Food Dissecting a Costco Chicken - Cooked chicken recipes

Old Gray Mare

TB Fanatic
Feel free to add recipes or more appropriate information.

I picked one of the bigger ones. It's a trade off. In the past I've found the bigger ones have more meat but may not be cooked thru. This one was perfectly cooked. Maybe the staff got a memo to cook them just a tad longer to be safe?

Dissecting a Costco Chicken

Picked up a Costco rotisserie Chicken and decided to find out what I could get out of it. YMMV.

Price of chicken $4.99. If my math is right that's $.11 an oz. for meat or $1.76 a pound.

2 pounds 13 oz. of edible skin and meat
2 pounds 2 oz. bones, grizzle etc.
4 oz. juice from the container
- discarded container, kidneys and string -


Chicken bone broth
bones, skin: non edible parts (minus the kidneys)
1 bay leaf
a few pepper corns
some chopped carrot, celery, onion
a few clove garlic crushed
about a half to a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
the pan drippings or juice from the Costco container
water to cover

I don't add salt because I feel there is enough from the chicken. Simmer in pot until the carcass and veggies have lost their virtue or overnight in crockpot. If using a crock pot the broth is done when the bones crush when squeezed between the thumb and finger. Drain and cool quickly so as not to sour. Use, freeze, can or refrigerate the broth.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
I’ve had issues with the larger rotisserie chickens from Sam’s club, which sucks when you’re hungry and want to eat right away but you need to finish baking the bird first.
 

Old Gray Mare

TB Fanatic
Found out one Costco Chicken will fill two, one quart canning jars. They split pretty evenly; one jar dark meat, one jar breast meat.

I strip the meat from the bones and refrigerate it. Then I make broth out of the bones and skin. Next day I can. Three Costco chickens gave six quarts of canned chicken.
 

Old Gray Mare

TB Fanatic
I like to pressure can the chicken in chicken bone broth rather than water. It can be done in water or water with chicken bullion. Personal preference.
 

ReneeT

Veteran Member
We have one, maybe two meals of a piece or two of chicken from a rotisserie chicken, then it gets broken down into the base for other meals. I pick the meat from the bones, then put the bones, skin and juice in a pot of water to cook down into broth. The meat either goes in a container in the fridge or is vac sealed for the freezer. I like to use the chicken with Knorr's pasta and rice mixes, using the broth in place of the water called for in the instructions - the Alfredo noodles are good, as is the chicken fried rice. I've also made up Knorr's taco rice and used it in enchiladas along with some refried beans and rotisserie chicken. The chicken also makes yummy chicken salad.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
We have one, maybe two meals of a piece or two of chicken from a rotisserie chicken, then it gets broken down into the base for other meals. I pick the meat from the bones, then put the bones, skin and juice in a pot of water to cook down into broth. The meat either goes in a container in the fridge or is vac sealed for the freezer. I like to use the chicken with Knorr's pasta and rice mixes, using the broth in place of the water called for in the instructions - the Alfredo noodles are good, as is the chicken fried rice. I've also made up Knorr's taco rice and used it in enchiladas along with some refried beans and rotisserie chicken. The chicken also makes yummy chicken salad.

To be honest chicken salad is my favorite way to use rotisserie chicken after we eat some when we get it home. We also buy the big bag of coleslaw mix at Sam’s, I make a quick dressing and we have coleslaw, and sometimes English cucumber and red bell pepper slices, with the chicken and the chicken salad Sammie’s. The best part using the remaining slaw mix to mak3 egg roll in a bowl with Fareway breakfast sausage from their fresh meat case.
 

ReneeT

Veteran Member
To be honest chicken salad is my favorite way to use rotisserie chicken after we eat some when we get it home. We also buy the big bag of coleslaw mix at Sam’s, I make a quick dressing and we have coleslaw, and sometimes English cucumber and red bell pepper slices, with the chicken and the chicken salad Sammie’s. The best part using the remaining slaw mix to mak3 egg roll in a bowl with Fareway breakfast sausage from their fresh meat case.

That sounds delicious - care to share the recipe for the egg roll in a bowl?

I sometimes buy the coleslaw mix when I catch it on sale and re-freeze it in small bags for Hubby to add to the soup he makes to carry in his lunches - this would be another way to use it.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
That sounds delicious - care to share the recipe for the egg roll in a bowl?

I sometimes buy the coleslaw mix when I catch it on sale and re-freeze it in small bags for Hubby to add to the soup he makes to carry in his lunches - this would be another way to use it.

Sautee some chopped onion and chopped garlic in oil, remove from wok. Add your breakfast sausage and break up and cook until about 95% done. Add back the onion and garlic, and about a half of a very large bag of slaw mix and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Mix well, add a dollop of sambol (red chili paste) and mix well, add a half of a cup of water, and put a lid on the wok. Cook for another three to five minutes stirring frequently. Serve over jasmine rice. You can add soy sauce and or oyster sauce at the table. Some people put fish sauce in it when they're cooking it down.
 

Slydersan

Veteran Member
Last time I was in Costco, I swung by the Rotisserie area and //gasp// no chickens to be found ! And the next batch was not up for like 15 minutes. So I started walking away and in the refrigerated pre-made meal/snack section were bags of rotisserie chicken meat - 3 lbs I think. I guess any chickens that don't sell in whatever the approved time is, get pulled to the back de-boned and sealed up in bags and put out for sale. I had never noticed them before. But for me they are perfect. It tastes exactly like the whole chickens and seemed to be mostly white meat. I put some in the fridge and froze the rest in batches. I use it for chicken tacos, chicken salad sandwiches, and to add to pasta dishes, etc. And I don't have to do the de-boning.
 

Krayola

Veteran Member
I just kinda eyeball the amount of slaw mix, some people like more others prefer more meat. I just dump half of a large bag into the wok, lol.
I have been doing this for a while, taking bagged slaw mix and using it in a vegetable stir fry. It's tastes awesome and is so convenient.

I would also love to hear any easy recipes that people have for pre-cooked chicken. I have been thinking of batch cooking some bulk chicken and then using it in recipes through out the week to make getting dinner on the table easier.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
I have been doing this for a while, taking bagged slaw mix and using it in a vegetable stir fry. It's tastes awesome and is so convenient.

I would also love to hear any easy recipes that people have for pre-cooked chicken. I have been thinking of batch cooking some bulk chicken and then using it in recipes through out the week to make getting dinner on the table easier.


It makes awesome chicken salad sandwiches!
 

Barry Natchitoches

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Last time I was in Costco, I swung by the Rotisserie area and //gasp// no chickens to be found ! And the next batch was not up for like 15 minutes. So I started walking away and in the refrigerated pre-made meal/snack section were bags of rotisserie chicken meat - 3 lbs I think. I guess any chickens that don't sell in whatever the approved time is, get pulled to the back de-boned and sealed up in bags and put out for sale. I had never noticed them before. But for me they are perfect. It tastes exactly like the whole chickens and seemed to be mostly white meat. I put some in the fridge and froze the rest in batches. I use it for chicken tacos, chicken salad sandwiches, and to add to pasta dishes, etc. And I don't have to do the de-boning.
I think some of the reason Costco would have done this is due to Food Stamp regulations.

if I recall correctly, a person cannot buy hot food with Food Stamps, but they can buy pre-cooked, cold food. And nowadays, the Food Stamp customer base is HUGE! Costco definitely wants to be able to sell pre-cooked chicken to that crowd.

So if the food does not sell fairly quickly in its hot form, it pays Costco (literally) to just cook up another freshly roasted batch of rotisserie chicken for the people who pay for their own food, then transfer the not so hot chicken over to the cold case, to sell to the Food Stamp crowd.

Maybe i an wrong about the reason behind what you saw, Slydersan, but bet you I am not.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
I think some of the reason Costco would have done this is due to Food Stamp regulations.

if I recall correctly, a person cannot buy hot food with Food Stamps, but they can buy pre-cooked, cold food. And nowadays, the Food Stamp customer base is HUGE! Costco definitely wants to be able to sell pre-cooked chicken to that crowd.

So if the food does not sell fairly quickly in its hot form, it pays Costco (literally) to just cook up another freshly roasted batch of rotisserie chicken for the people who pay for their own food, then transfer the not so hot chicken over to the cold case, to sell to the Food Stamp crowd.

Maybe i an wrong about the reason behind what you saw, Slydersan, but bet you I am not.


Actually this makes sense and then there are customers like myself who want it cold so I can throw it in the cooler with the rest of the cold foods.
 
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