That $5 Rotisserie Chicken is a Must-Buy

This article may appear at first to be about food, but in large part, it is about economics. Almost everyone has to budget for their food purchases and this short presentation is a great example of how to stretch that food budget to cover as many meals as possible throughout the month.

A Costco membership costs $60 – or, looked at another way, $5 per month. This membership gives you access to quality food and other household necessities at prices generally lower than your local grocery store.  Costco is famous for their $5 rotisserie chicken and they have committed to maintaining that $5 price point. It is worthwhile understanding at this point in the discussion that the large chain grocery stores work on an average of a 2% profit margin. If you spend $100 at Kroger, $2.00 of that purchase will end up on their bottom line. That is a pretty thin profit margin and limits their ability to compete with Costco on the rotisserie chicken.

They have, in fact, chosen not to compete. My Kroger charges $7 for a similar chicken. The point is this – the Costco chicken is a bargain. You should buy one every time you shop at Costco, or at least twice each month. That $4/month savings almost entirely pays for your Costco membership. SCORE! (FYI: Costco execs confirmed during the company’s 2023 annual shareholders meeting that it sold a whopping 137 million rotisserie chickens in 2023). The balance of this article will combine recipes for using your rotisserie chicken along with the economics of each dish. I’ll base everything on what a family of four might experience.

Step 1

Once you get that chicken home you will want to remove the meat from the bone. Remove the rotisserie chicken from its package and STOP!

From this point on we are using everything but that piece of string they use to truss the chicken. Pour any juice from the container into a bowl and set aside.

Remove all of the skin. Feel free to enjoy a bit of this skin, but save the rest. This skin can be used in making the broth (recipe to follow) and some can be placed in the oven under the broiler and a watchful eye to crispy, mouth-watering perfection.

Step 2

Remove the meat from the bone. There are a few ways to do this. Recently, one method went viral on TikTok using a large Ziplock bag which instructs you to insert the entire chicken into the bag, seal it and then massage the bag, forcing the meat from the bone. That works pretty well if you want 100% of the chicken to be shredded. I actually prefer to use my clean hands and a fork to remove the meat, saving the shredding decision until later. Place the dark meat into one ziplock and the white into another. Refrigerate.

As you go through the process put everything (bones, tail, neck, cartilage, and any leftover skin) in a stock pan. Pour in those reserved juices from the chicken, add enough water to cover plus 1”, bring to a boil and then turn the heat to the very lowest setting and allow the stock to simmer (lid on) for 3 hours. Remove from the heat and let the stock cool before pouring the contents through a sieve to separate the liquid from everything else. Transfer the liquid to a container suitable for the refrigerator and let it cool. Once cooled, the chicken fat (the Yiddish word is Schmaltz) can be removed and used later for frying your breakfast egg! The stock will be used later. See Recipe #1 below.

Sample Recipe #1

Chicken and Noodles, Serves 4

Ingredients:

Use 1/2 of the chicken meat.           $2.50

1 Tbsp. Flour                                    $0.02

2 Tbsp. Butter     $0.50

3 lg. Carrots, chopped             $0.45

3 lg. stalks Celery, chopped             $0.45

1 sm. Yellow onion, chopped           $0.35

Homemade Chicken Broth.          $0.00

Salt & Pepper to taste $0.04

1/2 Tbsp. Chicken Base               $0.25

A pinch of dried Thyme                        $0.02

8 oz. Dried Egg Noodles               $0.90

TOTAL Cost                                  $5.48

Cost per Serving =  $1.37

Directions:

In a saucepan, over medium heat melt the butter and then stir in the flour making a thin roux. Stir well until the flour has a chance to cook. Add the chicken broth and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, add the chopped vegetables, and maintain a boil for 3 minutes. Add the dry noodles, Chicken base, and boil until the noodles are thoroughly cooked. Reduce heat to simmer—season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add the chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes. Serve.

Sample Recipe #2

Chicken Quesadillas Serves 4

Ingredients:

Use 1/2 of the chicken meat, chopped       $2.50

1 packet Taco Seasoning                            $1.35

8 soft flour tortillas                                      $1.85

1-16 oz. Can black refried beans.              $1.19

4 oz. Salsa                                                  $0.50

Shredded lettuce.                         $0.10

4 oz. Shredded Mexican blend cheese      $1.20

4 oz. Sour Cream   $0.60

4 oz. Guacamole                                        $2.00

   Black olives, cilantro                               $0.75

TOTAL Coast                                           $12.04

Cost per serving = $3.02

Directions:

Empty the packet of taco seasoning into the ziplock bag of chopped chicken and shake well to coat. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place 4 tortillas on sheet pans, and spread a layer of refried black beans over each tortilla. Then build a layer of chopped chicken meat on top of that. Spoon on a bit of salsa. Add a layer of shredded cheese. Place the remaining 4 tortillas on top and then place the sheet pans in the oven. Cook for about 5 minutes before flipping the quesadillas over and returning to the oven to cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Remove from oven, cut into pie-shaped pieces, and top with shredded lettuce, remaining salsa, and the other toppings as desired.

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