Hot and ready to take home, Rotisserie chickens are a godsend for busy families, and Costco has been making dinner a snap for over a decade.

Costco rotisserie chickens are a steal at just $4.99 per bird, allowing the company to sell millions of chickens annually.

Despite being a significant profit-loss leader, the chickens get shoppers through the doors, allowing Costco to entice customers with everything else for sale. These are 15 things to know before buying Costco rotisserie chickens.

1. Costco Rotisserie Chickens Debuted In 2009

If you walked into a Costco store in 2009 and suddenly smelled something amazing, it was probably the rotisserie chickens, a new product that year.

The world’s fifth-largest retailer began selling them for just $4.99, and in a little over a decade, they have become an absolute hit.

Costco’s rotisserie chickens are hot, delicious, cheap, and customizable.

2. Costco Rotisserie Chickens Are Easy On Your Wallet

Not only did the Costco rotisserie chickens debut at $4.99, but that’s the price they have remained to this day.

Inflation, supply chain issues, and other national crises have raised the prices of many products. Still, the Costco rotisserie chicken stays easy on your wallet year after year.

3. Costco Rotisserie Chickens Lose The Company Money

According to Eat This, Not That, Costco’s rotisserie chickens are “loss leaders.”

Another example of a loss leader is Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and a soda deal.

So, these cheap items don’t make a profit but constitute a loss because they get people in the doors.

Once inside, unwitting customers spend enough, and often much more, to cover the profit loss on the chicken or the hot dogs.

4. The Price Of Costco Rotisserie Chickens Won’t Rise Any Time Soon

Despite what must amount to immense pressure from outside sources to make the Costco rotisserie chicken a bit more expensive, it isn’t likely.

After all, what could 25 cents hurt? Or 50 cents?

To Costco and its Chief Financial Officer, that would be a massive hit to its established reputation for having specific deals at a certain price.

Costco is determined to stay consistent with its rotisserie chicken prices, no matter what Walmart or Wegmans might do.

5. Customers Love The Taste Of Costco Rotisserie Chickens

Costco rotisserie chickens aren’t only cheap; customers and critics find them immensely delicious.

For example, there are more than 18,000 die-hards for the chicken on a Facebook fan page, and Consumer Reports refers to them as “super-tasty.”

6. Some Customers Find The Costco Rotisserie Chickens Salty

If there’s one complaint some people have, it’s that the Costco rotisseries can veer toward the supremely salty.

Further, that would result from the injections of salt solution into the chickens, once cooked, to improve taste and texture.

If you find it too salty, try squeezing lemon juice or a few dashes of balsamic vinegar on the chicken, as the acid helps neutralize the saltiness.

7. You’re Getting About Three Pounds Of Meat On A Costco Rotisserie Chicken

One of the things Costco excels at is uniformity, and its rotisserie chickens are no different.

For example, almost every chicken from Costco’s rotisserie constitutes three pounds of meat, though if you’re lucky, you might find some that are heavier.

However, you won’t find wild outliers on either side of the spectrum. That said, there are no two-pound or five-pound chickens.

8. Costco Once Sold Over 100 Million Rotisserie Chickens In One Year

In 2020, Costco sold about 101 million rotisserie chickens, the most this international retailer sold in a year.

9. Head To The Back Of The Store For Your Costco Rotisserie Chicken

One of the reasons Costco has never raised the price of its rotisserie chicken is that selling them for $4.99 gets people in the door.

To capitalize on this, Costco puts the chickens in the back of the store. Doing this forces customers to walk through all those aisles filled with alluring food and merchandise.

So, what Costco loses on the low-priced birds (and it’s millions), the company more than makes up for when every hungry patron also leaves with cake, bacon, coffee, and chips.

10. Costco Rotisserie Chickens Are Surprisingly Healthy

Overall, for selling a lot of processed foods, Costco manages to keep the ingredients in its store-brand items surprisingly wholesome.

Dr. Oz has praised Costco rotisserie chickens as one of the best-processed foods available.

Also, he suggests making it even healthier by removing the skin (that’s just a suggestion, though).

11. The Costco Rotisserie Chicken’s Spice Blend Is A Mystery

While the ingredients in a Costco rotisserie chicken are straightforward, the propriety spice blend that gives the crackling skin its flavor remains unknown.

That’s a smart move because if people knew the spice blend, they could easily recreate it at home!

12. Listen For The Bells When Near Costco Rotisserie Chickens

One minute, you’re casually strolling the aisles; the next, a bell goes off from a distance, and suddenly, you’re sprinting for the back of the store with a full cart.

That’s because Eat This, Not That “has it on good authority” that the bell sound from the deli indicates a fresh coop of rotisserie chickens ready to go out.

13. No Worries About Gluten In The Costco Rotisserie Chicken

Many people are discovering that their bodies and gluten don’t agree. Luckily, Costco’s rotisserie chicken is still compatible with their diet.

Moreover, Eat This, Not That says this is significant because some grocery stores add flour to the chicken to help the skin get crispier while cooking.

But Costco does not, and its chicken skins get plenty crisp on their own.

14. Costco Sources Some Of Its Rotisserie Chickens

Some of Costco’s rotisserie chickens are sourced from its own Midwest farms.

Further, these facilities help the major retailer save up to 35 cents per chicken processed and sold, and when you sell 101 million chickens in a year, the savings add up.

However, Costco has received some heavy criticism for its company-run chicken farms.

For example, footage from the farms in Nebraska came out recently showing deformed and injured chickens in deplorable living conditions.

After the footage leaked, animal rights activists petitioned the company to change its ways, but the issue remains unresolved.

Moreover, this chicken exposé is one major stain on a retailer’s reputation that otherwise holds a glowing record for its operations.

15. Costco Rotisserie Chickens Are Super Versatile

One of the best things about Costco rotisserie chickens is their versatility, beyond just cutting them up and eating them as your dinner.

For example, people regularly use Costco rotisserie chicken for the following:

• Shredded chicken for quesadillas
• Using the carcass for chicken stock
• Using the meat for soups and salads

The only thing better than a Costco rotisserie chicken is using it to bring that unique, salty flavor to another dish you enjoy.