In the Kitchen: Trussing a Chicken

OK, I'm trying to pump up my visitor count on this blog so I'm adding this bondage film for the alternative audience. All right, I'm joking. You saw that coming. This is just a quick demo on "trussing" poultry. I was at a friend's home awhile back and she and her husband were struggling with twine trying to tie up their chicken. I took over and quickly looped the twine into a simple trussing pattern. Maybe I'm inherently talented with rope and knots, but I have to give credit to seeing this technique first demonstrated by Bobby Flay on the Food Network a few years back. It's a quick way to truss the chicken without having to flip it over or move parts around. Trussing helps keep your poultry in shape while roasting, and I find that with the drumsticks tucked close together, it helps keep the cavity closed and prevent anything you stuff inside from falling out. Like I mention in the demo, there's some debate on whether trussing is really necessary. I think more people are going without the twine, and letting their birds hang free and easy. You decide.