin, the most even cooking, you gotta do a little work.

First, use cotton kitchen twine to truss the bird into a compact package. Numerous sites online show you how to do this in detail, including eHow.com, Epicurious.com, Cooks.com. Also, there are videos on YouTube.

Next, place the turkey breast side down on a V-shaped rack on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan; roast, then turn it breast side up halfway through the cooking time. This is James Beard's technique to help prevent overdone breast meat and underdone thighs. Don't try to turn with the turkey while it is still in the oven. Remove the roasting pan. Put on your oldest pair of oven mitts (I use silicon mitts that are easily washed), grasp the bird firmly and flip. Return to oven.

Tenting the bird's breast and upper legs with foil can help assure more even cooking; remove foil toward the end of roasting time to allow the skin to crisp and brown. Tent loosely, don't wrap tightly, or you'll pull away the skin when you try to remove the foil.

Though opinions differ on basting, many think it helps with browning and tenderness.

CONSIDER DIFFERENT METHODS

The authoritative Cooks Illustrated magazine suggests two different methods.

High heat — Roast a 12-14-pound turkey about 2 hours at 400 degrees, perching the breast-side-down bird over a bed of rough-chopped onions, carrots, celery, thyme, a bit of butter and chicken stock. Baste frequently, turn it 45 minutes into cooking time.

(You can find details of this technique in "The New Best Recipe" by the editors of Cooks Illustrated or online at www.Cooksillustrated .com.)

A second idea: Dry brine the turkey (rub it all over with 3 tablespoons of kosher salt 24-48 hours before roasting; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate; dry well with paper towels before roasting). Prick the fatty areas (breast, halves and thighs) to release fat; rub the skin with a mixture of 2 teaspoons each baking powder and kosher salt to encourage browning.

"Bard" the bird (draping strips of salt pork on turkey as it roasts to create a deep flavor); roast at 325 degrees until it reaches 130 degrees internal temperature , then finish at 450 degrees to crisp the skin.

ADDING FLAVORS

For years, I've been using Pierre Franey's technique of filling the turkey's cavity with apples, lemon wedges, onions and herbs. (These can be consumed or discarded afterward.) Just rough-chop whatever vegetables or herbs you like and stuff them in.

Another option: Make a flavored butter by mincing fresh or dried herbs or a poultry seasoning mixture and mixing it with softened butter. Rub the turkey in and out with this mixture. With your fingers, carefully lift up the breast skin and use a butter knife or spreader to push the seasoned butter underneath.

MAKING GREAT GRAVY

If you want to make great gravy, you've got to capture the browned bits at the bottom of the roasting pan. This is easier if you add a little broth to the roasting pan during cooking (not too much), baste frequently and use the aforementioned technique of putting some vegetables in the pan. If you don't tend to the bottom of the pan during roasting, you end up with burnt, dry stuff that is cemented to the bottom and won't yield up its flavors. Vegetables add an additional layer of flavor.

WHEN IS IT DONE?

A turkey is done when the juices run clear, when the legs waggle easily and when the internal temperature in the deepest part of the thigh reaches 170 degrees. Remove the bird, tent it with foil and let it sit at least 15 minutes while you get busy making gravy. This lets boiling juices sink back into the meat before you carve it so you don't lose moisture.