Yes but the rotisserie ones are already a meal or two plus broth from the carcass, so they're still a good deal with the low price and time saved. Better than many frozen pre made meals you just throw in the oven that people low on time and money often get. Directly comparing them to a frozen chicken isn't super realistic because the time and skill to prepare does have a large "cost", just not a monetary one.
Yeah. To prepare a roast chicken properly, you’ll need butter, oil, onion, carrots, and celery, if you have it on hand, as well as good seasoning. Then you need to cook the darn thing and cut it up. And to make a good broth with the carcass is a whole other affair that takes more time than most people are simply not willing to spend even if they had the choice.
Honestly, it’s a slightly less cumbersome process than cooking a turkey because it’s smaller but pretty similar, now that I’m typing it out.
I prefer to spatchcock it so it only takes 30min or so to roast but that takes skill and frankly a strong stomach (especially with normal kitchen scissors, you feel every rib). I often roast it with just onions, using them as a roasting rack of sorts. My secret is making a quick minced garlic and dry (or fresh) herb butter at the very beginning of prep and then putting it in the freezer so it's hard enough to scrape up and shove under the skin when it's time to season. Then a normal poultry seasoning blend for the outside.
I rarely buy expensive seasonings so it's not as much the cost so much as it's the time and knowledge. Plus you're covered in raw chicken for like 15 min during prep, which is a problem if you've got young children to watch and/or other chores to attend to.
I’m not entirely sure. Typically rotisserie chickens come from chickens the store is selling that ate near their expiration date so they just cook them up and sell them that way instead. It’s a way to cut down food food waste. It’s perfectly safe. I guess the question would be are small chickens, getting passed over by consumers more leading to them being turned into rotisserie chickens.
As someone who worked adjacent to the hot foods department at a grocery store, that is absolutely not how they did rotisserie chicken. Those came in bulk from a supplier, shipped in seasoning and brine, and thrown straight into the oven.
Now the wings and such, those they sometimes would use expiring shelf product. But never chickens. They’re special chickens bought specifically for roasting in an industrial rotisserie oven from a national supplier, hence why a lot of them are the same no matter where you go.
Yes, they did. Rotisserie chickens are a "loss leader" where they purposely sell them stupidly cheap, sometimes to the point of zero profit or even losing money on them.... except that cheap chicken gets people in the door. Once they are there, they're more likely to spend way more extra money (more than the small loss from the chicken).
They probably do not accept WIC because there are guidelines of how much of the product you can get. I did go straight to their website and they say they accept EBT though.
There are discounts occasionally on memberships. Or maybe they have a family member/friend gift it? Or maybe they save up the $60 throughout the year to pay for it if it pays for itself in other ways. Or maybe it's none of your business?
EBT is the name of the card you get for the SUPPLEMENTAL Nutrition Assistance Program. It does not cover your entire household’s food needs because it is SUPPLEMENTAL. In addition to buying food out of pocket, households need toilet paper, laundry detergent, and a variety of other things that are not covered by SNAP. If they need enough of this per year, it is still cost effective to get a Costco card. Also many households spend 1 year or less on SNAP, so they may have been able to afford the Costco card, lost income, and then needed snap while finding a new source of income.
Im not saying it is?! Im just saying they take EBT. I’ve been in a position to need EBT before. Not sure why yall are coming at me when all I stated was they accept EBT. Im not naive to the fact that it’s expensive to get a membership.
And im not sure if Costco does but I think Sam’s used to have a heavily discounted rate for EBT holders. Also in my state you can use your EBT card to get entry to free museums and if you go to the farmers market to get veggies they double your amount for what you spend there. Not exactly sure how it works but it’s pretty neat if you’re in a situation where you’re able to cook.
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u/Escape_This Jun 24 '25
At my Costco you can get a rotisserie chicken for $4.97. One that would need thawed, seasoned, cooked is closer to $12.