Tag Archives: rotisserie chicken

Do-it-yourself roasted chicken

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Many folks grab a rotisserie chicken as a quick last-minute dinner decision. My investigation into these chickens shows that they can be a good financial decision dependent upon where you’re purchasing them and the net weight. Nutritionally they are higher in sodium than a home roasted chicken or comparable sized single-person frozen entrees or most restaurant meals. Depending upon the rest of your meals that day, the rotisserie chicken may quickly put you over the recommended daily amount of sodium.

It’s easy to roast a chicken at home if you have two hours. The “active” time needed is minimal. When you choose “do-it-yourself” you have control over the type of seasonings and the amount of added sodium. In addition to the sodium content, some people say that the seasoning in a rotisserie chicken may add “too much” flavor for some palates. You’re in control of this when you do-it-yourself.

Plan on roasting a chicken on the weekend when you’re home doing other chores. Refrigerate the whole chicken for a meal or two during the week. Financially this could save you money, especially if you can find the roasting chickens or whole fryers on sale. Another thought, while you have the oven on to bake the chicken, what else could be cooking at the same time? Baked potatoes? Baked squash? Baked apples?

Planning and preparing meals ahead can save you both time and money. Encourage the kids to help. This also gives them a “buy in” for what is being served, they may be more inclined to eat it if they helped plan and prepare it.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

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More than just simple roasted chicken

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In my last couple of blog posts, I’ve been addressing the topic of rotisserie chicken. You can’t beat them for their convenience. But you know the saying, “if it’s too good to be true it probably is”. They aren’t just simply a roasted chicken.

While many companies label them no added steroids or no hormones, they all seem to have some added seasoning or flavoring. What’s in the seasoning? This tends to vary from store to store, but the items most listed are: salt, maltodextrin, natural flavors, food starch and spices.

These seasonings add more than flavor. Nutritionally, the major difference between a home roasted chicken is the amount of sodium in the final product. According to the USDA a roasted chicken contains 72 mg of sodium for 4 ounces of meat. The nutrition facts labels on several rotisseries chickens showed the sodium content ranged from 613 mg to 884 mg for the same amount of chicken.

The MyPlate recommendations for Americans on sodium say everyone, including kids, should reduce their sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Adults age 51 and older, African Americans of any age and individuals with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should further reduce their sodium intake to 1,500 mg a day. A small serving of roasted chicken can easily be a half day’s supply for most people.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

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A tale of two chickens: cost comparison

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After the meat man at a box store revealed that the raw weight of their rotisserie chickens was always greater than 4.82 pounds, I purchased a seasoned rotisserie chicken ($4.99). I also bought a 5 pound raw whole fryer chicken ($.99/pound) from which I removed some fat and the giblets (about 5 ounces). My goal: to determine if already cooked chicken was “a good deal”.

I roasted the raw chicken @ 20 minutes a pound (1 hour and 40 minutes) seasoned with fresh herbs. After cooking this chicken weighed 3.16 pounds. The rotisserie chicken package listed the net weight as 3 pounds, but my scale showed closer to 3.5 pounds.

When deciding if a rotisserie chicken is a good deal, remember that you only get about half the net weight in edible meat. When disassembled (no skin, bones or giblets) both chickens had almost the same amount of meat with slightly more rotisserie chicken. In this example, the price of the cooked chicken meat alone was about $2.75 per pound. In another section of the same store I found cooked chicken breast meat for salads or fajitas @ $4.99 a pound. In this situation pound for pound the rotisserie chicken was (cost-wise) a “good deal.”

All rotisserie chickens are not created equal. The price and weights of a roasted chicken can vary greatly from store to store. Another consideration: added ingredients or seasonings. More on that in my next blog post: “Is it simply a roast chicken?”

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

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Seduced by a chicken

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Who hasn’t been seduced by the golden brown ready-to-eat rotisserie chicken? No matter how enticing, I’ve often wondered if this was a good deal—both nutritionally and financially. So I did some investigating and experimenting to satisfy my curiosity. Here is what I learned:

  • these chickens are usually sold by the “piece” not by the pound—it may look like you’re getting the same amount, but the starting weights (and the net weights) of rotisserie chickens vary. Learn the sizes for the chickens in your local stores or ask at the counter. You can also ask your kids to pick out the biggest one!
  • costs also vary from store-to-store and doesn’t appear based on the size of the chicken. Prices I found ranged from $4.29 to $7.99 each.
  • one chicken usually feeds 4-6 people. On the average, a 3 pound roasted chicken should yield 1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds of boneless meat or about 50%.
  • seasonings and added ingredients on rotisserie chicken also vary from store to store.
  • the nutritional basics of protein, fat, calories and cholesterol in a rotisserie chicken are similar to a home-roasted chicken. The major difference, however, is in the sodium content in a rotisserie chicken.

When you’re hungry (and don’t have 2 hours to roast a chicken) a rotisserie chicken dinner, along with a plain baked potato and salad can be a better choice than eating out. And you can use the bones to make a great broth for soup. If your store lists the sodium content of the chicken you can determine if this is a good choice.

It is easy to make your own roasted chicken. In upcoming articles (5 total) we will explore the costs of cooked chicken and how to make your own.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

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