When Kim Taylor of The Sassy Crafter refused to pick up chicken breasts for $7 per pound at her local grocer, she came home with a whole chicken instead, for just 1/3 of the price. The only problem was that she was out of kitchen twine, and she really didn't want to go back out to the store. So what's a girl in trussing distress to do? Why head to the medicine cabinet of course!
A roll of cotton gauze did the trick perfectly! Kim used it just like she would have regular twine. It allowed the juices to flow through while still keeping the bird in its place, and the results of her Paprika Chicken look extra tasty. We love simple solutions to common household problems (we're always losing our twine!) and this is a great one.
• Read more: How to truss a chicken, MacGyver style at The Sassy Crafter
Looking for more chicken roasting tips? Here are a few of our favorites:
• How To Roast a Chicken
• Recipe: Spicy Roasted Chicken Thighs with Miso and Ginger
• The Naughty Way to Roast a Chicken
• Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk Recipe
• Kitchen Magic: How to Cook Moist and Tender Chicken Breasts
• Recipe: Slow-Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken
(Image: Kim Taylor)
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Comments (6)
Plain dental floss, a triple strand of thread of sewing your buttons back on, aluminum foil, an old, clean shoe lace... these are some ideas just off the top of my head.
I've used yarn.
When you have an odd amount of foil at the end of a roll, save these to make all sorts of nifty helpers in a kitchen. Some ideas includes rolling some into a strip to use to truss chicken or turkey (if you have a longer piece) - which I have done. I have also used foil to tent over meat or pies/pie crusts during cooking. Also I have crinkled and then partially unrolled heavy dury scraps to use as a draining rack for fries foods.
Oops - duty, not dury, and fried, not fries...
Just cut a little slit in the loose skin at the bottom end of the chicken, and stick the end of the drumstick through. The chicken trusses itself!
I thought about using yarn, but I only had wool yarn in the house. I figured that wouldn't end up being very appetizing, since wet wool is pretty aromatic -- and not in a good way!
I like the idea about using foil or having the chicken truss itself. I'll keep those in mind for the next time, since I'm now officially out of gauze.