There’s probably no greater pressure on a cook than Thanksgiving, and no more high-profile dish than the turkey. It gets a bad rep — “all turkey tastes the same”, the haters insist — but there are things you can do to make sure your turkey stands out. Here are few tips to help.

Start with the bird itself. Avoid the mass produced brands like Butterball if you can and definitely avoid anything that’s been “injected” or “basted” — these are mostly chemical and sodium-rich solutions that are meant to enhance flavor but can leave the meat with a spongy consistency. Look for fresh if you can find it; but, modern freezing methods tend to leave the bird in pretty good shape, so a frozen turkey won’t ruin the big day. If you do get a frozen one, make sure to give it plenty of time to defrost in the fridge, it may take a few days.

If you thought ahead and reserved a locally raised bird at your farmer’s market, good for you. If not, check places like Whole Foods or a local food co-op for the best bet on local, organically raised turkeys. If you’re lucky enough to find a heritage turkey, snap it up, but be ready to pay about twice what you would otherwise. I’ve gotten my heritage turkeys from Stokesberry Farms for the past few years now and I’ll never go back to the bland birds you find in most supermarkets.

Figure on about 1-1½ pounds per person, which should leave for plenty of leftovers. If you’ve got a lot of people coming to dinner, consider two smaller birds instead of one giant one, or one full turkey and one turkey breast instead.

Brining is a popular technique for adding flavors to the turkey and one that I used to use. It can be messy and somewhat unwieldy, though, when you’re trying to keep a 12 pound turkey submerged in salty water for two to three days.

Last year I tried a so-called “dry brining” technique, popularized by LA Times food writer Russ Parsons. The results were spectacular. The basic idea is to season the turkey with kosher salt — about a tablespoon for every five pounds, flavored with spices or aromatics if you want — a few days ahead of time. The salt penetrates the meat to the bone, similar to the way a brine will, without the hassle of gallons of water sloshing around. My plan is to dry brine my birds on Sunday night, rinse and pat them dry Wednesday night, and leave them uncovered in the fridge until they’re ready to cook on Thursday (to help dry out the skin so it’s nice and crispy after roasting.)

A turkey takes time to cook: on average about 3-4 hours if you’re dealing with a medium sized (12-15 pounds) bird. Plus, it needs to rest for at least half an hour, which lets the juices released by roasting reabsorb. So, if you’re planning on having guests arrive around 4, the bird should be in the oven by noon.

Cook according to temperature, not time. The best way to do this is with a probe thermometer that you insert into the thickest part of the thigh. Your turkey is done when the meat reaches at least 165° — make sure to check the breast, too. It’s ok if your dark meat (the thigh and legs) hits 170° or higher, but don’t let the breast get much above 165° or it will run the risk of drying out. The meat will probably continue to warm up a few degrees after it’s out of the oven.

When it comes time to carve the bird, forget the idyllic Norman Rockwell scenes of the full bird at the table. The best way to carve is to deconstruct the major groups and then assemble the sliced pieces on a platter.

Start by removing each leg and thigh as a whole piece, where the thigh meets the body. Remove the drumstick from the thigh, which gets to stand alone for the crazy uncle who eats them Henry-VII-style. Cut the thigh bone out, discard, then slice the dark thigh meat across the grain. Next, remove each wing at the joint where the wing meets the body. Now, feel for the center of the bird for the breastbone, cut along each side of the breast bone to remove the two halves of the turkey breast. Cut the breast across the grain in about ½ slices.

The New York Times has a great article on carving your turkey like a butcher. I like to assemble everything on the platter, with the legs and dark meat at one end and the slices of breast meat at the other, all ready to be served.

The most important thing to remember is not to panic. A turkey is just a big chicken and you’ve been roasting those all year, right? With a little bit of planning, everything’s going to be delicious.