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A whole raw chicken with legs tied together, placed on a plain white surface, viewed from above.
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How to Truss a Chicken

A whole chicken is really five pieces cooking at five different rates, and three feet of butcher's twine is what pulls them back together. Two ways to tie it: the two minute version you will use on a Tuesday, and the full classic truss for the bird that goes to the table whole.
Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 chicken
Author Kita Roberts

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 3 feet butcher's twine unbleached cotton, 5 feet for the full classic truss
  • 1 whole chicken 3 to 5 lb, fully thawed, patted dry

Instructions

Method 1: The Two Minute Truss

  • Cut about 3 feet of twine. Cut extra, it's better to have too much here than to start over.
  • Lay the bird breast side up with the twine centered underneath at the leg joints, both ends even.
    Raw whole chicken with legs tied, placed on a white surface, viewed from above.
  • Pull both ends up and over the drumsticks, seating the twine down in the crease where the legs meet the body.
    Raw whole chicken, trussed with kitchen twine, placed on a plain white surface.
  • Pass each end under and back over its own drumstick, then cross the two ends over each other into an X.
    Raw whole chicken with legs tied together with kitchen twine, placed on a plain white surface.
  • Draw the legs together until the drumstick ends touch. Snug, not strangled. If the skin is puckering or denting, back it off.
    Whole uncooked chicken with legs tied together, placed on a white surface.
  • Bring the ends back over the drumsticks and finish with a firm double knot, or a bow you can kill with one snip later.
    Raw whole chicken with legs tied together, placed breast-side up on a plain white background.

Method 2: The Full Classic Truss

  • Cut about 5 feet of twine, roughly five times the length of the bird. Slide the midpoint under the back so both ends come out even.
    Raw whole chicken with tied legs placed on a white cutting board, viewed from above.
  • Loop the twine under the wing tips so they pin tight against the body. Tuck the tips back behind the shoulders if they will go.
    Raw whole chicken with wings and legs visible, lying breast-up on a white surface, with twine placed near the top.
  • Flip the bird breast side down, bring both ends around the back, loop once, and pull gently to take up the slack.
    Raw whole chicken with legs tied together with kitchen twine, placed on a white surface.
  • Turn it breast side up again, cross the twine over the cavity opening, then pull both ends down and around the ankles, meaning the very ends of the drumsticks.
    Raw whole chicken with legs tied together, placed on a white surface.
  • Cross once more and tie a firm double knot. Lift the bird an inch by the twine. If nothing sags and nothing swings, you tied it right.
    A whole raw chicken with legs tied together, placed on a plain white surface, viewed from above.

Notes

  • Pat the bird bone-dry before you start. Wet skin makes twine slide, and you will fight the knot the whole way.
  • Salt before you tie, not after. Once the legs pull in, you lose access to the inner thigh and the crease along the breast.
  • Skip trussing entirely for spatchcocked birds, for the slow cooker, and for any night crackling skin everywhere matters more than even cooking.
  • A trussed bird is done at 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh, measured away from the bone. Trussing tucks the thigh in tighter, so probe from the outside of the leg rather than down through the top.
  • Cut the twine off after the bird rests, not before. This helps it hold shape through the rest.