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Dried spices have a shorter shelf life than we sometimes think: around six months, no more than nine.

Chopped fresh garlic can burn as the turkey roasts, giving it an unpleasant, bitter taste. Garlic powder, that old staple, saves the day.

A roasting rack lifts the bird so it doesn’t bake in its own fat.

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Four Wet Rubs

These rubs contain no salt since the turkey has been brined. If you skip the brine, add ½ to 1 tablespoon kosher salt to any of these rubs. Simply mix them in a small bowl.

1. Italian Wet Rub

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon rubbed sage

1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2. Herb Butter Wet Rub

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed

2 teaspoons dried thyme

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3. Southwestern Wet Rub

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4. Szechuan Wet Rub

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon ground Szechuan peppercorns

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon five-spice powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground dried orange zest

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Four Things to Go

with Roast Turkey

I. Onion Gravy

Using a long-handled spoon, remove the hot, roasted onions from the body cavity; place them on a cutting board. Cool a few minutes, then roughly chop them. Strain the liquid in the roasting pan and skim off any visible fat. Add enough water so that the total liquid equals 1½ cups; bring this mixture along with the chopped onions to a simmer in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, whisk 2 teaspoons arrowroot in 1 tablespoon cool water in a small bowl. Whisk this mixture into the simmering gravy just until thickened, about 10 seconds. Remove at once from the heat; season with salt and pepper to taste.

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How to Carve a Turkey

Use a meat fork and a thin carving knife, the better to get down inside the joints; but be judicious in your use of the fork. No random stabbing. Every hole causes the bird to lose essential juices.

1. Begin by cutting the skin and some of the meat that lies between the breast and the thigh quarter, running your knife closer to the breast side as you cut down. Once the thigh has been loosened from the bird, wiggle it a bit to find the ball-and-socket joint that joins it to the body. Slice straight down through this joint. Set this thigh-and-drumstick quarter aside and repeat on the other side.

2. Next, wiggle the drumstick where it joins the thigh, again revealing the joint. Slice down through the joint, removing the drumstick. Repeat with the other thigh side.

3. Once the thigh is on its own, slice the meat off the bone at a diagonal to yield the largest chunks.

4. Now do that same wiggling operation in order to find the wing joints, taking the wings off the bird by slicing through the joints that hold them to the body. If desired (particularly for a large bird), crack the wing into the drumlet and the winglet by bending them open at the opposite position from their natural angle until you hear the joint pop. Once revealed, slice through the joint.

5. Finally, hold the breast with the meat fork at the top of the concave-curving breastbone ridge. Begin at the outside of the breast (farthest from the breastbone) and draw the knife slowly through the meat in long, controlled cuts to produce thin slices. Alternatively, you can cut down on one side of the breastbone, following its natural curve, and take off the whole side of the breast, thereafter slicing it separately.

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II. Giblet Gravy

While the turkey is roasting, place the heart, gizzard, and neck as well as 2