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Costco shoppers love the warehouse store for its discounts on quality products. This is especially true when it comes to Costco’s chicken—from value packs of raw chicken to stock your freezer to the famous $5 rotisserie chicken, Costco is synonymous with chicken. But recently, customers have taken to Reddit to complain about its quality.
What’s Going on With Costco’s Chicken?
Just last year, Costco’s beloved rotisserie chicken was under fire after customers found the meat had a yellow-green hue, and the year before that, customers reported the chicken suddenly had a “distinct chemical flavor.” Now, the chicken breasts are allegedly experiencing a drop in quality too.
In a recent Reddit thread on the r/Costco subreddit, one user posted a photo of their raw chicken breasts, along with the question “What is going on with the chicken lately?”
The post garnered over 800 comments, with many sharing that they’ve also experienced “woody” or stringy chicken breasts from Costco.
"Woody chicken. It's fairly common these days since it's correlated with a number of factors present in modern industrial chicken production,” reads the top comment. Another Reddit user replied, “I stopped buying Costco chicken breasts years ago because of this crap. I was sick of playing the lottery,” adding, “I never have a problem with the chicken thighs.”
Back in September, another Reddit thread on the subject went viral when one user posted screenshots of an email they sent to Costco’s CEO, Ron Vachris. The email detailed their experience with “woody” (or tough) chicken breasts, which caused them to switch over to Costco due to the higher quality. But recently, they’ve run into the same problem with Costco’s chicken. They describe the chicken as “jello, crunchy, [and] woody.”
The Reddit user points out that the texture is the worst the larger the chicken breasts are writing, “The big ones are almost always disgusting at this point. I’m on night shift and eating a 12.7 ounce breast right at this moment, and finishing it is merely an exercise in training myself to ignore my gag reflex.”
Other users agreed and chimed in with their own experience in the comments, with one user even explaining that they completely stopped buying chicken from Costco in the last year due to this issue.
“Yep, wife and I totally stopped buying chicken last year due to getting several packs with this,” writes another Reddit user. “It's nasty and totally the result of the poultry industry doing everything possible to increase the breast size since it is/was the most valuable part of the chicken.”
Vachris did respond to the original poster’s email saying Costco will be investigating further. However, there has been no official statement from the CEO or the company on the situation.
What Is Woody Chicken?
What the user described as “woody” chicken has become an increasingly common complaint among chicken breast eaters in recent years. The meat is tough and often has a stringy, shredded texture (even when raw) that some people are also calling “spaghetti meat” chicken.
Can You Eat Woody Chicken Breast?
The good news is that while woody or stringy chicken might not be the most pleasant to eat, it is still safe to eat and luckily, we have a few tips for making it taste better too:
- Tenderize the meat in a yogurt or buttermilk marinade. This will release enzymes that will help tenderize the meat.
- Lean into the texture you’re given and shred the chicken to use in soups or stews.
If all else fails, just return the chicken. As Vachris said, “you are entitled to a full refund of any on any below quality product you have purchased [from Costco].” And in the meantime, maybe opt for chicken thighs instead.
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