The Secrets Behind Costco’s Famous $4.99 Rotisserie Chickens (2024)

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The Secrets Behind Costco’s Famous $4.99 Rotisserie Chickens? ›

At Costco, where you can buy a rotisserie chicken for $4.99, even with inflation running amok, the chickens are injected with a concentrated saline solution to give them their distinctive taste that customers know and love. And while some customers have discovered off-tasting chicken, not all have.

Simply place a warm rotisserie chicken in a gallon-sized zip-top bag (there's no need to pull the chicken apart or do any other prep), seal the bag, and begin to gently massage the chicken. The drumsticks, breast meat, and thighs will very quickly separate from the bones.

In June 2022, two Costco shareholders filed a lawsuit in Washington accusing the company of knowingly breeding chickens too large to stand up, where "disabled birds slowly die from hunger, thirst, injury, and illness." Costco executives were named as defendants for allegedly ignoring reports of the abuse.

The reason Costco's chicken is so juicy is because of a salt solution pumped inside, which is basically like super-brining. That makes the meat moist and evenly seasoned every time, delivering a consistent—though there has been some Reddit uproar about weird-tasting chicken lately in some states—tasting chicken.

Indeed, Costco's rotisserie chickens include phosphate among a laundry list of other ingredients with very long names. And while ideally consumers shouldn't be able to taste phosphate, Thippareddi said, some are more sensitive to the chemical than others.

Many of the ingredients found on the label of a Costco rotisserie chicken are injected into the flesh of the bird. This is typically done to add flavor.

As is the case at most grocery chains, Costco's rotisserie chickens are a loss leader. “Very few people simply buy the chicken and leave,” John Longo, a professor at Rutgers Business School, told The Hustle. “They probably shop for other items that provide higher profit margins.”

Costco's rotisserie chicken is arguably the most controversial piece of poultry in America. In the span of just one year, customers have claimed that the rotisserie chicken tastes like chemicals and causes gastrointestinal issues.

In a 2023 earnings call, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said Costco's rotisserie chicken is "an investment in low prices to drive membership, to drive sales in a big way." That's a fancy way of saying that the product is a "loss leader" for the warehouse store giant.

Costco chickens are thoroughly cooked and temperature checked. There are many factors involved in cooked chicken with a pink tinge. The most likely source is the food that they're fed. Costco raises its own chickens so they're diet has a great deal to do with the color after they're fully cooked.

Who supplies Costco chicken? ›

In 2019, Costco set up its own chicken production facility in Fremont, Nebraska. Alongside the establishment of this facility, the grocer also hired Lincoln Premium Poultry to oversee production.

In 2019, the grocer established its own massive chicken production complex in Fremont, Nebraska, and partnered with a company called Lincoln Premium Poultry (or LPP) to manage it.

The suit alleges that Costco intentionally breeds chickens too large to stand on their own, and the "disabled birds slowly die from hunger, injury and illness." The company's practices are illegal in Iowa and Nebraska, two states where Costco keeps chickens, the complaint further alleges.

Rotisserie chicken lasts for up to four days if cooked and stored correctly. Keep the chicken in an airtight container or zip-top bag, and do not consume leftover chicken if left at room temperature for an extended period of time (more than two hours).

However, numerous studies and scientific research have confirmed that the use of chlorinated water to chill and clean chicken is safe and effective. Chlorine-washed chicken does not pose any human health concerns and it is not present in the final product.

The $5 price tag isn't the only reason to buy one.

Another reason why you might have to do a lap around the store before more chicken appears is that there is no limit on how many rotisserie chickens shoppers can buy.