Are Costco chicken breasts a good deal?

[Carpediem]

Everytime we go to Costco we always buy the 6 pack of the chicken breasts (2 breasts in each pack). To be honest I haven't done any comparison research at our local grocery stores to know if this is the best deal. Does anyone else buy Costco chicken breasts? Is a good deal? Are there better options?

 

[mpeirce]

A good deal? Not sure, but I have noticed that Costco chicken breast seem susceptible to being more "rubbery" lately. Apparently it's becoming a problem in general.

Luckily, their chicken thighs don't have that problem. They also taste better and have a higher fat content than the breasts. So we're eating more of them.

 

[njhowie]

We pay no more than $1.99/pound in the supermarket.

The pre-cooked whole chickens are a great bargain at $4.99 each - they are big birds compared to what they have in the supermarket at $5.99. I will go to Costco specifically to pick up a chicken for dinner, and an additional one to throw straight into the fridge.

 

[USGrant1962]

There is a thing called woody breast that has become more common as producers strive for larger and larger chickens. It is not harmful, but not good either. I read a long article about it a few months ago, but don't recall where. Here's a short one:

https://www.thedailymeal.com/news/e...ought-chicken-becoming-tough-and-chewy/040116

 

[RunningBum]

Do you ever go to your local grocery store, or do you do all of your shopping at Costco? Why don't you check there?

 

[Carpediem]

A good deal? Not sure, but I have noticed that Costco chicken breast seem susceptible to being more "rubbery" lately. Apparently it's becoming a problem in general.

Yes, I've heard of this and we have noticed the Costco chicken breasts are more 'rubbery' or 'harder' than they used to be.

Do you ever go to your local grocery store, or do you do all of your shopping at Costco? Why don't you check there?

I will but just thought I would ask the question here. Hope I didn't disturb anyone!

 

[MRG]

There is a thing called woody breast that has become more common as producers strive for larger and larger chickens. It is not harmful, but not good either. I read a long article about it a few months ago, but don't recall where. Here's a short one:

https://www.thedailymeal.com/news/e...ought-chicken-becoming-tough-and-chewy/040116

+1

Woody breast sucks. Most modern chickens are cornish cross, many of them can't support their own body weight. Sad what we've done to a perfectly good bird.

 

[MichaelB]

Woody breast sucks.

So, when I first saw that I thought "splinters".

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Aldi = Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $1.69, We even got them on sale for $1.49 once. We but 3 or 4 packets at a time and vacuum seal them, then freeze.

Way bigger and better than Costco, we used to get them there before Aldi. DW and I split one between us.

 

[robnplunder]

I think the emphasis on the question should be on "good" than "deal." I am suspicious of any chicken part that's of giant size compare to normally grown chickens. I'd check if the chickens are fed growth hormones, antibiotics, etc.., then go from there.

 

[Aerides]

Costco chicken breasts are not a good deal for me, as we can't eat more than 4 (or two if you count the double wing breast as one), before they would need to be frozen. And I'd just as soon pick up a pair fresh than defrost (which I never remember to do in time).

If you are in the SE and have access to The Fresh Market, their chicken breasts are 2.99lb every tuesday. So I usually get 1 or 2 packs then.

Fresh Market is a good deal as compared to publix or non-sale day most chicken breast around here seems to be about 5.99lb.

 

[audreyh1]

We rarely eat chicken breasts alone as we prefer dark meat. And definitely don’t like skinless chicken breasts.

At Costco we buy the whole organic chickens. Delicious!

 

[Another Reader]

Boneless skinless chicken breasts from Sprouts. On sale every two weeks for $1.99 a pound. Sometimes less. Best chicken breast for flavor and they freeze very well.

 

[eroscott]

These have been excellent for a variety of dishes (crockpot, oven, pan, etc). Large ziplock bag so they are always in the freezer. Modest in size.

 

[24601NoMore]

Can't comment on chicken breasts as we haven't bought them from Costco, but did get some Tenderloin from Costco and it was not great..and we paid $15.99/lb when I could have bought a whole tenderloin from my fancy specialty butcher for $12.99/lb - ultimately it would have been close in cost / lb even after trimming and butchering..

I haven't yet found any proteins at Costco that are "worth it" (well, maybe their Pork Shoulder or MAYBE baby back ribs) compared to other sources, FWIW..obviously pays to shop around and compare not only price but quality..the net differences in cost in my experience are pretty minimal, but the quality differences are very noticeable. And when DW and I were eating the Costco tenderloin last night and commenting on how "meh" it was, I quickly forgot about the few pennies per lb I MIGHT have saved over other sources..I'd gladly have paid another $1 or $2 per lb for better filet..

 

[Carpediem]

OP here....I appreciate all the replies so far. Very informative and eye opening as we were blindly buying them at Costco assuming (yes, there is that 'assume' word) they were a good buy. I will definitely be searching for those $1.99/lb deals in my local supermarkets.

 

[Another Reader]

These have been excellent for a variety of dishes (crockpot, oven, pan, etc). Large ziplock bag so they are always in the freezer. Modest in size.

Wouldn't touch these. "Enhanced" by injecting a solution of salt water. No thanks!!

 

[cathy63]

Everytime we go to Costco we always buy the 6 pack of the chicken breasts (2 breasts in each pack). To be honest I haven't done any comparison research at our local grocery stores to know if this is the best deal. Does anyone else buy Costco chicken breasts? Is a good deal? Are there better options?

I buy them and freeze them, but our Costco just switched from Foster Farms to their own Kirkland brand. I bought the new kind for $2.99/lb on my most recent Costco trip, but whether I buy them again depends on the quality and taste of this new brand. I don't really care if I can get boneless skinless breasts for $1.99/lb somewhere else (and I'm not even sure I can) -- I'm willing to pay the extra $1 for the convenience, but only if they're as good as the old ones.

Edit: I just took a look at Vons online page (they're my local supermarket) and their prices range from $2.99 for regular up to $8.99 for organic. They have what looks like same Foster Farms packaging I used to get at Costco for $4.99/lb. So I think the Costco price is a reasonable deal here, even though I could match it and maybe occasionally beat it if I did the portioning and wrapping myself.

 

[eroscott]

Wouldn't touch these. "Enhanced" by injecting a solution of salt water. No thanks!!

That is hilarious. Not only sodium chloride but dihydrogen monoxide.
Warning that when I opened the bag I also detected oxygen, nitrogen, argon , carbondioxide, and other gases!

 

[SnowballCamper]

We have a local market that gets the seconds (after restaurant quality) of frozen chicken breasts. It's $10 for the big bag, and some of them are mangled and different sizes, but they are very yummy! (no logo or brand name on the bag)

 

[Jerry1]

I’m a chicken snob. Not because I want to be, but we’ve been burned with the woody breast too many times. I threw out a good amount of meat the last time we bought regular chicken breasts. Now we look for organic chicken and have been very happy with it except for the price. The two brands around here are Miller’s Amish and Bell & Evans. If you haven’t tried them, you’d surprised how much smaller a natural chicken breast is compared to what passes for normal size these days. I’ve never had one with the rubber chicken texture.

 

[Another Reader]

That is hilarious. Not only sodium chloride but dihydrogen monoxide.
Warning that when I opened the bag I also detected oxygen, nitrogen, argon , carbondioxide, and other gases!

Doing this disguises, the low-quality, no flavor, underlying product. We are low sodium diet and prefer quality chicken. Foster Farms was high quality 30 years ago, not now, Try the Sprout's chicken if you have a chance. It tastes like chicken used to taste, and it's actually fresh.

 

[Another Reader]

Sprouts usually has FRESH tenderloins on sale for $2.99. Occasionally they drop to $1.99 but not as often recently.

 

[Music Lover]

That is hilarious. Not only sodium chloride but dihydrogen monoxide.
Warning that when I opened the bag I also detected oxygen, nitrogen, argon , carbondioxide, and other gases!

It's not the fact that it's just salt water...that's no big deal. The issue is that you're paying $XX per pound for salt water.

 

[audreyh1]

Wouldn't touch these. "Enhanced" by injecting a solution of salt water. No thanks!!

Well, I brine my chickens in salt water before smoking them. Is that a problem?