The Kirkland BBQ Meat You Might Want To Skip, According To Customers

When Costco introduced their signature store brand back in 1995, their goal was to provide valued customers with high-quality products at reasonable prices. From grocery and household essentials to clothing and luggage, Kirkland Signature has largely been able to deliver on this promise, growing into a much-loved brand that today, frequently makes more money than heavy-hitters like Nike. However, when you sell over 500 products, there are bound to be a few Kirkland-brand foods and drinks that customers regret buying. If the reviews are anything to go by, Kirkland's Burnt Ends fall into this category.

Costco's version of this beloved regional delicacy from Kansas City is made using beef brisket, brown sugar, maple syrup, coffee, onion and garlic powder, and citrus extracts among many other ingredients. While these burnt ends sound delicious, this product has earned overwhelmingly negative reviews. "Tough," "chewy," "horrible," and "not good" are among the first few words mentioned on a Reddit thread about what people thought of Kirkland's burnt ends. "I would sooner call a stack of McRibs authentic BBQ before I would ever suggest eating these 'burnt ends,'" one unhappy user wrote. 

Another decried them as "gross," adding that there was a "chemical taste to them." Apart from the quality of the product, the biggest complaint among consumers is that it simply isn't worth the price. Kirkland's burnt ends cost approximately $13.49 per pound. "Very overpriced," as one Redditor wrote, noting, "I've tried them twice and been disappointed both times." Another pointed out that they were significantly more expensive than the brisket itself, which typically retails for as little as $3.59 per pound.

In case you're thinking of throwing the packet you bought in the trash, it's worth noting that some customers feel Kirkland's burnt ends can be salvaged. The key is to ignore the cooking instructions on the packet, which recommend 20 minutes in an oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or on a stove pan for 2-3 minutes. "You can't follow the instructions or they will taste awful," one such Redditor warned, elaborating, "They need to be slow-cooked in a crockpot for around 4-6 hours. That way the fat melts away and they become tender and absorb the barbecue sauce that you add to the crock pot."

Another customer had a different approach altogether. "You just have to think of them as a base," they posted. "I chop mine up a little bit, season them and put them in my air fryer to crisp up [...] Try this with some Texas toast and tell me they aren't a good substitute for most mid-range BBQ places." While both approaches might deliver better results, they do kind of defeat the purpose of shopping in the heat-and-eat section.

Costco also sells packaged burnt ends from Mission Hill Bistro and Wolf Family. But sadly, they don't fare much better in comparison. In fact, one big problem customers have with these two burnt end brands is that the BBQ sauce is included in the per-pound pricing on the packet. "Both are sold by total package weight, and the package includes half-a-pound of sauce," one Redditor wrote, understandably unhappy about paying meat prices for a mediocre sauce. The bottom line is that while the Costco's Kirkland Signature isn't just a cheaper knockoff brand, we'd steer clear of the burnt ends entirely.