Had to pick between Costco rotisserie chicken vs buying a raw one to cook myself

I always grabbed the $5 rotisserie chicken thinking it was the deal, but last week I weighed the meat and got like 3 cups off it. For $7 I got a raw chicken that gave me almost 5 cups of meat plus bones for broth, so now I'm cooking my own on Sundays.

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy5241mo ago

I'm curious about your numbers, because you said the raw chicken gave you almost 5 cups of meat. How big was that raw chicken? Was it a 5 pound bird or something? I just want to know if that's a typical size you can find for $7 or if you got lucky with a sale. Also, how much time are you spending on Sunday to cook it, clean up, and pull the meat off the bones? I've been thinking about trying this but I worry my lazy Sunday will turn into a whole afternoon project.

taylor_hayes251mo ago

Oh I actually gotta jump in here real quick... you said almost 5 cups of meat, but that's a little off. I think nancy524 said the raw chicken gave her almost 5 cups of meat total, but she was talking about a 4 pound bird she got on sale for like $6.50. So it's not a 5 pound chicken, it's a little smaller than that. As for the time thing, I've done this a few times and it's not as bad as you'd think. You can put the chicken in a slow cooker or Instant Pot and walk away, so the actual hands-on time is maybe 20 minutes for shredding and cleanup. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool enough to handle.

josephl6717d ago

Oh, have you tried seasoning it differently before you cook it? lol. I was in the same boat, always getting the rotisserie chicken for convenience, but then I started experimenting with dry rubs on the raw one and it's way better. I do a simple garlic powder, paprika, and salt thing, then throw it in the oven at 375 for like an hour and a half. The meat comes out juicy and not as dry as the store ones sometimes get. Plus, I save the bones and skin in a bag in the freezer, and when I have enough, I make stock in the slow cooker overnight. It's not a huge time sink either - I just put it in before I start my Sunday chores and pull it apart while I'm watching a show.