So saw in costco packages of “hand pulled rotisery chicken” selling for $5.5/lb ($16 per package). I guess chickens that don’t sell they “disaasemble” and package it. Got me curious, Is it worth paying for hand pulled? how much meat is in a full chicken and average cost per lb?
So got one chicken, pulled myself, remove bones, skin and anything not pure meat…took about 5 minutes …and weighted. Total Weight was 2.1 lb … About $5 bucks/chicken… so $2.5/lb. The labor more than doubles the price. Do you want to pay >2x per pound for pre pulled?
Totally fair price for labor and convenience.
The whole chickens are loss leaders. They’re up cycling them into a higher margin product.
My wife is willing to clean the remaining meat off the carcass when we’ve eaten one. She really gets our money’s worth out of those chickens, usually making stock from them as well. So far she’s been happy to do the work even in situations where she’s making something needing a lot of chicken. I think one time she actually bought two chickens and pulled the meat herself for whatever she was making, just because of the cost savings. Still, I think depending on time and her energy levels she would consider buying these packs at some point in the future.
Yeah I love to make chicken noodle soup with them after family eats the choicest bits.
I doubt that Costco has gnomes sitting in the back room processing their unsold rotisserie chickens after hours.
This is probably from a factory somewhere that specializes in semi-processed chicken products originally intended for industrial kitchens that make things like gas station burritos, chicken nuggets, bagged soups for cafeterias, etc.
The costcos I’ve been to always had windowed processing areas right by the deli, you can watch the gnomes slicing up the steaks, putting together salads, etc. I’ve never personally seen them pull the chicken because these bags weren’t available when I used to go but I don’t think it would be crazy to think they pay some kids a little above minimum wage to shred some chicken
I don’t think they’re even paying minimum wage; Costco is well known for above average pay for store employees.
Ya that’s why I wrote a little above min. I had a buddy that pushed buggies at costco in high school and he was usually a buck or 2 above min. The meat slicers easily make $20+ because they have to work with high cost products but for something low skill like shredding chicken, they can give some 16 year old a couple forks and tell them not to hurt themselves
Costco produces almost everything in the deli case in house. Go check some old posts on the Costco reddit and you might be surprised.
I used to do this for a different store, it really doesn’t take long. As long as its still hot its easy to shred. Takes longer to throw away the rest of it. They’ve only got like a 3 hour shelf life before you have to pull them back and process them.
This is one of those convenience/made for people with limited dexterity kinda things on top of what one would guess is them using the unsold rotisserie chickens. If you have the time and body then absolutely buy the whole bird to pull it yourself.
I don’t have a costco in my city anymore but the walmarts around me throw their rotisserie chickens on 50% off after 7 so I can usually get one for $4. I quarter them right when I get home, freeze the carcass for broth and go to town on a dark quarter while it’s fresh. One of the breasts usually end up being pulled or sliced and frozen.
I hate pulling meat off those things, avoiding that seems worth the added labor cost to me.
Nitrile gloves.
The gloves do not change the work that the hands would perform.
May change the hatred, though.
What’s so special about the gloves?
They keep your hands clean.
If Costco was a thing where I live*, I’d probably never buy pre-pulled roti chicken. Pulling chicken is mostly something I do with the leftovers, to repurpose them; specially the breast**. So buying it already pulled feels pointless, you know?
*at least here in Paraná most people buy roasted chicken from small, street corner markets. They often have a large rotisserie oven, that can be seen from the street; not just by humans, the neighbourhood dogs often stare those ovens, giving them the “TV de cachorro” (dog TV) nickname.
**most of my family beelines for the red parts, so the breast is typically what’s left. The only one who would rather eat the breast is Kika, my cat - but she eats, like, a tablespoon or two worth of chicken. (My other cat Siegfrieda doesn’t even recognise it as food.)
This is so worth it. Also delicious.
Its usually just the breastmeat for this, its almost always cheaper to get the whole chickens and do it yourself; plus you then have bones to make stock with.
Depends on how much shredded chicken you need.
If you run a restaurant, then maybe it’s the right thing to get.
Well, for fucks’ sake, the last thing I pulled my chicken at costco, I got arrested.
Your time needs to be accounted for. What is your hourly rate?
5 minutes at $75/hr is $6.25, so $11.25 for the chicken.
