My people have been pulling tendons, trimming fat and finding our way around the joint for generations. To cook meat well, you have to care about it, form a relationship with it. A good month before Thanksgiving, I like to take a hot cup of tea to a soft chair along with a half-dozen of my favorite cookbooks to start looking for turkey inspiration. I close the books feeling the full weight of the 12- to 14-pound traditional grande dame I will probably, inevitably, make. I tell myself that a big, brown turkey is what everyone wants—but is it just what they expect?

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