Grocery store here gives free ones with bonus points on their card. Just their brand of frozen, but those are already brined somewhat at the packing house. Cut an apple in half, put it inside, and bake in a cooking bag. Works like a champ. After the holidays, frozen birds, smoked wings, and sometimes thighs are dirt cheap. I’ve paid $.10 a pound for the frozen ones. The smoked parts make great bean soup.
I always cook the dressing separately in a pan. Takes too long in the bird, which makes drying it out more likely. I mix the dressing sloppy-wet, and cook it covered in foil until the very last. I also take the bird apart for easy handling.
Another thing that works is using gravy from a jar to stretch the good stuff. Doesn’t take a whole bunch of real gravy to make the Heinz crap taste pretty good for sandwiches.
