Honestly- I buy the El Cheapo from the grocery store (Safeway $7 this year I think I saw today). I give it at least 4 days to thaw in my fridge (runs cold). I then dry it, season inside & out (seasoning inside makes a big diff), and do add citrus, garlic, onion, and fresh garden herbs to the cavity. It always comes out well.
After the meal I remove meat from the carcass for doggie bags and also package in useable portions for myself in zip bags (into the freezer). The bony carcass then goes immediately into the crock pot overnight, strained, cooled overnite to let any fat congeal, de-fatted and packed into containers for lovely future soups. Depending on the size of the turkey I may have bones that did not fit into crockpot so they get frozen for future batches of stock. The bagged bits of meat plus the stock containers just need to be simmered with loads of veggies for delicious and satisfying turkey soup lunches or dinners.
What a deal!