Ranking Grocery Store Rotisserie Chickens From Worst To Best

You can find fresh, hot

rotisserie

chicken in almost every

grocery

store

in America. However, not all

rotisserie

chickens

are created equal. Where should you go? Here's our

ranking

of the

best

supermarket rotisserie

chickens

, from

worst

to

best

. Like many items at Walmart, the only really good thing about the big chain's rotisserie chickens is that they're cheap. You can usually get one for under $5, but if you care about anything more than price, you should stay away. First of all, Walmart rotisserie chickens are always greasy and no one likes taking a big bite of chicken and being forced to swallow a mouthful of chicken fat.

Secondly, you will never know the true condition of your chicken until you get home. Sometimes they are overcooked and the meat is dry. Other times, and even more worrying, a rotisserie chicken from Walmart may be undercooked. You don't want to cut into it and find yourself with pink, raw meat. The convenience factor will disappear if you are forced to put the bird in the oven to finish cooking it. Finally, perhaps to mask some of its shortcomings, Walmart puts a lot of salt on its chickens. In fact, much more than rotisserie chickens at other

grocery

store

s. And while they do have a lemon pepper version, it's almost always overly spiced, so do yourself a favor and stay away from that one too.

You really want to like the rotisserie chicken you buy at Whole Foods, since their chickens are organic, free-range, and hormone-free. However, there is one big problem: they don't taste good. Or, more specifically, there isn't much taste. Whole Foods rotisserie chickens are like biting into an old, worn-out piece of rubber. There is a slight chicken smell, but that is the degree of chicken flavor you can expect. Another problem with rotisserie chicken at Whole Foods is the cost. Considering that some grocery stores use roast chicken as a loss leader to attract customers, you can almost always find good deals.

However, that's not the case for Whole Foods, even after Amazon bought the company and lowered prices on its rotisserie chicken. So unless you really value the fact that your chicken is organic and responsibly raised, you should look for rotisserie chicken somewhere else that actually tastes good. Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the United States, is basically the Walmart of grocery stores. That comparison also holds true when it comes to roast chickens. While their chicken is cheap, it's also not anyone's idea of ​​quality. Like Walmart's rotisserie chicken, Kroger's version can sometimes be overcooked or undercooked. And although they don't seem as salty and their chicken is less fatty, their rotisserie chicken can sometimes be too thin.

While chicken fat is disgusting, it's also frustrating to search for meat inside a bony bird. The meat you find will taste better than the Walmart version, but sometimes that meat can be scarce. "I wouldn't give more than a bite, not when it's skinned and boned!" Another thing to keep in mind is freshness when purchasing a rotisserie chicken at Kroger. If you are not careful, you can buy an old chicken. Always check the date before putting it in your cart. Stop & Shop has tasty rotisserie chicken, for the most part. The meat is juicy, flavorful and will usually leave you with a smile on your face.

However, there is a problem and it is the skin of roast chickens. At Stop & Shop, you'll find that the skin is either too slimy or too burnt, and either of those things is enough to ruin any roast chicken. This flaw is really a shame because otherwise the roast chickens here would be much, much better overall. If you really want a Stop & Shop rotisserie chicken, don't buy their original flavor. They usually have an alternative flavor depending on the time of year, like their Applewood Smoked Rotisserie Chicken. Their limited edition chickens tend to have better tasting skin, which makes all the difference.

Some of the best rotisserie chicken you can find in the United States used to come from Fairway Market. Unfortunately, they changed things recently and now it's just not the same. Their roast chicken is still edible, no doubt, but all the flavors are much more generic than they used to be just a couple of years ago. Fairway Market's decision is especially disappointing because of all the options they have when it comes to rotisserie chicken. You can find Latin style, herbs, lemon, garlic and other flavors. You can also choose to pay more and go for an organic chicken.

If you're already in the store, it's worth picking up a rotisserie chicken, they're not horrible, but don't expect it to taste the same if you haven't bought one in a while. Of the flavors available, you can't go wrong with a Latin-style roast chicken. It's unique and some of that Latin flavor will help drown out your sadness that Fairway Market's rotisserie chicken isn't what it used to be. "I sad." "Is that your official statement?" Safeway's rotisserie chicken may surprise you. While they call it traditional whole roast chicken, there is nothing traditional about the flavor. It actually has a sweet orange flavor, almost to the point that it tastes like orange chicken you'd order at a Chinese restaurant.

Why would that be the case? Look at the ingredients and you'll notice that Safeway's "traditional" rotisserie chicken has brown sugar, white sugar, corn syrup solids, and citric acid. While this is a tasty roast chicken option, don't be surprised by the sweet flavor that will hit your palate at the first bite. If you like a sweet, citrusy flavor, you'll love Safeway birds. But if you just want chicken that tastes like chicken, go somewhere else for a truly traditional taste. And if you choose a roast chicken to use later in stews and other dishes, know that the flavor of it may not pair very well with some of those recipes.

But the good news? You don't have to worry about getting an old rotisserie chicken at Safeway, because they clearly label the time the chicken was prepared. There are a lot of things to like about the rotisserie chickens at Publix. They have a wide variety of options, the price is reasonable and their birds are always hot and fresh. However, two things prevent Publix from moving higher in the

ranking

s. First of all, they are often out of stock unless you are there at the right time. Not having access to them regularly definitely reduces them a bit. Second, they offer a barbecue-flavored rotisserie chicken that, frankly, is lacking.

The barbecue sauce they use is excessively sweet and has an aftertaste of artificial smoke that ruins it. But on the plus side, the other types of roast chicken available here are all tasty. In addition to the original, Publix has Lemon Pepper, Maple Bourbon, and Mojo. If you don't know which one to choose, go for the Mojo version, which features a delicious combination of lime and garlic flavors. If you like big, thick rotisserie chickens, Smart & Final is the place to shop. Flavor-wise, these birds fall in the middle of the pack. The meat is not extraordinarily juicy, but not too dry either.

It's also nice to know that their rotisserie chicken is always fully cooked, so you won't have the unfortunate surprise of cutting into pink chicken meat. The bottom line when it comes to Smart & Final chicken is that you'll get a lot of really good, but not great, meat with a quality you can trust. If you're looking for a healthy option when purchasing rotisserie chicken, head to ShopRite. Their chicken is hormone-free, cage-free and fed a vegetarian diet. On top of all that, the chicken tastes great. While their Original is tasty enough to recommend, ShopRite really shines when it comes to their Barbecue version.

It's not too sweet or too smoky, with just enough barbecue goodness to lick your fingers. You won't even need to dip it in barbecue sauce, as it is perfect as is. ShopRite partners with Perdue Farms, one of the best-known names in poultry and a company with revenues exceeding $6 billion, so you can trust your birds. The partnership has created one of the best roast chicken options on the market. While Sam's Club is owned by Walmart, don't be mistaken and think that their rotisserie chickens are of the same quality. The rotisserie chicken you find at Sam's Club blows the Walmart abomination out of the water.

The chicken here is really tasty, the flavors pop and the consistency is something you can always rely on. Sam's Club first marinates the chicken and then seasons it with Lawry's Seasoning, and if your favorite part of roast chicken is eating it without the skin, Sam's Club is the place to go for a plate of delicious chicken skin. And everyone you live with won't be upset, since the meat retains much of the flavor. To make things better, Sam's Club actually uses poultry that is hormone-free, steroid-free, MSG-free, gluten-free, and has no artificial colors or flavors. Also, the cost of their rotisserie chicken is always very competitive, usually about the same price as Walmart's, but about twice the size.

If all you care about when it comes to roast chicken is the juiciness of the meat, WinCo will be your paradise. In WinCo's often overlooked deli section, you can find rotisserie chicken in various flavors. Not only are all the flavors worth it, but they are all extra, extra juicy. If you don't know which flavor to choose, try Garlic Pepper. Don't worry, neither the garlic nor the pepper take away from the flavor of the chicken, they just combine to add just the right amount of flavor to your meal. While WinCo is definitely a no-frills store—in fact, they don't even accept credit cards—don't assume that the blandness of their stores will mean your rotisserie chicken will be equally bland.

In fact, it is the opposite. "MMM delicious!" "Can you say delicious?" Sprouts Farmers Market rotisserie chickens have unbeatable freshness. Maybe it's their humanely raised, antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken. Maybe they just know how to preserve freshness during the cooking process. Regardless of the cause, the result can be tasted in every bite of your chicken. While Sprouts Farmers Market has several flavors, the two that stand head and shoulders above the rest are Herb Seasoned Roasted Chicken and Unseasoned Roasted Chicken. The herb flavor is impeccable in the former, while the latter is the perfect chicken to buy if you simply want your chicken to taste like chicken, or if you are using the meat in another recipe and don't want to add any flavoring.

When it comes to rotisserie chicken, Costco is king. They've become a favorite of people across the country, and the numbers speak for them: Costco sold 91 million rotisserie chickens in 2018 alone. Costco's three-pound birds are big enough to feed an entire family-friendly and tasty enough to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. Cousin? When other competitors have raised the prices of their rotisserie chickens in recent years, they have remained committed to their $4.99 price point. You simply cannot beat its value. In fact, Costco loses money on their rotisserie chickens, but that doesn't bother them in the least because they know those chickens are tasty enough and cheap enough to get you in the door and load up on other things.

Looking ahead, Costco isn't slowing down when it comes to chicken. Instead, they're stepping things up. A $450 million poultry complex in Nebraska is making sure its quality stays high and its prices stay at $4.99, and not a penny more. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, more Mashed videos about your favorite things will be coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.