Rosemary, Sage & Orange Turkey

14-16 lb turkey
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bunch fresh sage
1 orange
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp each salt and ground black pepper
12 cups Stuffing

Remove neck and giblets from turkey. Discard or save for gravy, if you wish. Rinse turkey inside and out with cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan. Cut rosemary sprigs into smaller pieces. Coarsely chop sage, including stems. Using a vegetable peeler, slice 4 thick strips of peel from orange. Carefully cut away any white pith - you just want the fragrant peel. Place rosemary, sage and orange peel into a bowl. Add garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Mix well. Using your fingers, loosen skin from each breast. Tuck herb mixture under skin.

Lightly pack neck cavity with just enough stuffing to fill. Remember that the stuffing will expand during roasting. Bring neck skin up over back and secure with skewers or sew shut. Fill body cavity with remaining stuffing. Tuck legs under skin flap. After stuffing, ensure that the turkey is still breast side up.

Lightly brush or spray turkey with a little more oil. Tent pan with foil. Roast in a preheated 325*F oven for 2 hours.

Discard foil. Continue roasting (you don't have to baste) until a thermometer inserted in thigh registers 180*F - this will take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the bird. Make sure to check on the turkey after 3 1/2 hours of total roasting time to determine how much more cooking time is needed. IF the turkey starts to brown too much before it's fully cooked, cover dark spots with foil.

When done, cover with foil and let stand at least 20 minutes before carving. Discard skin and herb mixture and scoop stuffing into a serving bowl before carving.

Make Ahead Tips: You don't want to stuff the turkey ahead of time because it's not good kitchen hygiene and can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. However, you can still prepare the herb and orange mixture and tuck it under the skin. Cover and refrigerate it overnight. Then you just need to stuff the turkey just before roasting.

My mom has had great success with cooking her turkey a few days ahead of time and carving it. Then she places the meat into a roaster. She layers the meat with a bit of gravy between layers just to keep it moist. Then on Thanksgiving Day, she just slowly reheats it in the oven. This saves a LOT of time and work when the house is full of people and she'd rather be socializing than dealing with a big bird and lost of dirty dishes!