You can also pre-order a Thanksgiving meal from Popeye's Chicken & biscuits & have it served at your door. It may have sold out but it's worth a shot if you want a Cajun style meal.
Wow. I wouldn't have even though about Popeyes.
Ms Lady, your smoked turkey sounds delicious. I can't seem to swallow the regular cooked bird. I need a gallon of gravy and have you ever seen a pelican swallowing a fish? There heads are way back, beak straight up in the air, shaking their head, that's me trying to get the turkey down.
It's all about technique. Turkey is a really lean bird. People just have a tendency to overcook it. But yes, smoked turkey is great. Like Lady Blue pointed out, it's all about adding and enhancing the flavor, brine, rub, marinate, etc. The problem with regular baking is that different parts of the bird need to be cooked to different temps, and often the parts you want to cook slower cook the fastest. Smoking bypasses some of the problem, as it is less heat over a longer period of time, so it's a bit less likely you'll overcook your turkey, as long as you meticulously monitor the internal temp. It also imparts a distinct taste. Traditionally baked turkey, on the other hand, can be very very good too, if cooked properly. I like to make a compound black garlic butter that I inject under the skin, plus a 3 day dry rub. If possible I try to get an air chilled turkey. One of my favorite techniques is spatchcocking. It reduces the cook time drastically.
I was surprised when I have learned of it too!
I had to laugh at this, hence I gave your comment a HaHa emoji, but I had to qualify it because of the rest of the comment.
I'm not a great cook, but I hate eating out because I always feel like I could have made a better meal myself. And I'm almost always right. A few years ago, we went to Outback Steakhouse, while my wife was pregnant, and they served her a spoiled steak. I was lived. I got in a big argument with them because I asked how their cook couldn't smell that the meat was bad! They gave us a "free dinner" coupon, and the second visit wasn't much better, never been back, never will. I can cook a perfect steak on my gas grill!
You can absolutely do a better job than any restaurant. The reason is simple, time. In a commercial kitchen you have to cook at scale. Production like that is tough. You don't have enough time to put your heart and soul into every detail. This is why a skilled home cook can make better quality meals at home than a chef, not because the chef can't do it, but because of time constraints. The one caveat is that restaurants typically can get higher quality ingredients. For meat in particular, the grocery store won't cut it.