A frozen bird is fine for my purposes, but I buy a Kosher bird as it is not injected with a brine/salt water solution. I buy a dry brine from either William Sonoma or Costco and put that on for at least 24 hours prior to tossing it in the oven. Works out great, flavorful and without the mess and needed monitoring of temperature if wet brining a bird. Since I host Thanksgiving in my small 1 bedroom apartment, dry brining a 16 pound bird is my only option.