life is short

It is inevitable I will forget something next year, so here is an attempt to help my future self.

Turkey
We did a 10-ish lb bird this year, which seems to be about perfect. No time to brine this year, but next year I'm hoping to do a dry brine. If you are not brining, salt the skin more than you think is necessary. More. Even more than that. OK that might be enough.

Check the neck cavity for giblets. They don't stick them up the butt anymore.

The usual shove herb butter under the skin method remains excellent. Kerrygold makes pre-made herb and garlic butter that works real well for this.

You cannot baste a turkey in a roasting bag. You should also cut holes in the bag for ventilation.

After eating, pick meat off bones and evacuate carcass to Instant Pot/slow cooker to turn into stock. Add leftover drippings. Throw in some onion, celery, carrots, and peppercorns. Cool on low for, idk, whenever. I did 12 hours in the Instant Pot and it seemed fine. Pick out bones, skim out grotty stuff with fine-mesh strainer, put in fridge and skim off fat when hardened.

Stuffing 
The slow cooker sage and sausage stuffing was Real Good. Higher quality bread cubes (the only ones left were Safeway store brand) probably would have made it amazing. idk if I have enough dedication to make bread cubes from scratch. The best thing about doing it in the slow cooker is the bottom gets really crispy (might want to use a liner for this). Gets kinda dry on top, add drippings before serving. Or drench in gravy and it doesn't matter.

I forgot the butter before browning the sausage but it didn't seem to make a difference. It probably would have made it too rich anyways. We used Hempler's sage breakfast sausage. The recipe was appx halved but was still way more than two people could eat. 

Gravy
Nothing special, from a jar. Add drippings from turkey to doctor it up.

Leftovers
Turkey udon: Too flat. Simmer the udon in the broth next time so it absorbs flavor. Add shittons of garlic. More salt and pepper.