Trussing fowl involves tying a bird’s wings and legs close to its body before cooking. While it may seem like an unnecessary step, the technique offers several benefits that improve the cooking process and the resulting dish. From even cooking to a more polished presentation, hunters should consider trussing whole game birds before roasting, grilling, or smoking them.

Trussing can be especially beneficial for upland birds, such as pheasants, partridge, and grouse. Wild ducks and geese, with their much smaller thighs and short legs, don’t require trussing because those parts are already positioned close to the body.

Cooking Benefits of Trussing Whole Birds

One of the primary reasons to truss game birds is to ensure even heat distribution during cooking. When a bird is left untrussed, its legs and wings splay outward, exposing them to higher heat. Since these smaller parts cook faster than the denser breast or thigh areas, they may become overcooked and dry by the time the rest of the bird is properly up to temperature. When trussed, a bird can cook as a solid unit.

While trussing meat doesn't directly prevent dryness, it can indirectly help retain moisture because of even cooking. Think of roasting a turkey or chicken that hasn’t been trussed—you take it out of the oven to find that the breast, wings, and legs have cooked too quickly for comfort, while the thighs are still under the safe temperature. Naturally, you’d put the bird back in the oven. However, by the time the thighs are finally cooked thoroughly, the breasts are probably dry and the wings are goners.

Better Presentation

My mother always said you eat with your eyes first. A trussed bird looks more appealing when served—its uniformity and neatly tucked wings and legs create a visual that’s good enough for a magazine ad. Taking the time to age, brine, and truss a game bird before cooking it is not only good practice, but also a table centerpiece in itself. It’s what I do when guests are over and the candles and nice placemats are set. It’s an effort to impress.

So, after you bring home birds, identify the ones you plan on trussing. Choose birds that haven’t been shot up too much, especially in the breast area. These birds will be easier to pluck, and they will look nicer on the table.

How to Truss Gamebirds

Truss birds after you’ve seasoned/brined and stuffed them with aromatics. Different cooks have their own techniques for trussing. The following is how I do it, and I use the same method for all upland birds:

1. After plucking and gutting a bird, snip off the head and leave a little bit of the neck behind. With the breast side down, take a piece of kitchen twine—3 feet should be long enough to tie a pheasant—and loop it over the remaining bit of neck, keeping both sides of the twine even.

   

2. Cross the twine.

   

3. Turn the bird over, while running both sides of twine across the wings (if still attached), thighs, and drumsticks, bending the legs as close to the body as you can, and keeping tension on the twine.

   

4. Now with the breast side up, cross the twine underneath the point of the breast, keeping tension.

   

5. Cross the bottom of the drumsticks and secure them by tightly winding twine around both legs before tying off the strings and tucking them underneath the point of the breast.

   

6. Cut off excess twine. Proceed to cooking the bird. Remove twine before serving. For presentation, cut off excess neck.