Unless you have access to multiple ovens, only a very large turkey will do when you’ve got a crowd coming. But finding a container large enough to brine a gargantuan bird can be tricky, and turning the bird in the oven for evenly cooked meat can be tricky.

We wanted the Norman Rockwell picture of perfection: a crisp, mahogany skin wrapped around tender, moist meat. And it had to be easy to prepare in a real home kitchen. We chose a Butterball turkey, which has already been brined for juicy flavor (a kosher bird, which has been salted, works well, too).

A combination of high and low heat produced a tender, juicy bird with deeply browned skin. The savory flavor is boosted with the addition of onion, carrot, and celery, and a quartered lemon adds bright, clean flavor.

If you are reluctant to rotate the turkey during roasting, skip the step of lining the V-rack with foil and roast the bird breast side up for the full time.

Roast Turkey for a Crowd

• 3 onions, coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 3 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
• 1 (18- to 22-pound) turkey, neck and giblets removed (reserve for gravy, if desired)
• 1 cup water, plus more as needed
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon pepper, divided

Adjust oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line large V-rack with heavy-duty foil and poke several holes in foil. Set rack in large roasting pan; spray foil with vegetable oil spray.

In medium bowl, toss half of onions, carrots, celery, lemon and thyme with 1 tablespoon melted butter; scoop into turkey cavity. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. Scatter remaining vegetables into roasting pan. Pour 1 cup water over vegetable mixture.

Brush turkey breast with 2 tablespoons melted butter, then sprinkle with half of salt and half of pepper. Place turkey, breast side down, on V-rack. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.

Roast turkey 1 hour. Remove pan from oven; baste turkey with juices from pan. Using dish towel or 2 large wads of paper towels, turn turkey breast side up. If liquid in pan has evaporated, add another 1/2 cup water.

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. Return turkey to oven and roast another 2 hours, until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees on an internal thermometer.

Remove turkey from oven. Gently tip turkey up so juices in cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer turkey to carving board. Let rest, uncovered, 35 to 40 minutes before carving. Serves 20-24.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 567 calories, 32 g total fat, 10 g saturated fat, 215 mg cholesterol, 500 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 66 g protein.

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Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

This key part of any holiday feast is often left to the last minute, frantically cobbled together once the bird emerges from the oven. Our make-ahead gravy relieves some of the stress of holiday hosting and even boasts bigger turkey flavor than your typical gravy recipe.

Good gravy comes from good stock, so we started by roasting turkey parts with chopped carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Once the meat was deeply browned and the vegetables caramelized, we transferred everything to a Dutch oven. Chicken broth and white wine plus some sprigs of thyme promised flavorful, savory complexity.

Following a lengthy simmer, we strained out the solids (if you don’t need it all right away, the stock can be refrigerated or frozen). We used the stock’s fat to build a roux, browning a cup of flour in the heated fat before whisking in the stock.

The finished gravy boasted all the body of a traditional preparation, but it was ready with time to spare and offered incredible meaty depth.

If you make this gravy at the same time as your turkey, you could add the giblets and neck (but not the strong-tasting liver) when roasting the turkey parts. For more flavor, skim the drippings from your roast turkey and slowly add them to the gravy (tasting as you go so the gravy does not become overly salty).

• 6 turkey thighs, trimmed, or 9 wings, separated at joints
• Reserved turkey giblets and neck (optional)
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium celery ribs, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 head garlic, halved
• Vegetable oil spray
• 10 cups chicken broth, plus more as needed
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 12 sprigs fresh thyme
• Unsalted butter, as needed
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Defatted turkey drippings (optional)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss thighs, giblets (if using) carrots, celery, onions and garlic together in large roasting pan and spray with vegetable oil spray. Roast, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 90 minutes.

Transfer contents of roasting pan to Dutch oven. Add broth, wine and thyme sprigs; bring to boil, skimming as needed. Reduce to gentle simmer and cook until broth is brown and flavorful, about 90 minutes.

Strain through fine-mesh strainer into large container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. You should have about 8 cups stock.

Let broth settle, then spoon off and reserve 1/2 cup of fat from top (add butter if short on turkey fat).

Heat fat in Dutch oven over medium-high until bubbling. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until well browned, 3 to 7 minutes.

Slowly whisk in turkey broth and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until gravy is very thick, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add drippings from roasting pan, if using, to taste, then season with salt and pepper. Makes about 2 quarts.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 92 calories, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 69 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 2 g protein.