When I was growing up, my mother always made Chinese roasted duck for Thanksgiving, complete with little meatballs added after the duck fat rendered, tender but crisped on the outside. When her American-born children asked for turkey instead, she adapted her procedures to slow roast the much bigger bird. This resulted in a tender, delicious meal that she preferred cooking, as there was much less fat to be handled, but we lost the little meatballs in the process...
My Māmā 媽媽 would dry roast coarse salt with whole peppercorns in a skillet until the salt started to brown and the peppercorns could be crushed easily with the back of a spoon. This was rubbed over the turkey, inside and out. The salt/peppercorn mix was also rubbed over the neck and innards, which were nestled inside the cavity overnight with a good amount of ginger, garlic and scallions to "pull out" any bad odors. In the morning, the pan was cleaned and dried, the innards wrapped in foil, and the breast rubbed with toasted sesame oil before roasting. The technique that she used basically amounted to dry brining the bird for 12-24 h prior to roasting. I later discovered that the drippings produced the most delectable gravy with no additional seasoning needed.