The key to a uniformly cooked turkey is beginning the roasting with a perfectly thawed turkey. Thawing a frozen turkey in the fridge is difficult to time right. I may think I've allowed the proper amount of time, only to have parts of the bird still icy on roasting day.
The way around that is to begin thawing it in the fridge, a day or two before you might usually begin. A thawed turkey can remain in the fridge, up to 4 days, according to Butterball. Personally, I prefer to roast it within 2 days, as I think the flavor is better, roasted sooner rather than later.
BTW, the recommended time for thawing is 1 day for every 4 pounds of turkey (according to butterball.com). Better get Tom or Thelma into the fridge and start thawing!
