Grocery rotisserie chicken (ingredients, bbq, freeze, reheat)

[daylux]

Have you had grocery rotisserie chicken? Are they fresh or reheated? What are your opinions in general?

I'm making chicken soup and instead of slow simmering a whole chicken, I found a recipe by Laura Vitale that calls for roasted chicken. She roasts the chicken for a few hours in the oven with thyme, and then slow simmers (with the rest of the ingredients) bone-in for a few more. It's supposed to give chicken soup a really rich flavor, so I want to at least try it.

If they're not fresh, I will probably roast my own whole chicken. I just want to make sure that the chicken is fresh. We try to be careful about reheating cooked chicken too much and like to freeze meals for later. I've looked online and can't find any info. I know I could ask the clerk, but I'm afraid they will just tell me what I want to hear. The chicken doesn't have a date on them (I checked). I just worry they reheat them or leave them out too long, and then I want to use the chicken several more days and reheat myself, so...So thought I would ask here what your opinions are of rotisserie chicken from the grocer .

[suzy_q2010]

I buy rotisserie chickens all the time. They do have to sit under the heat lamp to keep warm for those who plan to eat them right away, but I have never had one that was dried out. I use them in recipes, too.

If it is a large store that sells many of them, they should not be sitting there fore a long time. You could always ask for one hot off the spit, if you were willing to wait for it to finish cooking.

[SXMGirl]

I only get my rotisserie chickens from either BJ's or Costco and they are always fresh. Sam's Club is the same, so if you belong to one of these, then that is where I would get my chicken. When you go to those stores, they are cooking the chickens all day and always sell out.

If you want a grocery store rotisserie chicken, ask the workers--not the store manager. You will probably get an honest answer from the employees, who may tell you that you need to go elsewhere for your chicken. I know that at my local grocery, the employees purchase very little where they work.

[MaineCat]

I work for a large supermarket chain in the Northeast,so I'll tell you exactly how our rotisserie program works. I can't,of course,speak for how other companies operate.

Our rotisserie chickens are specifically ordered to be cooked in the deli...we do not use chickens from the meat department.I've heard that some stores use chickens form the meat department near their sell-by date,but we do not. When they are cooked,they go into a hot box for holding up to four hours. The temperatures are checked every 2 hours. After four hours,any chickens left from that batch are removed and chilled on a cart. The next morning,they are put out in the cold case at a reduced price. They are dated,and any not sold will be disposed of the next morning. As to whether they are good or not,I can say that they are quite popular and we have a problem keeping up with the demand. For myself,I prefer to buy a roaster and cook it myself. The reasons are cost and the fact that I like to add my own touches. I cut up a lemon and put it in the cavity and often put fresh herbs under the skin...delicious and very easy!

[cb at sea]

My friend buys one every week...they use it in MANY ways...from sliced, to soups, to sandwiches....stews, etc....when they're on sale, it's almost cheaper than doing it yourself!

[charlygal]

Just ask and wait for a fresh one off the spit.

[ciceropolo]

Good experiences. The grocery store where I buy rotisserie chicken time stamps them so you know when they came out of oven. Here they are 4.79 for whole chicken and quite tasty. I have even gotten ones that were cooked in the AM shift and under heat lamp for 6-8 hours and they were just as tasty (seem to absorb more of the seasoning essence) and perfect for using in chicken chili, as the chicken by that time simply falls off the bones and separates very cleanly.

When I've travelled I notice other grocery chains have more seasoning selections. I found the lemon pepper version done at an Albertson's to be delicious. If you're a stickler for fresh off the rotisserie as Charlygal mentioned, ask the department when they routinely cook them and bring them out for customers. The grocery store by me often does a shift around 8:30-9am and another around 4:15- 4:45pm for the dinner traffic volume.

Only drawback I've ever had was one which seemed like it hadn't been cooked as long as I prefer. Oh, and the residual smell of delicious chicken rotisserie lingering in my auto.

[lucknow]

Around these parts they put a time stamp on the chicken package as they come off the spits. After about 2 hours they reduce them 50% and that's when I buy one. LOL

[Ketabcha]

I buy rotisserie chicken every time I'm in the grocery store. I have been doing that for years. I've never had a bad chicken yet. Plus there is always a selection of bbq or lemon or simply chicken. I don't like bbq but the lemon is wonderful. The chickens are all marked with the time they came out of the oven. They have gone up a bit in price over the years. I now pay just under $6.00 for the chicken. Yum.

[HappyFarm34]

Originally Posted by MaineCat

I work for a large supermarket chain in the Northeast,so I'll tell you exactly how our rotisserie program works. I can't,of course,speak for how other companies operate.

Our rotisserie chickens are specifically ordered to be cooked in the deli...we do not use chickens from the meat department.I've heard that some stores use chickens form the meat department near their sell-by date,but we do not. When they are cooked,they go into a hot box for holding up to four hours. The temperatures are checked every 2 hours. After four hours,any chickens left from that batch are removed and chilled on a cart. The next morning,they are put out in the cold case at a reduced price. They are dated,and any not sold will be disposed of the next morning. As to whether they are good or not,I can say that they are quite popular and we have a problem keeping up with the demand. For myself,I prefer to buy a roaster and cook it myself. The reasons are cost and the fact that I like to add my own touches. I cut up a lemon and put it in the cavity and often put fresh herbs under the skin...delicious and very easy!

as a former deli employee, that sounds about similar how it was done where I used to work. They never used chickens from the meat dept. Only chickens specifically ordered for the Deli were used. Strict protocol were followed to ensure food safety and freshness.