Monday, January 12, 2009

Cooking Tip - How to Truss a Chicken or Turkey

 
How to truss a bird.

Pin It

How to Truss a Chicken or Turkey

Trussing a chicken or turkey helps it to hold its shape together better and cook more evenly, making for a nicer looking bird and one that is easier to carve. There are lots of ways people do this, and some get rather complicated! To me, this way is the easiest and personally, I'm all for easy!

But remember, this is just a basic diagram - you may find it easier to tie if you wrap the twine around the feet several times - do what feels best for you. You are basically just trying to tighten it all together, so use this as a guide and adapt it for yourself.

To start you'll need some twine, so cut a piece of cotton twine that is about two arm's length long and soak it in some water; set it aside. While that is soaking, rinse the bird well, inside and out, and set it in the roasting pan, or on a tray or platter to avoid transferring any juices to your cutting board or counter top. Pat dry with paper towels until the chicken is thoroughly dried. Season the inside cavity with desired herbs and aromatics.

Now you're ready to truss.

Lay the center of the twine underneath the tail and cross it over, tightening.

Keeping it tight, pull each end of the twine up underneath the back of the thighs and legs and then bring it over the top of the meaty part of the legs.

Draw the twine straight outward, wrap under the feet, wrap over, then under again.

Draw the feet tightly together and cross the twine and knot.

Bring the twine back down to the tail and wrap around it again.

Draw it all together very tightly, tie into a knot or two and then a bow.

If you're roasting it, this is time you want to butter him up - AFTER you truss, not before!

Now you'll want to tuck the wing tips.

Turn the bird so the legs are away from you and the neck and breast are closest to you. Grab the wing tip and press it directly down toward you, across the breastbone and tuck it up underneath the breast.

See how the tip of the wing is now tucked up under the breast?

Repeat on the other side. Now you are ready to roast!



Requires Adobe Reader - download it free!



Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Do not repost or republish elsewhere without explicit prior permission. All rights reserved.
.

As an Amazon Associate, Deep South Dish earns from qualifying purchases. See full disclosure for details.




Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

Articles on this website are protected by copyright. You are free to print and sharing via Facebook share links and pinning with Pinterest are appreciated, welcomed and encouraged, but do not upload and repost photographs, or copy and paste post text or recipe text for republishing on Facebook, other websites, blogs, forums or other internet sites without explicit prior written approval.
Click for additional information.


© Copyright 2008-2024 – Mary Foreman – Deep South Dish LLC - All Rights Reserved

Material Disclosure: This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from the provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.





Email Subscription DSD Feed