Rotisserie chicken facts for kids

Rotisserie chicken is a tasty chicken dish cooked on a special machine called a rotisserie. This machine spins the chicken slowly while it cooks with direct heat, often from electric or gas heaters. This way, the chicken cooks evenly and gets super crispy on the outside. If you have any leftover rotisserie chicken, you can use it in many other meals like soups, chicken salads, or sandwiches.

Rotisserie Chicken in the United States

In the United States, you could find ready-to-eat rotisserie chickens in grocery stores and butcher shops for a long time. But they didn't become super popular until the early 1990s. That's when places like Boston Market helped make selling packaged rotisserie chickens a big deal.

Now, rotisserie chickens are incredibly popular! In 2010, people in the U.S. bought 600 million rotisserie chickens from supermarkets and other stores. By 2018, that number grew to over 900 million chickens sold!

You might notice that rotisserie chickens are often cheaper than raw, uncooked chickens. There are a couple of reasons why this might be. First, some grocery stores might sell them at a lower price to get people to come into the store. The idea is that if you come for the chicken, you'll probably buy other groceries too. Second, these chickens are sometimes made from poultry that is close to its "best by" date. By cooking and selling them, stores can still make some money instead of throwing them away.

In the U.S., chickens used for rotisserie cooking might be injected with a special liquid called brine. This helps them stay moist and juicy. Other ingredients can also be added to give them more flavor and help them get that nice brown color.

Costco's Famous Rotisserie Chickens

Costco is one of the biggest sellers of rotisserie chickens in the United States. Many people even call it "the undisputed king of rotisserie chickens." In 2017 alone, Costco sold about 87 million rotisserie chickens in the U.S.

Costco's chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, has always said that Costco will keep the price of its chickens at $4.99. This has been the price since 2009, and they plan to keep it that way!

To make sure they have enough chickens, Costco started building a huge new facility in Fremont, Nebraska in 2017. This facility will include a place for hatching chicks, a feed mill, and a processing plant. It's expected to produce around 100 million chickens each year. That's about 40% of all the chickens Costco needs! This big project cost between $275 million and $400 million.

Rotisserie Chicken Around the World

Canada's Love for Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie chicken has been a favorite food in Canada since the 1950s. It's a big part of Canadian culture! Two popular Canadian restaurant chains, Swiss Chalet and St-Hubert, are famous for their chicken. Other chains like Nandos and many local restaurants also serve it. You can also find rotisserie chicken in most Canadian supermarkets.

Swiss Chalet even has its own TV channel that shows only rotisserie chicken content, all day, every day! It usually shows chickens spinning on a rotisserie. Sometimes, a dancing person dressed like a container of Swiss Chalet's dipping sauce appears!

Napoleon and French Rotisserie Chicken

Even famous historical figures enjoyed rotisserie chicken! Napoleon Bonaparte was known to eat rotisserie chickens often.

Australia's Charcoal Chicken

In Australia, the two main supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, sell chickens cooked in large ovens. A common type of local shop, similar to a fish and chip shop, also sells "charcoal chicken". These chickens are rotated and cooked over charcoal, giving them a unique smoky flavor.

Images for kids

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  Chickens being roasted on a spit. This picture is from a book called Romance of Alexander, made in Bruges, 1338-44.

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  Rotisserie chicken getting ready to cook on a barbecue grill.

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  Rotisserie chicken (called pollo rostizado) cooking at a take-out shop in Mexico City.

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  Tacos made with roast chicken in Mexico City.

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  A Costco rotisserie chicken, famous for its low price.

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  A packaged rotisserie chicken, ready to take home.

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  Rotisserie chicken being cooked at a restaurant in California.