It’s almost dinner time. You’ve been rushing around all day and make one last stop before heading home. You are trying to feed your family healthier options so instead of opting for the drive thru, you head to the grocery store and pick up a rotisserie chicken. Sound familiar?
According to an article from Bloomberg, 60 million rotisserie chickens are purchased through Costco every year. It’s definitely a huge business. When “food” is a huge business and the cost seems out of whack (as low as $4.99 for a whole rotisserie) our ears perk up to take notice.
While rotisserie chickens are definitely a step up from fast foods, there are some things to be aware of:
- The skin of rotisserie chicken was found to have high amounts of HCAs (a carcinogenic compound that forms when meat is cooked at a high temperature)
- Most rotisserie chickens are injected with chemicals you want to steer clear of including yeast extract, phosphates, and carageenen (more on that below).
- The healthier the chicken was raised, the healthier the cooked chicken will be for you.
Having said that, healthier rotisserie chicken can be a good option for those hectic days when you don’t have time to cook, but still want to nourish yourself and your family. You just want to make sure you are buying a good clean brand. Look for organic, and check the labels. Here you will see the ingredient difference between two choices:
Generic store brand $3.86/lb:
- sodium phosphate
- dextrose, flavor (what?)
- carageenan, which is a known inflammatory and GI disruptor (you can read more about that HERE):
Preferred clean, chemical free brand ($4.96/lb).
- chicken
- salt
- pepper
So, which would you prefer?
The second is from one of the better companies (Bell and Evans) that raise their chickens with higher quality than many of the other large poultry companies out there. You can find these types of healthier rotisseries at Whole Foods, Wegmans, McCaffrey’s or many other larger chain supermarkets.
While Bell & Evans is supplied in the East, Central and South), one supplier on the west coast is Marys. You can check out their sites to see if they supply to a store near you.
Once you have the rotisserie chicken, you can eat it plain, turn leftovers into chicken salad or add it to soups. Speaking of soup, when you are done with the chicken, you can cook the bones in a pot of water to make a delicious homemade chicken stock.
What about you? Do you get rotisserie chicken? What do you do with the leftovers?
Check out our video 13 Healthy Food Swaps ,
which has more fascinating info on this subject.
References:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-10-30/lifestyle/35502013_1_rotisserie-golden-brown-skin-chicken-noodle-soup
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-09/costco-stands-behind-its-cheap-rotisserie-chicken-strategy
Thanks for SOME info re rotisserie chickens (from grocery store) My husband and I recently moved to the Hilton Head SC area. As we both must be aware of our sodium intake, I have become a “label watcher”. NOT ONE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN, NO MATTER WHICH STORE, HAS THE INGREDIENTS OR THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF THE PRODUCT PRINTED OUT ON THE LABEL!!!!! THE AREA DESIGNATED FOR THIS INFO IS THERE, BUT IS BLANK!!! NO EMPLOYEE OF THE STORES, IT SEEMS, CAN ANSWER THIS QUESTION.
Do the labeling laws in place now apply to this kind of food product?? And if not, WHY NOT???
Thanks for the comment Marcia and congratulations on watching those labels! That is a great question regarding labeling laws. It sure seems like it should be a law to label them, but we have not been able to confirm that. I would try going to the higher ups in the store and bring this issue to their attention. Let us know what you find out. -J & S
Sam’s Club rotisserie chickens list the ingredients and the nutritional information on the label. Whole chicken containing up to 18% of a solution of water, sodium phosphate, salt, yeast extract , maltodextrin, natural flavor, chicken fat, chicken broth, rubbed with corn flour, salt, spices (including paprika), garlic, sugar, citric acid, onion, cornstarch, paprika oleoresin. Serving size 3 ounces, total fat 9g, sat. fat 2.5g, trans fat 0, cholesterol 45 mg, sodium 550 mg, carbohydrates 0, fiber 0, sugar 0, protein 19g. Hope this helps!
Thank you for providing that list but what is the brand of chicken? Does it have antibiotics or pesticides as such?
Hi Marly -which brand are you referring to?
Jane and Stephanie,
Thanks for the tips on Rotisserie Chickens. I have one about once a month. I definitely do not eat the skin. But using the chicken bones in soup is a great tip!Thanks!
Glad you liked it. Enjoy the broth 🙂
Thank you so much for the info regarding the chemical additives to the rotisserie chicken, especially the carrageenan. I was first made aware of this by my WW coach who mentioned in passing it is bad for people with IBS, which I have. Now I know why the rotisserie chickens upset my stomach so I no longer buy them.
Glad you found it helpful Donna!
Excellent information about the rotisserie chicken. I had no idea and Yes I am guilty of picking these up for myself thinking it is a “healthier option”. I will need to start searching for better ones. Do you think Whole Foods may have this?
Thanks Dana – yes, Whole Foods definitely carries them.
I went into “Walmart”, not thinking “healthy “, but thinking “bargain”….4 rotisserie chickens , DISCOUNTED to 2.09 each…I made chicken pot pie ,chicken spaghetti, chicken alfredo ,and chicken and dumplings, I saved the leg quarters for bbq , BUT NOW MY HIPS ARE KILLING ME…this has happened before, it took months before it stopped hurting..I thought it was “old age”, because it couldn’t be CHICKEN…thank-you , I now know i’m not that old!!!!now to google how to remove the chemicals from my body!
Thanks for sharing Tina!
I have known about the blood in the rotisserie chickens for years and complained twice over a 5 year period. A After my first experience a year or so later a documentary came on TV about how when chickens are raised in cages and can never move, the blood stays in their joints and oozes out of their bones. That is when I realized that Costco is buying chickens that were raised in cages and fatten up fast so they could produce a rotisserie 3 lb. chicken in about 5 mos.
I waited for a few more years while carefully buying my rotisserie chickens elsewhere. I thought of all the millions of people buying those Costco chickens and yet no one complaining so I tried it one more time. I got the chicken home and cut into it and I was shocked to see the jelled blood on the rib cage and into the leg bones and meat. I called one more time and complained telling my story but the manager denied it and when I gave her proof, she then told me to speak with the meat department. When I spoke to him, just like the first time he denied knowing any thing about the blood in the chickens.
Twice I have been brushed off while millions of people are eating their chicken. What are the odds of an over a 5 year period having bought a chicken twice and years apart and getting the same bloody chickens. Next to the ribs it looks like gelled blood and when I told it to the butcher at the first time he said it was okay to eat it and that it is done. I retorted that I am not going to eat jelled blood.
Wanted pose a counterpoint that I have not seen any medical scientific research that states C. is a GI disrupter or that’s not good for one’s health.
According to their article foodsciencematters.com the USDA, NOSB and joint FAO/WHO have found C. to be safe for processed foods.
Your readers should weigh their decision reading both sides of the argument.
As far as we know it is extracted from red seaweed so as an additive, it appears to be more natural than not.
As as GI disrupter if you can provide various medical research that validated this be curious to see.
I would say the amount of sodium found in rotisserie may be more concerning to them than C.
Agree tho one is paying 15-18% added injectives than for pure chicken…
Thanks for your comments Ray we appreciate there can always be two sides and data is often misleading. We encourage avoiding the conventional rotisseries for the other reasons as well so if organic is avail, it’s always gonna be the better option (true there will be more sodium than homemade).
Ugh! It sits there under a heat lamp multiplying with bacteria. How can anyone stomach it? Then the rest is put in the freezer or refrigerator to slowly rot into a poisonous concoction ready to destroy your digestive tract.
People don’t seem to understand what Carrageenan is. Yes it is made from seaweed and as such has some nutritional value. BUT……it is added to make food taste better. How? Carrageenan has free glutamates (as in MSG), which make things taste great but cause problems for many people (probably most people) and are suspect in regard to health for everyone.
When MSG got a bad reputation the food industry found other ways to put free glutamates into our food. There are about 40 additives they use, but Carrageenan is one of the favorites, even in coffee creamers for example.
For me, I learned 15 years ago that free glutamates are a major cause of my migraines. I’ve had to study to know what to look for on labels.
For example, free glutamates occur naturally when foods are aged. Why do broths and stocks bring so much taste to foods? Yep…..free glutamates.
The public needs to be made aware of this because they cause more than just migraines.