The One Ingredient That Makes Costco Rotisserie Chicken So Addictive

Rotisserie chicken is a wonderful thing. It tastes amazing and can help get dinner on the table in a flash, saving time and energy for a satisfying and stress-free meal. Many large supermarkets make and sell their own version of the classic rotisserie chicken, but one in particular stands out. It is, of course, the Coscto $4.99 rotisserie chicken — a rotisserie chicken so popular it even has its own fan page. But what exactly makes it so addictively delicious? Why is it put on a pedestal when so many other stores offer their own variation?

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Back in the day, when Costco, a chain that has quite a few cult-favorite products as well as unbelievable bargains, began to produce their rotisserie chickens, the incredibly low price was what drew customers in. For just $4.99, Costco members could walk away with a massive 3-pound seasoned and cooked bird — what a great, convenient and affordable way to feed the family, right?

These days, many other grocery stores have also begun to price their rotisserie chickens at competitively low prices around five dollars, and yet people still clamor for the Costco chicken! Some fans even claim it is the only reason they even go to Costco.

One reason Costco's birds may rank better than other supermarket rotisserie chicken is the high turnover. More chickens sell at a faster rate at Costco, and therefore you are much more likely to get a chicken that is cooked to perfection, rather than one that has been spinning for hours, drying out and becoming less and less delicious. But there is another reason: salt. More specifically Costco injects the chickens with a saline solution, which is a fancy way of saying that the birds are brined. Brining, as many chefs and home cooks know, can effortlessly lead to a more succulent and well-flavored end result when it comes to chicken as well as many other proteins.

Using salt in the form of a brine (rather than just sprinkling it over the top of the birds) definitely contributes to the Costco rotisserie chicken's well-loved taste and texture. Don't let the salt content scare you away, though — salt is not actually addictive, and can actually be quite good for you.

Costco knows that when you combine good flavor with a large portion and an amazingly low price, you've got a winner. And while we've just revealed one great secret of the famous $4.99 Costco chicken, there's even more you don't know about this product.