1 small turkey salt and pepper
10 -15 cloves of garlic
6 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of cognac
3 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of red wine
Defrost turkey. Remove giblets and wash with cold water inside and out. Pat dry. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and coriander inside and out. Tie the wings and drumsticks. Ordinary sewing thread will work just fine.
Peel the garlic cloves and crush. Mix the crushed garlic with the butter and the cognac. Rub this paste all over the turkey and return the turkey to the refrigerator to marinate for an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Baste the turkey with the chicken broth and wine. Do it gently so you don’t rub off the garlic paste. Cover the turkey with aluminum foil and roast for about 90 minutes, basting frequently with wine and chicken broth. If your oven isn’t very accurate turn the pan a few times during baking.
After about 90 minutes of cooking remove the aluminum foil cover. Sprinkle with paprika all over and raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees. Stop basting. This will allow the turkey skin to brown and crisp. Continue cooking until the skin is crisp and not watery or greasy. Flip the turkey so it crisps on the other side as well. Total cooking time usually ranges from 2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the turkey.
If you are butchering your own turkey feed it two glasses of wine or cognac the day before. It really does make a difference in the cooked flavor.
