To brine the turkey:

1. Dissolve the salt and sugar into the water, then add the rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Place the turkey in the brine and cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap. Brine overnight (10-12 hours) in the refrigerator. Alternately, if you don’t have room in your fridge, use an ice cooler instead. Simply add ice to the brining liquid and proceed.

To make the compound butter:

1. Mash the butter with the thyme, sage, rosemary, lemon zest, a good pinch of salt and pepper together. Set aside.

To roast the turkey:

1. Preheat your oven to to 425 degrees. Spray the v-rack of your roasting pan with vegetable oil, and pour about 2 cups of water on the bottom of the pan. You could very well add aromatics such as onion, celery, carrots to the bottom if you’d like — I didn’t.
2. Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it well under cool water, about 30 seconds. Place turkey on a paper towel lined cutting board and continue to pat the bird as dry as you can. Remove any excess fat and/or neck skin with a sharp knife or kitchen shears, continuing to pat the bird dry as you work. With your fingers, gently separate the breast skin from the meat, and be careful not to tear the thin membrane or skin. When you have successfully created two pockets under the skin of the breast, with a spoon place half of the lemon-herb butter mixture under the skin on one side, and repeat on the other side using the remaining lemon-herb butter. Use your hands to gently and evenly rub the butter under the skin and over the entire breast. Pat the skin dry again if you need to.
3. Rub about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into your dry hands and massage the outside of the bird. There should be a very thin layer of oil on the bird, just enough to moisten it. Sprinkle a little fresh ground black pepper onto the skin. Place the bird in the v-rack of your roasting pan skin side up, on the middle rack of the oven. Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue roasting for about an hour longer or until the thickest part of the breast meat registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Increase the heat to 425 degrees and roast the bird for just another 10 minutes until the skin deepens and crisps a bit further. Remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
4. Serve and enjoy.