Old Fashioned Roast Turkey

Place the cleaned, dry turkey on its back in the roasting pan and rub the entire surface with salt. Mix 4 Tbls. of melted butter with 3 Tbls. of flour to make a paste. Spread over the breast and legs. Insert celery and onion in cavity. Place in oven at 450 until flour starts to brown; reduce heat to 300 and baste frequently with the remaining butter mixed with the water or stock. After this mix is used up, baste with pan drippings. If you wish a crisper crust on the bird, sprinkle flour lightly over its surface 2-3 times while roasting. If the legs brown too rapidly, cover with a tent of aluminum foil, but a loose one; or a thin cloth moistened with fat. The best temperature is 300 but never over 350. Use a meat thermometer or follow the cooking chart for doneness. To make the gravy use the drippings left from cooking. Remove the bird from the pan and drain the pan. Now, brown 4 Tbls. of fat and 4 Tbls. of flour in the pan; add 2 cups of juices from the pan and stock made from the giblets. Cook until thick, add giblets, finely chopped, and chopped hard-boiled eggs if you wish.