Do I have to tie my turkey legs together?
I forgot to buy twine for tying my turkey's legs together. How important is that? I've heard that it's mostly for presentation, but it may also help prevent the turkey from drying out and may help keep the stuffing in.
Is there any validity to these claims?
Also, is there an alternative I might have around the house? I've thought about sewing thread, but that probably has polyester in it and it seems like it could melt.
Best Answer
If you're following a particular recipe to the letter, and it specifies tying the legs together, then you might want to consider it. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.
Trussing a bird will pull it together into a more compact shape, the reasoning for cooking being that it will cook more evenly if it's closer to a uniform spheroid shape, rather than having leg and wing bits sticking out all over. The argument against it is that it decreases total surface area, increases total cooking time, and causes the outside parts (particularly the white meat, which overcooks sooner) to cook more before the inner parts are done. The variations in your oven and in the turkey itself will cause just as much (or more) error as trussing.
That can be risky with stuffing, which will be the last to fully cook, and might have soaked up all those yummy raw turkey juices. Leaving the legs open (not to lewd) can give the stuffing a bit more surface area, and will expose the thin flaps of skin on the sides to allow even more heat to get to the stuffing sooner.
As far as keeping the stuffing inside, I doubt it will be a problem unless you have a very dry and loose or very wet stuffing - and if some spills out, so what? Extra crunchy bits.
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Quick Answer about "Do I have to tie my turkey legs together?"
But is it strictly necessary? Some cooks say that trussing a turkey so the legs are drawn up tightly against the breast helps prevent the breast meat from overcooking. And some cooks say that leaving the legs untied helps air circulate around the legs and thighs, resulting in more areas of beautifully crispy skin.Do I need to tie up my turkey?
No matter how much brining, seasoning or rubbing you provide your turkey on Thanksgiving, if you don't truss the bird it just won't cook right. Trussing the turkey helps ensure that everything cooks evenly \u2015 and that the wings and legs don't burn.How do you hold turkey legs together?
Substitutes for TwineTrussABird
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Answer 2
Some people, and some well known Chef's (Micheal Ruhlman, Julia Child) swear that trussing is necessary. I say that it is not, and that the meat between the thigh and the breast, on a trussed bird, cooks too slowly so that the rest of the bird risks overcooking. I do just the opposite and splay out the legs as much as I can.
My two favourite sources for recipes (Heston Blumenthal, and the cookbook The New Best Recipe) do not truss for Chicken and I wouldn't for Turkey either.
Unless you are convinced that a trussed bird cooks more evenly, I would say that it is mostly for presentation.
Answer 3
I didn't tie the legs and stuffed the bird with cornbread apple stuffing, turned out very well cooked. I made sure to baste every 30 minutes and cooked this 20 pounder for 4 hours.
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