12 Little-Known Facts About Costco’s Rotisserie Chickens

If you’re a Costco member, then it’s never a bad time to remind you why picking up a rotisserie chicken is always a good bet. The spit-roasted birds are great to have on hand when you don’t feel like doing the whole cooking rigamarole. There isn’t much to crack in terms of the whole bird’s appeal with shoppers. Tender, fall-off-the-bone meat, a golden skin that crackles and shines. They’re simply handy for on-the-fly dinners or as short-cuts to quick enchiladas or stews, and the price— oh boy, the price — is a downright bargain at just five bucks. 

Costco formally hit the scene in 1983, and in about a decade, the retailer would begin hawking the spit-roasted delicacies on a permanent basis, where they’ve stayed in the rotation ever since. Just in 2023, card carriers took home 137 million chickens — 20 million more than the year prior — so it seems doubtful customers will stop flocking to the meal prep staple anytime soon.

Planning how to shred and chop the poultry to its potential is just half the story behind the best-selling bird. What prompted Costco’s move into the chicken business? Who came up with the idea to sell them? Why are they so inexpensive? There’s a lot more than longtime members might know, and the dozen tidbits we’ve laid out here are proof. 

It wasn’t always the case that sizzling-hot whole chickens could be swooped off a heating tray from your local supermarket. Nowadays, they’re a dime a dozen. So what spurred big-box retailers such as Costco to bring roast poultry into the mix, anyway? Frequent shoppers probably don’t realize when the store incorporated rotisserie chickens in 1994, they were taking notes from, what was at the time, a booming dining franchise. 

The origins of chicken dinners at an arm’s reach really took off in the 1980s, when Boston Market sought to give the roasted delicacy a shot in the takeout lane. The New England-based company makes the news these days for its ill-fated luck, from bankruptcy troubles to dwindling foot traffic. But in its prime, the homey establishment, which was first called Boston Chicken, was sort of revolutionary. Instead of grab-bags of hamburgers and fries, the quick-service eatery specialized in plump, juicy chickens with all the sides. It certainly lived up to its mission of slow-roasted deliciousness.

Clearly, rotisserie chickens were a bonafide money-maker for Boston Market. And Costco wanted to make more money, too. Hence, the affordable deli staple was born. 

With how many bronzed birds members buy up en masse, Costco should seemingly be making a killing off of them, right? Surprisingly, as it turns out, the company doesn’t. This popular product doesn’t play much of a role in the retailer’s economic gains; in fact, Costco clocks the rotisserie chickens as a loss. As reported by The Seattle Times, an earnings call from 2015 revealed that the store doesn’t turn a profit from the birds, and in the long term, they cost corporate millions of dollars. 

Per The Seattle Times, chief officer Richard Galanti testified that Costco would be “willing to eat, if you will, $30 to $40 million a year in gross margin.” Doesn’t this seem like a strange hit to take on the corporate level? In layman’s terms, Costco utilizes the chickens to coax shoppers into stores. They’re the Trojan horse that inspires visitors to step foot into the warehouse, where they’ll encounter bigger, grander purchases to take home — the newest Macbook model, a flat-screen TV — while perusing the essentials they came for in the first place. 

If you can lure a patron in so they can buy a roast chicken for dinner, they might justify pulling the trigger on a spendy new gadget. Technically, the company is raking in the money — it’s simply coming from other, more profitable channels. 

As any card-holder knows, the rotisserie spit in Costco’s brick-and-mortars never seems to stop spinning. Some folks like to hover around the deli department until the staff unveil a new case of whole chickens, freshly-cooked and fit for the taking. Assuming you idle around the counter like everybody else, there’s actually a way to pluck the juiciest rotisserie chicken from Costco without forcing yourself to stand in line — and all it takes is perking up your ears. When you hear a bell ringing in the store, that’s the employees sounding an alarm — literally — when fresh a batch is ready to go and available for purchase.

Akin to the silver bell signaling Santa’s existence in The Polar Express, that bright jangling indicates not only more chicken is out on the rack, but the birds will be extra-crackly and steaming-hot. To be fair, the warehouse already knows the rotisserie chicken draws an insatiable hunger from guests, and the constant replenishments are proof of that. By the time you reach the conveyor belt, there’s likely going to be a generous selection waiting for you, with or without the bell. Assuming you want the absolute cream of the crop, however, listening for the tinkling sound produces a Pavlovian response in getting to the front first for that excellent poultry. 

Costco’s low prices are already legendary, and no item really exemplifies this level of highway robbery quite like the rotisserie chicken. Whereas inflation strikes most groceries like a pathogen, the poultry’s demonstrated a unique resistance to the infectious price-hikes blazing through the country. It’s remained under the five-dollar mark for virtually as long as we can remember. However, there was a tiny blip where the warehouse couldn’t retain this bargain and had to raise the cost temporarily, a memory loyal members have likely forgotten about in the years since. 

As The Hustle noted in a 2022 write-up, Costco rotisserie chicken saw a spike amidst the Great Recession. This was when the banks collapsed in 2008, plunging the world into a financial downturn touching every corner of society. With this, the warehouse was confronted with the reality of the crisis For the duration of the year, stores charged a dollar more for the spit-roasted standby, the $4.99 price-point shifting to $5.99. 

Of course, Costco didn’t keep it this way forever — it would be a major betrayal to its savings-friendly ethos. Once the economic situation settled, locations managed to reinstate the cheaper sum without a hitch. 

Poultry is an excellent protein source, packed with essential vitamins that fuel your body. The nutritional benefits are many, so picking up a rotisserie chicken to shred into mouthwatering dinners for the week is a no-brainer. Mega-fans are usually so swept up in the carnivorous feasting that they overlook a surprising tidbit about the Kirkland offering: there’s a lot of additives in there. Glimpsing at the label on the packaging exposes an extensive array of compounds going far beyond meat and a spice blend — including sodium phosphates, sugars, dextrose, and other add-ins. 

Now, much of this is due to how rotisserie chicken is cooked already. These slow-roasted birds are normally boosted with salt during the preparation process, which gives the flesh its soft, fall-apart tenderness. All the tempting aspects of this poultry — the crackly skin, the luscious meat — means outlets like Costco will utilize processed components to retain the taste and texture, without a downturn in quality. Consider one additive in the lineup, modified corn starch, whose stabilizing properties contribute to the bird’s mouthfeel and shiny coating. 

Maybe carving into the whole poultry (skin and all) beats deep-fried chicken. With the sodium and added fillers, it’s not going to be as nutritionally pure as poultry seared on the stove. 

Given that Costco counts on millions flocking to its stores, rotisserie chickens are replenished during business hours to a startling degree. It’s definitely rare to encounter a shelf that isn’t picked clean of the signature poultry. Yet should you find the rack is full upon visiting, the birds will likely be on the fresher side compared to other retailers. On account of a company policy, delis clear chickens that haven’t been claimed about every two hours. This makes sure the rotation is on-point for roving visitors, and guarantees none of the birds have fallen prey to the common pitfalls of hot foods past their prime: greasy skin, toughened meat — you get the gist.  

Costco refusing to sell the stragglers is a form of quality control, clearly, yet there’s certainly an argument to be made for food safety. We all know leaving out raw meat is a no-no. When thoroughly cooked through, however, chicken can grow contaminated, exposing folks to bacteria that can cause food-borne illnesses. Costco’s two-hour rule, in regards to handling poultry, essentially aligns with the guidance of top health organizations, like the USDA. Its website instructs stowing uneaten scraps before the two hours have passed (either the fridge or freezer, respectively).  

Another explanation for the Kirkland item’s rarely-waning cult following? Well, it boils down to the size. Broiling chickens, the kind used for searing on rotating rotisserie ovens, are smaller by design, weighing in at two pounds once they’ve been cooked to completion. Shoppers take for granted that at Costco, you can buy a bird that’s three pounds — undoubtedly larger than the chickens roosting in other display cases. 

Admittedly, the juicy meat isn’t the sole contributor of this heft — bones and gristle claim their share of the mass, as a whole chicken is wont to have. Regardless, diners who scrape away at it will be rewarded with pretty generous hunks, as one Reddit commenter described in a post. Their elbow grease resulted in unearthing over two pounds of meat (and cost-wise by the pound, a steal at $1.80). 

Affordability reigns high on the list for rotisserie chicken fanatics, which Costco swiftly delivers every year without fail. Combined with the bountiful portions, it stands to reason the wholesaler’s ranks as a stupendously-good buy.   

Costco may be a bulk retailer, but if you’re new to the warehouse’s rules, you might miss how the store caps many of its products. Provisions in high demand will be limited to a certain quantity that applies per membership-holders. This adheres to the warehouse’s mission in serving all of its members regularly and fairly, whether it’s essentials like jars of peanut butter or viral commodities destined to fly off the shelves and into carts. Surprisingly, this restraint doesn’t apply to the poultry staple, ever-popular as it is. Anyone who flashes the membership card can apparently stroll in, approach the counter, and grab as many golden-browned chickens as they wish (regardless of what anyone thinks). 

This level of availability could be good for the warehouse’s bigger households, or for potlucks and parties where main courses are needed at the last minute. Yet employees, the ones tasked with supplying the stock on a daily basis, assert it can also spin out of control. Free-for-all purchasing power, per one employee on Reddit, inspires chaos in the kitchen. Shortages are bound to occur for a product this desirable, but when it’s something particularly unexpected — a guest scooping 50 chickens on a whim, as the poster experienced — the location is left scrambling to make up the loss. 

It’s true Costco implements a hard cap on rotisserie chickens, in terms of how long they can linger away under the heat lamp. But if you’ve been wondering what happens to the birds that aren’t swiped after the window passes, stores don’t simply throw them away. Why would they, when there’s chicken pot pies to get onto the sales floor? Rather than trashing perfectly good, edible meat, staff collect the leftovers and turn them into delicious creations that rotate by the week, if not the day, in stores. 

A report from the wholesaler’s website draws out its sustainability goals, which underscores the company’s habit of repurposing scraps, like chicken. The “waste not want not” approach is a frugal one, and it brings some tasty meal options right to your fingertips — making them a game-changer for meal prep if that’s your thing. There are scores of genius ways to use leftover rotisserie chicken, and Costco delivers on the possibilities with juicy, fork-tender goodness in a range of choices. Typical options encompass hearty soups, crisp salads, and creamy chicken salads (try it with brown sugar for a hint of caramelized flavor or stir in horseradish for a fiery kick), but one-off novelties, like Southwestern chicken wraps, pop up on shelves. 

The average Costco shopper might not be aware of where the rotisserie chickens come from. These days, at least since 2019, many of the plump roasts on display have actually come from a processing plant — the chain’s very own. After it experienced a public melee with former suppliers, the warehouse made moves in consolidating a processing plant that it could oversee without much outside influence. Where does the proprietary farm reside? In Fremont, Nebraska, where it took $400 million to get off the ground and features extensive, highly advanced equipment to tend to the chickens. Technically, Costco doesn’t do all the work. It tasked Lincoln Premium Poultry, a separate entity, to handle the farming labor necessary for meting out massive amounts of chickens, but in terms of infrastructure, the warehouse’s fingers are in all of the pies. 

When nearly half of the birds on deli displays came from the Midwest hub (with a 2 million weekly quota to boot), the company tapped into a profitable system. As impressive as this well-oiled machine might be, the coverage hasn’t been entirely positive. Animal rights advocates have accused the corporation of exhibiting poor animal welfare standards, and in 2022, the company was hit with a lawsuit by shareholders who were not on board with the practices. (The suit was ultimately dismissed.)

In 2024, Costco devotees were a little put off by new changes to the rotisserie chicken. The wholesaler, citing an emphasis on eco-friendly practices, decided to retire the signature dome-shaped containers, instead storing the Kirkland chickens in plastic pouches. By transitioning to resealable sacks, as far as the official explanation went, the retailer could curb carbon emissions from producing too much plastic, as well as labor gobbled up in shipping the materials from warehouse to warehouse, all over the nation (and globe).

No major overhauls to the chicken recipe were confirmed — the switch was purely superficial. Still, Redditors were split on the change and duked out debates on the plastic bag’s efficiency. A few pros: the environmental impact (no complaints there), the slimmer proportions — not bulky and cumbersome to squeeze into fridges already packed to the gills. The cons? Even with the zip-top feature, pouches were prone to leaking, disrupting the journey from store to parking lot due to spills. Hitting the grocery store, especially a busy one like Costco, is a chore as is. But deep-cleaning your car because oily chicken juice seeped into the carpeting takes the task to another level (though hacks for cleaning out common food stains will do the trick). 

Shoppers in America may take Costco for granted, yet the bulk supplier is steadily covering ground globally, cropping up in over a dozen countries. The company’s done a solid job conjuring the warehouse feel for guests of diverse nationalities, while throwing in offerings unique to the regions they’re served in (food court items range from Canadian poutine to Icelandic gelato). And similarly to the vast discounts, clientele abroad aren’t immune to the charms of cheap deli poultry. 

Should you stroll the aisles in Taiwan however, rotisserie chicken will look a little different to birds sold in the United States. The reason? Chickens will appear whole, the head included. Simply put, it remains custom in East Asia to cook poultry with all the parts left on. The practice comes to life quite vividly in celebrations for the Chinese holiday Lunar New Year, wherein full-intact birds commemorate unification and a sense of “completeness.” 

Even if leaving on the heads or feet seems foreign to Western palates, the cultural norms are very important, not to mention nourishing too. One person on the Costco subreddit was caught off guard by the Taiwanese chicken, which appeared almost identical (except with the appendage attached).