COSTCO’s Rotisserie Chicken is easily the most-talked-about critter in its class. Now, it’s been declar-ed the ‘best’ supermarket Rotisserie Chicken. CR looked at subjective variables in its detailed study, which included blind taste tests…
Of all the products Consumer Reports has tested and ranked, supermarket Rotisserie Chicken has to be one of the oddest, yet… At least in my humble opinion…
A new dietary staple?
I’ve always considered it an indulgence, and not really that healthy, to boot. But I suspect that the recent popularity surge of Rotisserie Chicken across North America prompted the grand old agency’s probe of what’s become a new protein staple.
Makes perfect sense…
When I saw the new CR report, I immediately twigged to its significance. More and more online recipe posts are calling for Rotisserie Chicken as their focus protein. It makes sense on several levels.
First, chicken is still a better buy, in general, than beef these days.
Second, chicken is still considered healthier, in general, than most other animal proteins.
Third, Rotisserie Chicken comes pre-cooked in a highly-appealing moist, tender and flavourful form.
Fourth, it fulfills the younger gens’ leading requirement for a home-prepared meal: it’s fast and easy.
Fifth, it’s versatile, lending itself to a vast array of dishes and culinary applications.
What CR considered…
Consumer Reports focused heavily on subjective measures when ranking the 10 most popular major US Rotisserie Chicken Brands.
They simply read the Nutrition Facts and ingredients list labels on each chicken. And they relied on the oldest culinary experimental method known to humanity: the taste test.
What they did
“CR evaluated rotisserie chicken samples from up to three locations of each chain,” the report ex-plains. “Repeat purchases from the same chains were made on different days, and all samples were immediately delivered to the Consumer Reports testing lab, where experts evaluated the chickens while they were still warm.”
“A panel of taste testers conducted anonymous evaluations, scoring each chicken for flavor, texture, and appearance. The testers found that although none of the samples were particularly disappoint-ing, some stood out as more moist and flavorful — good enough to be enjoyed on their own — while others were better suited for use in recipes such as soups, stews, sandwiches, and salads.”
What they found
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- COSTCO’s exclusive ‘members only’ Sam’s Club Member’s Mark Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken came out on top both among tasters and on price.
- COSTCO’s regular Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken came second with the tasters, and matched the Sam’s Club offering on price.
- Stop & Shop Whole Rotisserie Chicken came third in the taste test, but 4th on price, at about 2.5 times that of the COSTCO birds.
- Walmart Traditional Fully-Cooked Rotisserie Chicken came fourth on taste but third on price, at about 1.5 times that of the COSTCO birds.
- Wegmans Whole Roasted Chicken, Plain, ranked fifth on subjective measures but came in at second-most-expensive.
- And finally, Whole Foods Market Classic Rotisserie Chicken came in sixth among the taste testers and highest in price, at more than three times the price of the COSTCO entries.
Among the other brands included in the 10-product panel, only the top six, above, were considered ‘suitable’ for eating as an entré. A complete detailed rundown all the products tested is available in the official CR report.
The salt question…
Among the non-subjective test criteria looked at by CR was the amount of salt in each product. Of special note, the top taste test pick, from SAM’s Club, had the second-highest salt content of the top 6, ‘entré’-worthy birds. COSCTO’s ‘everyday’ rotisserie chicken, however, came in lowest on salt. Go figure…
My take
I wish Consumer Reports Canada would run the same evaluation on Canadian supermarket Rotisserie Chickens. The only ones of those the US organization tested that we get here are the COSTCO offer-ings. But since they won the US contest hands-down, I guess that’s a pretty good indication of how they would ran up here, in the Great White North.
I’d be particularly interested to seeing how the two top Canadian brands – from legendary Rotisserie Chicken specialists Swiss Chalet and St. Hubert – rank, overall, compared to their supermarket com-petitiors…
In the absence of a Canadian CR comparison, I can only suggest you judge for yourself on the sub-jectives, and consult the Nutrition Facts labels on each Rotisserie Chicken you encounter for the salt story…
~ Maggie J.