How To Truss A Chicken (Just in Few Minutes)

It only takes a few minutes to truss a chicken with this simple method! Your chicken will be more uniformly cooked and extremely crispy when you’re finished.

Why Should You Master This Cooking Technique?

• Are you having trouble getting your chicken to cook evenly or getting the extremely crispy skin you crave? Well, this simple method will assist you with both of those issues! When a bird is trussed, it bakes more uniformly, and the skin crisps up significantly.
• It only takes a few minutes to complete! This method for trussing a bird is really quick and easy. A whole chicken, some butcher’s twine, and very little work are all you need.
• This step can be added to any entire roast chicken recipe! After trussing my chicken, I simply seasoned it with a little ghee, salt, and pepper (following this recipe). You can, however, season and cook your trussed chicken as you choose!

To Truss a Chicken, You’ll Need

Whole Chicken — Any size chicken would suffice. I had amazing results with a 3 12 pound chicken, but you may truss any size chicken you like.

This method for trussing a chicken can also be used to truss a turkey! Return to this page around the holidays to truss your Thanksgiving turkey using the same procedures.

Butcher’s Twine — This unbleached, 100 percent cotton string can be used in the oven. When cooking, avoid using any other type of string. Butcher’s twine is the only type of twine that is completely safe to use in the kitchen.

I suggest investing in a huge spool of butcher’s twine that will last you for years! You’ll have enough of twine to truss all of your hens, as well as any other recipes that call for twine.

Chef’s Advice

• Before tying and attaching the twine, practice this how-to truss a chicken method a few times. Before committing to a knot, I always take a practice run on my bird! If you think you might have made a mistake, simply snip off the string and try again.
• Keep in mind that you will improve over time! After a few tries, trussing a bird becomes practically muscle memory. You’ll never want to roast a chicken without trussing it again after you see how much more uniformly and crispy it bakes when trussed.
• Once you’ve tied the bow, trim the ends of the twine. You may have a lot of twine leftover depending on the size of the chicken. Before baking, remove any surplus thread with an easy snip of your scissors!

How to Truss A Chicken

It only takes a few minutes to truss a chicken with this simple method! Your chicken will be more uniformly cooked and extremely crispy when you’re finished.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken

Equipment

• 3 ¼ feet (approximately 1 meter) butcher’s twine

Instructions To Truss A Chicken

1. Place a 1-meter-long piece of kitchen twine in the center of your work surface.
2. Bring the twine up and over the legs, down along the crease where the leg joins the body, and place the bird on top, breast up.
3. Run twine under and over each leg’s ends. Bring the strings closer together and cross them over to make an X.
4. Pull each end of the string back underneath each leg, tightening it to bring both legs together.
5. Lift the string up and over the legs, meeting in the middle and tying a bow.
6. Pull the wing tips up and behind the chicken’s body, tucking them behind the body. Cook the chicken to your liking.

Notes

• This method can also be used to cook a turkey! Instead, simply follow the same methods for trussing a turkey.

The nutritional facts displayed are for 1 serving out of 6 from a 3 12 pound whole chicken and are approximate. The exact macros will vary depending on the brand, type, and size of chicken used.

Prepare the recipe as directed to get the weight of one serving. Weigh the final recipe, then divide the weight (excluding the weight of the container in which the food is stored) by the desired number of servings.

The weight of one serving will be the result.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 273kcal, Protein: 24g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 95mg, Sodium: 89mg, Potassium: 240mg, Vitamin A: 178IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 14mg, Iron: 1mg