Pomegranate-Lacquered Roast Turkey

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove neck and giblets from turkey and reserve for making Turkey Broth to use in Cranberry-Apple Cider Gravy . Rinse turkey thoroughly inside and out with cold water; pat dry. Sprinkle neck and body cavities with 1 tsp of the salt mixture.

Tie drumsticks together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings. Insert meat thermometer into center of thigh next to body, not touching bone.

Place turkey, breast side up, in a large, heavy-bottomed roasting pan, without a rack. Brush butter over turkey and season with the remaining 1 tsp salt mixture; loosely tent with heavy-duty foil. Roast turkey 3 1/2 hours, basting every 45 minutes with pan juices.

While turkey roasts, make the pomegranate lacquer. Bring pomegranate juice to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat; boil until syrupy (it will be reduced to 2/3 cup), about 20 minutes. Whisk in brown sugar and mustard and continue to boil 2 minutes longer.

After 3 1/2 hours of roasting, remove foil and start brushing pomegranate lacquer over turkey, brushing 2 or 3 times during the last 45 minutes of roasting, until meat thermometer registers 180 degrees F and turkey is a deep amber color.

Transfer bird to a platter or a carving board and tent with foil. Let stand 45 minutes before slicing. Pour drippings in roasting pan into a gravy separator or a glass measure; let stand until fat and drippings separate into 2 layers. Reserve 6 tablespoons of the turkey fat (discard the remaining fat on surface) and all the drippings that were under fat layer for Cranberry-Apple Cider Gravy .