1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon ground fennel

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon coarse salt

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup honey

1 quart oil for frying

Salt, to taste

Parboil turtle 1-2 hours or until done. Adding a whole, peeled onion and a couple of bouillon cubes will give the turtle a pleasant aroma.

In a small bowl, combine pepper, fennel, oregano, cayenne and salt. Add the lemon juice, mix well and let stand for 15 minutes. Add the honey and mix thoroughly. Pour this mixture over the meat and toss, making sure each piece is well coated. Let marinate at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Remove the turtle and gently pat dry with cloth towels.

In a large saute pan, heat oil to about 350 degrees. Add all the turtle, turn temperature down to 325 degrees and fry for about 10 minutes or until brown. Add salt to taste.

The organizers of the Roadkill Cook-off pronounced this one of the greatest cook-offs of all time. No one in the crowd disagreed.

"Is this a big thing?" asked Lauren Bennett, director of the cook-off. ''We got one guy from The Boston Globe to come out here."