Chicken is a staple American diet so much that if you’d earn a dollar for every time the average American eats chicken Bezos will be holding out the door of your car.
Alright, I might have exaggerated above but you get what I mean. Chicken is a good source of protein, it is lean and healthy as well.
It’s no surprise people are in love with chicken, and the love affair continues to grow.
There are different kinds of chickens from kosher, halal, natural, air chilled, cage-free, etc. Some people are also health-conscious and prefer organic or cage-free chickens to broilers.
Rotisserie is the most popular style of cooked chicken with many consumers listing it as their favorites.
If you are looking for grocery stores with the best chicken then this article is for you.
Keep reading.
Best Rotisserie Chicken ranked from different Grocery stores in America 2021
1. Sprouts Farmers Market rotisserie chicken
Most people won’t be familiar with this chain as it is a relatively small chain but they’ve been consistently providing some of the best chicken for many years now.
The sprouts farmers market has a pedigree for offering antibiotic-free and hormone-free chickens. This means that it’s approved by the USDA to be medication free and has no health risks when you eat it.
Their chicken especially the rotisserie chicken has been voted by many online platforms to be one of the best tasting meat. It has the perfect mix of flavor that livens up your mouth and make your taste buds dance from its deliciousness.
The sprouts farmers market has two customer favorites; beak and wings and the unseasoned roasted chicken. The beak and wing have a herb flavor to them and the unseasoned roasted chicken is well, just as chicken should be. You can use the former for any recipe given its natural taste.
You can find a sprouts farmers market in 21 states with over 300 stores spread across them. You can always use google maps to find the closest store to you. If it’s far from your home don’t worry there are other stores just as the sprouts farmers market listed below.
2. Publix
Publix is another chain with antibiotic-free chicken. What’s more? They have finger-licking rotisserie chicken. So much it’s said that even if you think you don’t need it, buy one anyway. Yup, that’s just how good they are.
They also offer vegetarian diets with no added preservatives or ingredients. Their chicken is tender and soaks up luscious spices into the meat.
Fried chicken is also part of the menu many people savor. Publix has a large following primarily for the fried chicken. It’s crispy on the outside and plush interior with favorable moisture and texture.
Their fried chicken is prepared on-site and deep-fried. It doesn’t taste salty either with a nice blend of juicy flavors.
Publix is a renowned chicken hotspot and with a name for one of the most mouthwatering types of chickens, you’ll ever feast on.
3. ShopRite
If you are looking for healthy chicken options that are USDA certified to be antibiotic free and hormone-free, cage-free, and a hundred percent vegetarian diet.
They have a large array of chickens from Barbecue, rotisserie, and other fancy style recipes. The barbecue recipe is filled with tasty spices that are tastier in real life than in pictures.
On the downside, ShopRite does not have many chains in the states. There are only six locations spread between New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.
If these chains are not close to you then you might have to load up your RV for a cross country ride to taste the ShopRite different delicacies of chicken.
4. Costo
A visit to Costo isn’t complete without picking the rotisserie chicken. They are the best at it, and no one comes close.
Costo set a record when they sold more than 90 million rotisserie chickens in 2018. They’ve perfected the art of making affordable rotisserie chicken with a cult following that continues to skyrocket each year.
Costo is so big that it’s the first retailer to control its entire chicken supply chain and launch in China. As if that’s not enough, they keep the price ridiculously cheap at $4.99.
How tasty their chicken is can be explained by the millions of Americans queuing up to have a piece of their finger-licking chicken.
Costo’s chicken weighs 3 pounds which are 1 pound heavier than the average birds you’ll find at that price. It’s a no brainer!
When it comes to how healthy it is – Dr. Oz has admonished buyers to enjoy the Costo special as it’s one of the healthiest processed foods out there.
The company also adds a tag of gluten-free and healthy to the rotisserie chicken.
5. Whole Foods Market
Whole foods market is wholly committed to serving chickens that are free of hormones and anti-biotic. It’s as healthy as healthy gets.
Wholefoods market was bought by Amazon. Since then, the company hasn’t strayed from its principle – to raise animals free from medications, transported, and slaughtered in a dignifying way.
Whole foods has an array of different chickens, the most popular being their rotisserie chicken. Thanks to the partnership, customers are ensured of fast delivery services.
The rotisserie chicken is the most purchased. However, they are rather bland compared to what you get from Costo, and expensive too.
Aside from the fact that animals are organically raised and killed in a cultured manner, you won’t be as impressed when you taste the chicken. The flavoring doesn’t leave a memorable experience to your taste buds aside from the fact you are eating a healthy piece.
Whole foods stores have over 500 chains spread out across the United States making it easier to access anytime you feel like eating a certified healthy chicken.
6. Kroger
Kroger is the bigger grocery store chain. You’d find different kinds of chicken but their meat policies are rather vague.
Their chicken is can cost less than $3 which is almost charity if you ask me. The rotisserie chicken is not consistent as it’s sometimes over or undercooked.
Kroger needs to send their chickens to the gym due to the inconsistent and skinny stature. Always check the date the meat was packaged to avoid picking old chicken.
When it comes to the taste of the rotisserie it’s straight down average. You’ll also appreciate the moderate spices especially the salt.
7. Fairway Market
Fairway market just like the Wholefoods market practice raising and slaughtering animals as humanely possible. When you purchase chicken from fairway market, you rest assured it’s 100% healthy.
The rotisserie chicken is tasty and has a combination of different flavors of herb, lemon, garlic, and Latin style. Fairway has an ample selection of chicken from fresh meat from halal, organic to medication-free.
8. Safeway
Safeway chicken is organic and completely healthy for eating. Their rotisserie chicken is ranked to be among the juiciest. It has an orangey flavor which instantly sets it apart from other chicken .recipes.
It’s made with brown sugar, corn, syrup, citric acid, and white sugar which leaves a tantalizing taste in your mouth.
Safeway chicken prices are fairly priced and you won’t have any problem choosing from the variety of options they have.
What to Consider before buying chicken from a grocery store?
Before you rush down to pick one of the finger-licking chicken from any store, you should know what the words on the packaging mean.
Why does it matter?
You may eat one that was raised primarily on antibiotics meaning you’d be eating the flesh and some medications. This could be harmful to your health and that’s what makes it important to know which type of chicken you are buying.
The type of chicken will allow you to know whether it’s organic, cage free, antibiotic-free, and 100% safe for consumption.
Below are some are grocery store packaging words that will help you know the type of chicken you are buying.
Organic
If there’s anything you should keep your eyes peeled for is the USDA organic logo. This simply means that the chicken was raised naturally with no added chemicals to increase growth size.
If a chicken is certified by the USDA to be organic, it’s a sign of healthy practice to ensure your chicken is as natural as God created it.
Anti-Biotic and Hormone-Free
The USDA has placed a ban on the use of Antibiotics. All chicken poultry follows this standard practice. Rest assured that you are not eating half flesh and half the medication of a chicken.
You are not a chicken, it is only right you find the USDA label on the package as an antibiotic.
Cage-Free
The cage-free bird is an irony. There’s no such thing as cage-free when they are still packed in warehouses.
The USDA uses the word free-roaming and states that chickens should be allowed for unspecified time freedom to sprawl and scurry outdoors.
Shit in the sunshine and take a breath of fresh air just as any person would before they face a definite end. The whole narrative is ironic as I’ve said earlier.
Air Chilled
It’s a good idea to buy air-chilled chicken. This entails that the chicken after being slaughtered was hanged in the air as opposed to putting it in water.
Hanging chicken in the air ensures you don’t lose the original taste while submerging it in water might alter the flavor.
The chicken will likely add more weight at the same time. It’s good, right? You could instantly make your skinny chicken add some pounds?
Well, if you actually don’t want to enjoy your chicken and would rather bite on bland, soggy chicken then fine, go ahead.
Kosher / Halal
Kosher is chicken is one that has been slaughtered and packaged satisfying the requirements of the Jewish law. Just as Halal chicken is under Islamic laws.
There’s nothing wrong with eating the meat despite you falling out of the scope of these religions. The most important thing to know is to read the packaging and find the required USDA approval before buying.
Conclusion
Before the start of your trip to the grocery store to pick your luscious chicken, you should know what you are carting.
Ensure it has a USDA mark of approval and is packaged. Air chilled chicken is one of the best you can buy because it’s processed in a fashion that maintains the natural flavor.
Ops before I forget, I left a large 4lbs rotisserie chicken in the Oven. It’s been an hour thirty minutes. I will see you in the next post, not before I clear the heap of chicken on my plate.
We recommend reading the following articles. You’ll find other comparisons to help you know which stores to go to and avoid in the future:
- Sam’s vs Costco meat: Who has better meat?
- Is Sprouts better than Whole Foods?
- Kroger vs Meijer: Which is the better store?
- Instacart vs. Shipt: Which grocery delivery service is better to shop with?
Moses Dzarmah is the founder of Grocerycorridor. Having worked in the grocery store for almost all his life. His colleagues called him the grocery hermit for his knowledge around the field that’s encompassing. Almost disturbing that he’d know every nitty gritty part associated to grocery stores. I decided to pen down as my colleagues will endearingly say with a slight mockery “wealth of experience”.