Why Is Costco Rotisserie Chicken Pink?

Few things are as satisfying as a supermarket rotisserie chicken. The birds are perfectly cooked and seasoned, the skin is crispy, and they’re ready to take home and serve. But if there’s one star of the pack, it’s the Costco rotisserie chicken, which costs just $4.99 and is bigger than the birds you’ll find at many supermarkets.

Costco is not discontinuing its Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken product, nor is it removing them from store shelves for a temporary period of time. This rumor first began to spread in online advertisements.

Costco’s rotisserie chickens, like plenty of other grocery stores’ chickens, come packaged in a plastic clamshell. You probably don’t give too much thought to the packaging — it seems like a fairly logical and inexpensive way to get that steaming hot chicken from the warehouse store to your kitchen.

Schatzker explained that rotisserie chicken is usually processed, meaning the meat is “pre-seasoned in factories” and then sent off to supermarkets to be cooked by employees. A quick glance at the list of ingredients reveals that the tender meat often contains sodium, sugar, and even modified corn starch.

How much does a Costco rotisserie chicken weigh?

Costco rotisserie chickens always weigh around three pounds cooked. While the rotisserie birds you might find at a supermarket weigh around two pounds, Costco’s birds clock in closer to three pounds. You might even bring home a bird that’s more than three pounds, making the $4.99 price point an even bigger bargain.

There are 10 ingredients included in Costco’s rotisserie chicken, according to the label. But if you’re hoping to find out exactly what spices are used in the chicken’s seasoning, you’re out of luck. The last ingredient is simply “spice extractives,” but Costco isn’t sharing just which spices are included.

In case you’re concerned about Costco running out of its rotisserie chickens before you can make your way to the back of the store, we’ve got it on good authority that when you hear the bell ringing from the Costco deli, it means a fresh batch is ready. Now go, go, go before the rest of the shoppers beat you to it. 9.

The chicken is a major “loss leader” for the brand, and it has a cult following at this point. Last year alone, the warehouse chain sold 91 million rotisserie chickens.

In October, to ensure a steady supply of its three-pound chickens, Costco opened its own chicken farm and processing plant in Fremont, Nebraska. The plant cost $450 million, and its goal is to process two million chickens a week, which will amount to approximately one-third of Costco’s rotisserie chicken requirements.

Costco proudly labels its rotisserie chickens “gluten-free,” which is great for customers who may have a gluten sensitivity. Some rotisserie chickens include flour to help the skin crisp up, but Costco’s chickens don’t.

Dr. Oz has assured his viewers that Costco’s rotisserie chicken is one of the “healthiest processed foods out there, especially if you remove the skin (which I most certainly won’t, in case you’re wondering). It’s also among the healthier of pre-cooked rotisserie chickens available in the marketplace.

How much sodium is in Costco rotisserie chicken?

Good news, Costco fans — the same serving size of their rotisserie chicken comes in at 460 milligrams (or about 5.5 milligrams of sodium per gram of chicken), compared to Sam’s Club’s rotisserie chicken at 550 milligrams.

Sodium phosphate is an additive that helps keep meats moist, and maintains freshness. Modified food starch is an additive typically used for thickening, stabilizing, or emulsifying. Potato dextrin is a thickener and a sweetener, but can also be used to enhance crispness in foods.

Not only is it a steal for its size, but Costco typically ranks number one in rotisserie chicken taste tests, which is completely unsurprising if you’ve ever had even one bite. Whether it goes up against Sam’s Club, Walmart, Kroger , or Whole Foods, Costco is tops.

You’ll find no MSG (monosodium glutamate) there. Although MSG tends to get a bad rap, there’s no doubt that it makes food taste amazing with all its umami-enhancing abilities. But that’s neither here nor there, because Costco’s chicken just doesn’t need it to taste amazing.

If you’ve had just one bite of Costco’s rotisserie chicken, you probably assume that they ‘re injecting it with unicorn tears and magical seasonings, because not only is it impossibly tender, but it also scores a 10/10 on flavor, too.

Chances are good that even if you’re not a card-carrying Costco member, you‘ve heard plenty about their rotisserie chicken, and if you are a card-carrying member of the warehouse store, chances are even better that you‘ve bought one (or 100). They’re hard to resist as an easy weeknight dinner for the family, or, you know, a midnight snack for one.

Yes, the same price as a whole chicken. Think about it: Eight leg quarters would easily yield more meat than a whole chicken — the only thing you’re missing is two breasts and two tiny wings, after all, and six (six!) additional thighs and drumsticks will more than make up for that. Plus, you get all dark meat.