Been brining for many years now. I didn't get to go to the store for my usual ingredients, so this year it was pretty basic. Kosher salt, brown sugar, some cajun seasoning, peppercorns, and bay leaves. I usually make the brine up a few days before to let everything meld together and then brine for 24-48 hours. I don't puncture the bird though, 24-48 hours is enough for everything to work through the meat without poking it full of holes.
We used to fry every year, but for about 5 years now I've been using the CharBroil 'big easy' infrared cooker. Not 100% the same as frying, but we actually like it more. Keeps from tying up the single oven with a big bird as well. This is the first year I didn't time it since I got a nifty remote temp monitor last year. Just cooked it to 165 internal temp and took it out.
One thing we don't do is cook any form of 'stuffing' in the bird (Pulls the moisture out that you put in with the brining). When I moved to GA I was introduced to cornbread 'dressing' and that gets made instead of the more traditional stuffing, although the wife does make a small amount of it since she prefers it.