# How One of NYC's Best Soul Food Restaurants Makes Turkey & Gravy | Made to Order | Bon Appétit Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov9uLm0QEEY Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/Ov9uLm0QEEY Generated: 2025-11-18T18:06:52.345+00:00 --- ## 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. ![Screenshot at 00:10: The finished, beautifully roasted turkey, glistening with juices and garnished with rosemary, is presented alongside rich brown gravy, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese, symbolizing the final, flavorful result of the cooking process.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-00-10.png) **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. ### Turkey Preparation & Dry Brining - A 12-14 pound turkey is seasoned thoroughly, rubbed inside and under the skin, and dry-brined uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours to ensure crispy skin. ### Aromatics and Compound Butter - A bed of roughly chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, onions, garlic, citrus, herbs) is placed in the roasting pan to infuse flavor into the drippings; a compound butter made with herbs and seasoning is slathered under and over the skin. ### Roasting Instructions - Roast the turkey covered at 350°F for 2 hours, then uncover and increase the oven temperature to 375°F, basting 1-2 times until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. ### Gravy Base (Stock) - Turkey giblets (neck, liver, heart, gizzards) are simmered overnight with vegetables to create a flavorful stock, which forms the base of the gravy. ### Roux and Gravy Thickening - A light brown roux is made from equal parts rendered chicken/duck fat and all-purpose flour, cooked until it resembles wet sand; the turkey stock is slowly whisked in until the gravy coats the back of a spoon. ### Carving and Plating - After resting for 30-40 minutes, the turkey is carved, separating the drumsticks and breasts, and plated with gravy, collard greens, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes. ![Screenshot at 00:04: Executive Chef Marcus Woods introduces himself in the kitchen of Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem, NYC.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-00-04.png) ![Screenshot at 00:35: The raw turkey is completely covered in the seasoned compound butter mixture during the preparation phase.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-00-35.png) ![Screenshot at 01:17: The dry brine mixture, containing spices like garlic powder, black pepper, smoked paprika, and onion powder, is prepared in a bowl.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-01-17.png) ![Screenshot at 02:41: The chef carefully ties the trussed turkey with butcher's twine to ensure even cooking.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-02-41.png) ![Screenshot at 04:24: The chef prepares the aromatic base by roughly chopping onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and citrus fruits \(lemon and orange\) to place under the turkey.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-04-24.png) ![Screenshot at 05:51: The compound butter mixture, containing butter, seasonings, rosemary, and thyme, is blended in a food processor to a light, creamy consistency.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-05-51.png) ![Screenshot at 07:52: The turkey is shown fully prepped, seasoned, and resting on a rack over the vegetable base, ready for the oven.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-07-52.png) ![Screenshot at 09:04: The chef bastes the turkey with the accumulated drippings/stock while it roasts uncovered at 375°F.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-09-04.png) ![Screenshot at 10:13: A close-up shows the pop-up thermometer has activated, indicating the turkey is close to being done.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-10-13.png) ![Screenshot at 10:35: The gravy process begins by slowly whisking the turkey stock into a light brown roux simmering in a small pot.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-10-35.png) ![Screenshot at 13:07: The chef begins carving the perfectly roasted turkey, showing the crispy, golden-brown skin and moist interior.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-13-07.png) ![Screenshot at 14:44: The final plated dish features slices of turkey covered in gravy, accompanied by collard greens, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/Ov9uLm0QEEY/00-14-44.png)