Costco's 'good value' roast chooks spark fiery debate online: 'Raw inside and gross '

Get ready to dive into the great Aussie roast chicken debate, where social media users are torn between the gargantuan $6.99 Costco birds and their taste buds. It all began innocently enough on the $10 Meals Australia Facebook Page, where a savvy shopper shared the news of Costco's budget-friendly poultry. "If you have a Costco near you," they exclaimed, "their huge roast chickens are $6.99. Approx 1kg of meat off one bird. Imagine what you could do with that."

But what started as a celebration of cost-effective protein quickly turned into a showdown of flavour proportions. "I personally don't like the taste of their chickens," one brave soul confessed. "Twice now I have bought their chicken, went to serve it up and it had a weird taste."

Fowl flavours

The critiques kept rolling in, with one commenter lamenting, "The texture is awful," and another declaring them "99.9% raw inside and gross. Stopped buying them for this reason." Ouch.

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Responding to the criticism, another member shared insider knowledge, revealing that some local CostCo stores had allegedly attempted to rectify the taste issue by cooking the chickens for longer. Alas, the efforts fell flat. "I prefer Woolworths," she sighed, "but I hardly get them due to the price."

"I found the [Costco] chicken really watery and just a different taste," another shopper chimed in. "I prefer the Drakes ones the best, they are always lovely."

It's all in the seasoning

As the debate raged on, one member suggested that perhaps the secret lies in seasoning. "I'm almost sure it's under salted," they mused, "I salted it a little before throwing it in a roll with lettuce and mayo and it was a whole other bird."

Amidst the discussion, some concluded it was all a fuss over nothing. "I personally think they don't have as much flavour in the meat, but they still get eaten and it works when covered in gravy or mayo or in a pasta bake," one commenter confessed.

As for the mystery behind the unique taste of Costco's chickens, some savvy home-chefs pointed out they are brined, which explains their distinct flavour.

So, what exactly does this entail? Brining a chicken involves immersing the meat in a salty solution, known as "brine," allowing it to soak and infuse with flavour, tenderise, and retain moisture, resulting in a juicier roast.

"The fact they are brined also makes them pinker," one user clarified, "resulting in people assuming they aren't cooked properly."

Aldi's unusual chook

Amidst all the debate, if you were considering making a beeline for Aldi instead to satisfy your poultry cravings, you might want to pump the brakes. Reports recently surfaced of what some social media users called a "Chernobyl chicken" found in one shopper's grocery haul – complete with three legs!

As speculation swirled, theories abounded regarding the origin of the strange looking chicken. Some speculated a torn tail-end, while others pondered whether a butchering technique could have caused the appearance of a third leg.

How to score a free roast chicken

After all this talk, you might think twice about rushing to snag a budget-friendly chook from Costco, or Aldi for that matter.

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But here's a little secret: did you know you can actually bag a free chicken at Coles under certain circumstances? If the store runs out of BBQ chickens entirely, they'll generously offer you a voucher for a complimentary one. Just don't count on the same deal if they're in the midst of cooking up a fresh batch.

So the next time you're in the market for a simple roast chook from an Aussie supermarket, remember: there might just be more to consider than the poultry price tag.

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