This simple method for how to truss a chicken takes just a few minutes! Once done, your chicken will cook more evenly and extra crispy.
Why and How to Truss a Chicken
- Struggling to get your chicken to cook evenly or can’t seem to achieve the super crispy skin your heart desires? Well, this quick and easy trick will help with both of those things! Once a chicken is trussed, it will bake more evenly and the skin will get a whole lot crispier.
- It takes no more than a couple minutes to do! This method on how to truss a chicken is super fast and convenient. All you need is a whole chicken, some butcher’s twine, and very little effort.
- You can add this step to any whole roast chicken recipe you’d like! I chose to to simply season my chicken with a little bit of ghee, salt, and pepper (following this recipe) after I trussed it. However, you can season and cook your trussed chicken any way your heart desires!
What You Need to Truss a Chicken
Whole Chicken – Any sized bird will work here. I used a 3 ½ pound chicken and had great results, but you can truss any sized chicken you’d like. You can even use this how to truss a chicken method on a turkey! Come back to this post around the holidays and simply follow the same steps to truss your Thanksgiving turkey.
Butcher’s Twine – This 100% cotton, unbleached string is completely oven-safe. Do not try to use any other kind of string when cooking. Butcher’s twine is the only twine that is totally safe for culinary use. I recommend purchasing a large spool of butcher’s twine to last you years! You’ll have plenty of twine to truss all your chickens and for any other twine-necessary recipes that comes your way.
Chef’s Tips
- Practice this how to truss a chicken method a few times before tying and securing the twine. I always do one practice run on my bird before committing to a knot! However, if you do feel like you might’ve messed up – simply cut off the twine and try it again.
- Remember that you will get better with time! Trussing a chicken becomes almost muscle-memory after your first few tries. And once you see how much more evenly and crispy your chicken bakes when trussed, you’ll never want to not truss a chicken again.
- Trim the ends of your twine once you’ve tied the bow. Depending on the size of your chicken, you might have quite a bit of twine leftover. Remove any extra string with a simple snip of your scissors before baking!
Whole Roast Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Whole Chicken with Gravy
- 30 Whole Chicken Recipes
- Spatchcock Chicken with Garlic Herb Butter
- Best Ever Easy Roast Chicken
- Quick Chicken Brine
- Mango Habanero Wings
Hey – you’ve made it this far, and now we’re best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!
How to Truss a Chicken
Equipment
- 3 ¼ feet (approximately 1 meter) butcher's twine
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
Instructions
- Place a piece of kitchen twine about 1 meter long in the center of your work surface.
- Place the chicken on top, breast up, and bring the twine up and over the legs, down along the crease where the leg meets the body.
- Run twine under then over the ends of each leg. Bring strings toward each other and cross them over each other to form an X.
- Take each end of twine and pull it back underneath each leg, pulling tight to bring both legs close together.
- Lift twine up and over legs, meeting in the center and secure with a bow.
- Take wing tips and pull them up and behind the body of the chicken, tucking behind the body. Cook chicken as desired.
Notes
- I cooked my trussed chicken with the recipe from our Best Ever Easy Roast Chicken post!
- This method will also work with a turkey! Simply follow the same steps for how to truss a turkey instead.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out 40 Aprons Premium! 40 Aprons Premium offers exclusive recipes, monthly meal plans, grocery lists, and more – all completely ad free!
Hi! I’m Sam, a travel, food and fitness enthusiast from the New York metro area. I love creating new and inventive recipes, and my favorite part is sharing them with others. My love of food goes all the way back to my early childhood, I grew up cooking alongside my mom and Nonna – the two best cooks I know! When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m either planning my next vacation, spending time outdoors (preferably on a beach), or bingeing Netflix’s latest docu-series. My passion for eating and living well led me to create the blog and Instagram account, Sam Does Her Best, where I health-ify my favorite comfort foods. I’m a big believer that good-for-you food can still be exploding with flavor and (most importantly) easy to make. I’m thrilled to be here at 40 Aprons doing what I do best – creating, photographing, and sharing delicious recipes with you all!
Leave a Reply