The Costco Item To Look Out For When You Don't Want To Buy An Entire Rotisserie Chicken

If you're a frequent Costco shopper, chances are you're familiar with the store's famous rotisserie chicken. Hailed as being juicy, tender, and dependably delicious, it's up there as one of the best-prepared foods you can buy at Costco, not to mention one of the most affordable. Despite inflation, it has been consistently priced at just $4.99. Unsurprisingly, it's a popular option for families looking to get the best bite for their buck. But let's say you're in the market for some pre-cooked poultry for a party of one, prefer dark meat, or simply don't want to buy an entire bird for dinner. Lucky for you, there's a Costco hack for that.

Thanks to the carnivorous Costco community on Reddit, we now know to look out for rotisserie chicken leg quarters the next time we hit the deli section. As Reddit user u/BuonaDomenica documented in a post in r/Costco in 2023, some locations of the grocery chain sell the rotisserie chicken legs as a prepackaged item, with an eight-count of quarters (i.e. over a pound of meat) also ringing in at just $4.99. "The meat falls off very easily if you microwave a leg quarter for two minutes," the Redditor wrote, adding that they were available at the Costco in Palm Desert, California, almost daily. However, it seems that the quarters are more difficult to find than the rotisserie chickens themselves.

Other users responding to u/BuonaDomenica's thread bemoaned the fact that their local store rarely sold chicken legs. "These are a great deal, but I only see them occasionally so you can't just put them on your grocery list and expect to find them," one wrote. "A nice bonus when they are around though." A nice bonus indeed, given that you can use the versatile dark meat in chicken soups and stews, in homemade kung pao chicken, or a simple bánh mì sandwich. If you don't want to enjoy them straight out of the package with a side of greens, that is.

Now, if you don't spot the packages set out in the case at your local store, all hope may not be lost. In a more recent r/Costco post, Redditor u/Motatopotato revealed that Costco customers can actually request to buy just the legs and thighs of the chicken from the deli department — at their location, at least. As other users in the thread acknowledged, though, it will depend on how much leftover rotisserie chicken there was from the day before, and it will probably still be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

One user who claims to be a Costco deli employee took to the thread to explain that the quarters are harvested from unsold chickens, usually chilled overnight and then put into the deli cases first thing in the morning. They sell out fast, so you might say the early bird gets the legs.