Cluck yeah! Why we love rotisserie chicken
Published 1:30 am Monday, March 16, 2026
EVERETT — Get more cluck for your buck.
From Costco carts to fine dining, rotisserie chicken delivers a comforting fix.
America’s love affair with the hot, ready-to-eat chicken began in the 1990s. Boston Market sparked it. Costco fanned the flames. Now, nearly every grocery store wants a piece of the bird that feeds the family, the pets and provides lunch the next day.
Supermarkets offer spit-roasted chickens for cheap as a loss leader to lure you in.
Walmart’s birds hover at about $6. QFC and Fred Meyer sometimes throw in a free mini 6-pack of Pepsi with a rotisserie purchase. Whole Foods lops $2 off its chickens on Tuesdays.
When it comes to price, Costco rules the roost with its plump 3-pounders.
Like the $1.50 hot dog, the $4.99 rotisserie chicken sells itself. Trek to the back of the store and behold the bronze glory gleaming behind glass, then pick a bag.
Who walks out with only a chicken?
It happens: I saw a man at Costco doing just that. He looked genuinely happy.
I also saw a woman with four chickens in her cart.
FYI: The carts have a hook in the center to hang your chicken.
The steam is seductive. Some tear off a piece in the car. Others lean over the sink and eat like no one is watching.
On YouTube, carving looks graceful. In real life, the chicken slumps and juices splatter everywhere.
Rotisserie cooking of meat slow-turning over fire dates back to prehistoric times. Simple. Primal. Still comforting today.
In Peru, pollo a la brasa is a national staple, with rotisserie restaurants making up about 40% of the fast food market. In Canada, Swiss Chalet built an entire chain around it. Think rotisserie spring rolls and poutine with cheese curds.
At Anthony’s Woodfire Grill in Everett, a custom-built rotisserie glows behind glass as diners gaze over Port Gardner Bay. The bird stars in the restaurant’s early dinner special, a three-course feast for $35, along with London broil, Cajun prawns and rainbow trout options.
For singer John Legend, it’s more than dinner. It’s opening-act fuel.
His pre-show ritual includes half a rotisserie chicken with steamed vegetables.
“It’s very simple,” he wrote. “I like it nice and juicy and flavorful. It makes me feel like, ‘I’m ready to go sing now.’”
Sure, John. But for the rest of us, it takes more than chicken to hit Grammy-level notes.
Fun fact: His wife, Chrissy Teigen, was a Snohomish High School cheerleader.
And speaking of unforgettable chicken moments…
In Lake Stevens, Jona Sarmiento was pregnant when her water broke in the Costco rotisserie chicken section in 2023. She finished shopping, then headed to the hospital in time to deliver baby son Carlisle, who weighed twice as much as a Costco chicken. Pregnant with her second son, Lennon, in 2025, she returned to the rotisserie aisle hoping it might work again. It didn’t.
And then there are the diehards.
In 2022, Philly waiter Alexander Tominsky ate one rotisserie chicken a day for 40 straight days.
“I lost 15 pounds, had horrible acid reflux, and was completely drained,” he wrote.
His final meal became a public event. “Streets of Philadelphia” played. A crowd cheered. He cried.
“There was huge relief when I ate the final mouthful,” he said. “I definitely don’t plan to eat chicken again for a long time.”
The rest of us will be back at it by Tuesday — or sooner. Perhaps plated at sunset at Anthony’s. Or devoured right in the parking lot.
Either way, we’re getting plenty of cluck for our buck.
Cluck smarter
Readers reveal rotisserie tricks
“We generally get one or two per week and I take off most of the meat and freeze to use for pasta, enchiladas and tikka masala. It’s quite the show here, too, as I shred while also tossing bits to the always ravenous throng of cats milling at my feet and meowing. They love rotisserie chicken, too.”
— Celia Sclarenco Finsel, Cincinnati, Ohio
“My hubby makes soup stock and broth out of the bones.”
— Liz Groothof Croddy, Colorado Springs
“I can my own salsa from our garden. So I use roaster chicken and my salsa Verde with tortilla and cheese for quick enchiladas.”
— Julie Myers, Everett
“I use it to make chicken cobbler.”
— Kelly Brown, Sarasota, Florida
“We use them for chicken salad, chicken casseroles and chicken sandwiches on Costco baguettes.”
—Paula Taylor, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Need more ideas? The Food Network’s “50 Rotisserie Chicken Recipes That Make Short Work of Dinner” run from coq au vin to tzatziki bowls. Tasty offers dozens more, including Buffalo biscuits, wild rice casserole, lasagna and Alfredo dip.
Contact writer Andrea Brown at reporterbrown@gmail.com.
This story originally appeared in Sound & Summit magazine, The Daily Herald’s quarterly publication. Explore Snohomish and Island counties with each issue. Subscribe and receive four issues for $18. Call 425-339-3200 or go to soundsummitmagazine.com
