I have used spagnum moss to sprout seeds, especially very fine seed. I put damp moss in a small baggy, sprinkle in the seed, keep it in a warm place and watch for results. Once they sprout I open the baggy a bit, gradually introduce fresh air and add a little dilute fertilizer. I pot them up once they have true leaves. Jerry

Do you cook it with the crackling? I'd be tempted to marinate it in some dry cider, honey and garlic after having scored the skin. Then slow roasted with some of the marinade added after alot of the fat has drained away and poured off, then more honey near the end, so that it doesn't burn and turn bitter. If you cook it without the skin, then I'd marinate it, then put veggies in the bottom of an oven dish, brown the meat and lay it on top of the veggies mixed with the honey/cider marinade and cover it and slow cook. But, I think you would end up with a fattier dish. How lean pork belly can you get?

I agree on the pinkness. You can also get a pinky tinge depending on what the bird has been eating. If the texture is smooth and soft and glossy, it's under done. If it's cooked turkey texture, it's cooked. :) I can't deal with all the turkey gymnastics that other people put their birds through. The whole point for me is that it starts early and doesn't need any fussing. Mine goes on a short, silicone covered rack in my "goosepot", which is basically a 15 qt. Le Creuset oval dutch oven. I should say that I always start with a top quality, free range bird, usually about 22 lbs. in the Spring, which means it has defrosted for a few days in the fridge, there being no fresh turkeys that size at Passover time. Recently, I gave up on stuffing, which also shortens the cooking time so I may go back. Without stuffing, I put a lemon and a broken up tarragon branch in the cavity, and a blend of dried herbs and maybe garlic pepper, shaken all around. I don't know that it makes a difference, but it feels like cooking. :) A bottle of cheap (palatable) white table wine in the bottom of the pot. My birds are always too big for the pot lid, so I do the loose tent of heavy duty Reynolds Wrap. Just a sheet of foil, dangling loosely. Then I put it in the oven for the proper amount of time for the size of the bird, take it out, let it rest, and get one of the guys to carve because I'm way too busy at that point to care what happens to it. But it is always gloriously, beautifully brown and juicy. Not crispy skinned. We don't eat the skin, but it is appetizing looking. Because I have a tight fit in the roaster, and the wine in the bottom, people will tell you I'm steaming, rather than roasting the turkey. Fine by me. It tastes good. :) And one year I did six turkey breasts and thighs in the steam oven because I needed more turkey and the big oven for something else. :) I know you know how to cook. Maybe the trick is to not try so hard?

See, I don't think it's counter intuitive to use a rack. Getting the heat/heated air to all sides makes more sense to me. Of course, my cooking knowledge is average and only growing because of others' info. I do roast chicken on a rack so that the heat is even around the bird and we devour the results. I'll put veggies below the rack for an extra special meal. All those drippings! Kenji's food lab entry explains why it works. I tend to trust someone who's willing take the time to try out different methods.