• Trussing holds the chicken in a uniform shape during cooking and serving it up.
• Trussing makes the chicken compact which means, the wings and the legs are tied close to the body.
• A correctly trussed chicken roasts evenly throughout thus sealing in juices and flavour. As the juices are sealed in, the meat is tender.
• If you are planning to stuff the chicken, trussing will hold the stuffing in place, without falling apart.
• Trussing reduces the chances of the chicken breasts from drying out due to an exposed cavity.
• A well trussed chicken is easier to carve.

Apart from poultry, beef and pork are trussed.

No. Please do not use thread. Thread is not strong enough to pull into knots and will burn during cooking. Further, thread is not heavy gauge and will cut into your hands when trussing.

To truss the chicken, all you need is 180cm (6 feet) of butcher’s twine or kitchen twine or cotton cooking twine, assuming your chicken is large and weighing 2.5kg to 2.8kg. Tailor the twine to the size of your bird. It is better to have longer twine than short, as you can trim off the excess when finished. You will require a shorter twine for a smaller chicken.

The butcher’s twine or kitchen twine is made with unbleached cotton. It is oven safe and does not fray during cooking. It is great for trussing the chicken and is strong enough to pull into tight knots.

You can buy cotton cooking twine at your local Woolworths or Coles supermarkets (comes in 100 metres length) or at Kitchen Warehouse stores or at many cookware stores or online.

Trussing is actually quite simple, but it is hard to write in words. If you find the Step-by-Step tutorial a bit daunting, then below is a simple 5 step method, where you can simply tie the legs together, without running the twine through the contours of the chicken breast.

• Position the stuffed chicken on a large cutting board with the breast-side up and drumsticks facing toward you. Tuck the wings under the body, behind the chicken's back.

• Place 2 feet (60cms) of butcher's twine under the parson's nose (triangular stub where the tail feathers grow) or tail, like a sling, leaving equal lengths on each side of the chicken.

• Secure the drumsticks by lifting both ends of twine and criss-crossing around the ankles to form an X.

• Pull the twine nice and snug so that the ankles are crossed together, pushing the chicken breast up, so it appears that the chicken is very plump (see image above).

• Keeping the twine tight, tie the drumsticks together. Go around the ankles once again and tie another knot nice and snug.

As many of you may be aware, there is more than one way for trussing the chicken. Those who have trussed poultry before will have a trussing method that works best for them.

The method below is not a traditional method but a method I have come up with, after seeing a few videos and reading in detail about trussing. Trussing may sound difficult and parts of it can get tricky but after you truss a chicken a couple of times, it will be fun and you will be a pro.

The full instructions to truss the chicken are in the recipe card below, but here are some helpful tips to go along with the process photos.

Tip: The chicken I bought weighed 2.6kg and was purchased from my local Woolworths supermarket. You must fill the cavity with stuffing before trussing, as once the chicken is trussed, the legs will cover the cavity.

Measure the butcher's twine and get chicken ready

• Cut approx. 6 feet (180cms) twine for a chicken weighing 2.4kg to 2.8kg. For a smaller chicken, cut approx. 2-3 feet twine (90cms) or tailor the twine to the size of your chicken.

• Pat dry chicken inside and out with paper towel to remove excess moisture.

• Position chicken on a cutting board with breast side up and drumsticks pointing towards you. Smear 1 tsp. of the prepared butter mixture | rub into the breast cavity.

Stuff the cavity

• Spoon enough stuffing to loosely fill the cavity. Reserve the rest in the refrigerator for serving as dressing or a side dish on the table.

Position the twine

• Slide twine under the chicken to the centre of the back leaving equal lengths of twine on either side of the chicken

Pull twine up forward and criss-cross around breast to close neck cavity

• Pull twine up and then forward just under the armpits (see video above if in doubt)

• Criss-cross twine snug (pull tight) in front of the breast to close neck cavity (cover the flap of loose skin around the neck and body cavities) and form a knot

Pull twine tight around wings and criss-cross around the breast

• Using your thumbs to tuck the wings, pull twine tightly around the wings and then criss-cross around the breast as shown in the image

Tuck twine tightly under the crown and go under the drumsticks and then come around the back of the legs

• Tuck twine under crown (between the breast and the drumsticks) nice and tight

• Go underneath the drumsticks and come around the back of the legs and criss-cross under the crown again.

• Pull the drumsticks together tight near the ankles so that the chicken breast will pop-up, making the chicken look plump

Secure the twine and tie the knot

• Go around each of the ankles just once, secure the twine and tie the knot. The knot does not need to be a solid knot, but the drumsticks need to be secured tight together at the ankles

• Trim excess twine

The chicken is now trussed and ready to be roasted. You may pierce the chicken in a few places at this stage.

You are now ready to Roast the chicken.

I truly hope you find this step-by-step tutorial with photos useful when trussing a stuffed chicken and will use these steps in preparing Roast Chicken with Stuffing, as a centrepiece of your Christmas table. Don't fret if you don't get it right for the first time. After you truss the chicken a couple of times, you will find it's a lot of fun and soon you will be a pro!!