Whatever Happened To Costco's Carne Asada Bake?

Say what you will about Costco's famous hot dog deal — the size, flavor, and price are all impressive — but there are still some who prefer that other famous food court fare, the signature chicken bake. This tube of dough — which we can't leave Costco without — contains chicken, bacon, parmesan, and Caesar dressing, baked until hot and covered with more salty cheese. So it may come with some disappointment for chicken bake partisans to learn that there once was another, like a long lost sibling, that is no more. Yes, the carne asada bake was a promising upstart that never found a foothold among Costco customers leaving only a tale of what could have been. What then went wrong?

For those who never lived in California, take heart as you didn't really stand much of a chance at trying the carne asada bake. Tested at Costco stores across the Golden State in 2011, the dish was in form much like the chicken bake. The dough was filled with strips of carne asada, beef that is traditionally marinated in flavorful seasonings like orange juice and grilled for a smoky char, according to Chef Bricia Lopez. There was also guacamole, pico de gallo, and cheese. At first pass, this probably sounds like a winning combination, but when you think of all of those ingredients being heated together, flaws become apparent, which may be why Costco gave the carne asada bake the axe.

Given the passage of time — who remembers what they ate 13 years ago — and the small-ish sample size of the test audience, not much online remains to commemorate the carne asada bake. The general consensus on Reddit's r/Costco thread is that the carne asada bake failed from the jump with tough, chewy strips on meat that bore little resemblance to traditional grilled carne asada. The heated guacamole apparently seemed more like "sour green sauce" than the creamy, generally cold spread. One commenter lamented that it might have been better with the guacamole on the side. But it wasn't all bad news, as at least one Redditor claimed that the meat was tasty and another said that they loved it.

Shed tears if you must, or celebrate the experimental spirit of the cooks in Costco's test kitchen even if every offering isn't a success. For adventurous Costco customers with a valid passport, consider heading abroad for a taste of other bakes the big-box store offers. For instance, Costco's South Korean stores have a bulgogi pork bake with marinated meat and scallions stuffed in cheese-covered bread. There is also a Mexican chicken bake filled with seasoned meat and bell peppers that can be had in, of all places, Iceland's Costco stores.