How One of NYC's Best Soul Food Restaurants Makes Turkey & Gravy | Made to Order | Bon Appétit

Quick Overview

Executive Chef Marcus Woods of Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem, NYC, demonstrates his family's method for preparing a perfectly roasted turkey with southern gravy, emphasizing dry brining, layering aromatics, and using turkey giblets and rendered fat for a flavorful gravy base.

Key Points: The turkey is dry-brined for 24 hours in the refrigerator after being seasoned thoroughly, including under the skin. Aromatics like carrots, celery, onions, garlic, lemon, orange, thyme, and rosemary are roughly chopped and placed in the roasting pan underneath the turkey to create a flavor bed. The compound butter used for coating the turkey is made by blending unsalted butter with Sylvia's seasoning blend, garlic, rosemary, and thyme. The turkey is roasted covered at 350°F for 2 hours, then uncovered, and the oven temperature is increased to 375°F until the internal temperature reaches 160°F, basting 1-2 times while uncovered. The gravy starts with a light brown roux made from rendered turkey fat (or duck fat/chicken fat) and all-purpose flour, cooked until it coats the back of a spoon. Turkey giblets (neck, liver, heart, gizzards) are simmered overnight in water with some vegetables to create a rich stock for the gravy base. The final plated dish features the roasted turkey with gravy, collard greens, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes, embodying the love and history of Sylvia's soul food.

Context: Marcus Woods, the third-generation Executive Chef at Sylvia's Restaurant, the oldest Black-owned restaurant in NYC, shares a cherished recipe for roasted turkey and gravy, rooted in the cooking philosophy of his grandmother, Sylvia Woods, which emphasizes cooking with love and giving your best effort to the food.

Detailed Analysis

Executive Chef Marcus Woods of Sylvia's Restaurant details his technique for roasting a turkey and making accompanying gravy. The process begins with a dry brine: a 12-14 pound turkey is seasoned thoroughly, ensuring the seasoning mixture is rubbed both externally and under the skin, and then left uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours to dry the skin for crispiness. For the roasting pan, Woods creates a bed of aromatics—carrots, celery, onions (red and yellow), garlic, lemon, orange, thyme, and rosemary—to sit underneath the turkey, elevating it on a rack. This bed of vegetables will later be used to flavor the turkey drippings for the gravy. The turkey is coated with a compound butter mixture made from unsalted butter blended with Sylvia's house seasoning, garlic, rosemary, and thyme, ensuring flavor penetrates all crevices, especially under the skin. The turkey roasts covered in foil at 350°F for two hours, then uncovered, and the temperature is raised to 375°F until the internal temperature reaches 160°F, basting 1-2 times while uncovered. For the gravy, the turkey giblets (neck, liver, heart, gizzards) are simmered overnight with vegetables to create a rich stock. A roux is made by cooking equal parts fried chicken oil (or duck fat) and all-purpose flour until it achieves a light brown color, resembling wet sand. The stock is slowly whisked into the roux until it thickens to the desired consistency (coating the back of a spoon) and is seasoned, ensuring the flavor of the fried chicken oil is incorporated. Finally, the chef demonstrates carving the perfectly roasted turkey and plating it with gravy, collard greens, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes, emphasizing that this entire process is a labor of love that feeds the soul.