How to Truss a Chicken (or any poultry, for that matter)

Happy Monday, guys!

How was everyone's weekend?!  Ours was crazy busy!  Not only did I have to work both Saturday and Sunday, but on Saturday morning we had a massive yard sale to clear all the clutter out of our house!  We ended up making over $700 (which well surpassed our goal!)  We managed to sell more than half of our junk and make a little cash in the process! Score!

So chickens.  I love cooking whole chickens.  Number one, it's a lot cheaper than buying broken down pieces.  And two, anything I have left over always gets used up for something else - i.e. bones = stock, meat = chicken salad.  We've been loving some chicken salad here lately.

To make sure your whole chicken cooks evenly and that it retains as much moisture as possible, you definitely want to truss your chicken.  That's basically the process of tying the bird into a compact shape.  Don't know how to do it?  Well, it's your lucky day because that's what we'll be doing!  So get your chicken and get your twine and let's do it!

Square up your bird using your hands to press it firmly on both sides.  You can either choose to tuck the wing behind the back or trim off the first and second joints of the wing.  Personally, I like keeping the wing in tact - it's just a better presentation, in my opinion.

  
Cut a piece of butcher's twine about 3 times the length of the bird.  Keeping the breast side up and the neck towards you, slide the twine under the bird, about 1 inch in front of the tail.

Bring the twine up around the legs and cross the ends, making an "X" in between the legs.  Bring the ends of the twine below the legs.

Pull the ends of the twine tightly under the thigh joint and over the wing. 

Pull the string tight and tie just above the neck.

Voila!  You're ready to oil this baby up, season her with salt and pepper (and any herbs you see fit) and roast her to a nice juicy, golden brown!