This is more a technique than a recipe. It makes a bird that has concentrated turkey flavor and fine, firm flesh and that is delicious as it is – but you can add other flavors as you wish. Minced rosemary would be a nice finishing addition. Or brush the bird lightly with butter before roasting.
At the L.A. Times, they held a comparative tasting among four turkeys: brined, steam-roasted, high heat roasted and dry salted. The winner was this one, dry salted – originally a technique from Judy Rogers of the Zuni Café in San Francisco. [A close second was the brined bird, which also had the best-browned result, but was not quite so firm in texture.]
This technique is similar to brining, except that no water or other liquid is used. The turkey is just sprinkled with salt and allowed to stand for about 4 days. Within a couple of tries, Russ Parson and the Times’ tasting panel had perfected the amount of salt required and agreed that this turkey had the winning firm, meaty texture and deep, full flavor.