Go to the Article: Tips & Tricks: Best Way to Truss a Chicken
Good eye! This is true, the picture in Step 5 leaves the wings free-floating, while the main step video shows the wings bound to the crown. Having done this method many times before, I can tell you: It's a stylistic choice, and doesn't affect the overall cooking quality of the bird. If you prefer a more compact chicken that cooks evenly in a rotisserie or a Dutch oven, then binding the wings to the crown as shown in the video can help. The tradeoff? You won't get as much even crisping on the crown where the wings meet the crown's skin.
If you are prioritizing a consistently brown and crisp crown with little imperfections, then we'd recommend leaving the wings free-floating. Doing so also means you get intact, crispy wings that are relatively easy to tear off the cage. The potential downside, as you point out, is that the wings can "flap about" during cooking, or could cook at too quickly during roasting.
Hope this clears things up!
picture 5 is at odds with the video —- in the video the wings are "bound" while in the photo they're free as a bird! That being said if trussed this way 3 times now using the video. And I think that's how it's done… I'm rotissering (easy for me to spell!), so I don't want the wings flapping about.
It’s AMAZING that every chicken is a he. Jerk.
Love this truss technique!!! Simple and effective.
viet nam
hi robin! you can go on amazon and buy 2 extra forks to add to your rottiserie. slide one fork down near the end and tighten( use pliers if you have to tighten them properly). then go through the side of the chicken with your spit rod and press fork all the way into the chicken . next, slide your next fork down to the chicken, and press all the way into the chicken and ,again tighten with pliers if you have to. next, slide your next fork down to about an inch from the other fork and repeat. the forks going through the sides of the chickens will hold very nicely and shouldn't flop at all! theres way more surface area for the forks to penetrate the chicken to hold it nice and snug! i bought these extra forks on amazon for about 10 bucks! i hope this helps you out! good luck!
Oh my! What a difference this trussing method made, the chicken was cooked to perfection, ChefSteps you hit it out of the ballpark again.
I enjoy your energy and ability to make INTERESTING an FUN videos.
To many time the presenter is monotone and boring.
Thanks for enlightening everyone while educating them.
As a retired Chef Instructor, I mus say "BRAVO MAESTRO"
tried this out. worked amazingly well. i really appreciated how more of the skin became golden.
i mixed a couple techniques. one, i trussed per this video. two, i used a pre-heated cast-iron skillet in a 425 oven, and cooked the bird for 90 minutes. worked perfectly.
Great pictures. How well does this work with duck?
I understand the breast trussing portion, but only because in the US they do not know how to slaughter a chicken. In Europe, France in particular, the neck is opened/cut from the back leaving all the neck skin to fold under the bird. This makes for crazy good pan juices and the "cook's little morsel" while carving. Also, why didn't you remove the wishbone? I like this method, but is seems better for small birds, 2.5 - 2.7 or so roasted very hot, and basted with butter.
I am curious about whether or not you make any alterations to the cooking time and temp? 20mins/lb at 350F is what I normally go with...
Yes! That's actually a recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Here's a link to the recipe!
Might there be a recipe for said Panzenella salad?
Hey I am experiencing a real stumper: I have a very hard time trussing chickens to a rotisserie rod. I usually do 2 chickens at a time. No matter how tightly I jam them onto the rod, or how well I think I've tied them up, they ALWAYS start flopping around on the rotisserie eventually. And when I jam them together, the parts that are jammed together don't brown properly. AND, no matter how tightly I screw the thumbscrew for the forks onto the rod, it ALWAYS loosens, and then is too hot to re-tighten. I realy hope you all have another genius idea, because I don't rotisserie anymore because of it, although I love the flavor etc.
My rotisserie is just a standard BBQ rotisserie (DCS 36" Barbecue). The rod is about 3' long, and it only comes with two forks. This thing:
Maybe this isn't the place to post this, but it seems appropriate. Perhaps someone out there can help me figure this out? Better yet, how about another tips video?
Technically you should have flipped "her" over at 1:22 ... say's Lindsey B.
There is no way you can compare the flavour of a spatchcock with that of a trussed bird! Its not always about how quick we can cook something, its about getting the best flavour and roasting whole will mean it will have to be in the oven longer, and less moisture loss because of the cavity of the bird. I don't believe you get less moisture loss on a spatchcock bird. By opening the bird you just enlarged the surface area and gave it a flatter profile that can dry out much faster.
heart.
A revelation! Best chook ever - we're converts, grateful for the tip and will be passing it on (with credit where it's due of course!).
Nice!
I used to be hot on spatchcocking, until I tried the "Leaping Frog" cut.
ttp://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/06/leaping-frog-chicken.html
I'm with you John. I started spatchcocking (sp) several years ago when the Thanksgiving turkey made the kitchen/dining room so hot (South Florida) that my guests were uncomfortable. After a little experimenting I discovered I could have a much juicier bird in a fraction of the time with all the benefits of a large turkey. I don't serve the bird whole anyway, I like to carve and buffet, so it was all win. If I present the carved bird the same way it lays in the oven my guests can find the piece they want easily. They think I invented this. (Don't tell on me.)
I had the "A ha!" moment about not trussing in the legs of fowl last year while reading how to smoke a turkey on AmazingRibs.com. Detailed, amusing post was very satisfying. "If you cook the bird the traditional way, whole, like the Normal Rockwell bird, do not truss or tie the bird. Let the entire surface brown, even the armpits and crotch, because nobody wants to eat rubbery skin. This will help the thighs and drumsticks cook faster because they need to be cooked to a higher temp than the breasts." Now, whenever I cook a bird, I think, "the armpits and crotch need to breathe!"
http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck/ultimate_smoked_turkey.html
Might help to include him/her in the process. It usually helps if they feel empowered and know how it is made. Beyond that, try what he likes. The breast is probably easier on the pallet, the legs are more fun to eat.
Definitely works for turkey too, yep!
Nice method. Definetly going to try out both of these techniques. I dislike overdone breasts! I generally debone the turkey or chicken whole and create a roulade. I blowtorch the skin that will be wrapped inside the roulade using a searzall.
This is great! Makes me want to eat some chicken now...How long and at what temperature do you roast that chicken? Do you use olive oil or butter?
That dish at the end looks delicious. Recipe ?
Common sense! You guys are fabulous!
Cover it with Kraft mac n cheese or peanut butter... LOL. Although seriously, maybe a sweeter glaze might help... say, teriyaki and pineapple? We got my daughter to eat meat when she was really little by pretending she was a puppy and then giving her a meaty "treat" for performance.
Looks like a weird Barbie doll when it's done! LOL I've been doing it all wrong, apparently. I truss so that the legs are crossed over the cavity. I also fold back the wing tips at the joint and position the tips underneath the arm
I don't usually bother trussing the chicken at all, although we do often spatchcock, as John mentioned. But, what a bright and clear video, thanks!
Off to dig out the Zuni recipe for panzanella....yummy, indeed.
It's easier for me to simply spatchcock a bird. Cut the backbone out, flatten the bird by pressing on the breasts, cook 'bone side' down. The bird cooks faster since it is being heated from both sides. You get a good bronzing, and retain juice since you aren't cooking for as long a period. Carving is easier too.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/video-how-to-spatchcock-turkey-thanksgiving.html
It's a great way to smoke a bird too.
Have you tried trussing a turkey the same way? Thinking of Thanksgiving.
No, that was never the idea. The idea was to truss as to make the bird more compact. It's hard to dry out dark meat. The traditional was does that but at the expense of either poorly cooked/crisped skin where the leg/thigh meets the body, unevenly cooked meat (at the same spot), or properly cooked dark meat and overcooked breast. I haven't bothered trussing in decades as a result. I'll likely check out this new method for the helluvit but I'm not sure I'll adopt it. We'll see. It's easy not to bother at all.
Amazing!!! After watching the video, I just want to eat roasted chicken everyday 🍗
Definitely I'm going to try this technique
Once again you are awesome!!! #CHEFSTEPSRULES!!!
Did you watch the video or read the article as to why they do it as they do?
Never saw a chicken trussed like this before, the idea is to pull the legs and wings as close to the body of the bird so that they will not dry out! Not sure that I agree with the new way!
Love it, looking forward to trying this next time we have a roast chicken. Any tips on how to get a 5 y/o to eat it?
Thanks for showing this method. I used to truss chickens the old way with the legs brought in close to the body but found, as you mention, that there was a good bit of the skin that never browned and, of course, the issue of the breast getting done before the legs and thighs. So I stopped trussing them. I'll try this, but it looks like it might really work! Thanks.
This completely goes against the advice I was given by Public Enemy on this subject back in the 90s...
From Brian Polcyn: "Why do we truss chickens? Because we can't truss lawyers." (Works better out loud of course.)
