FOOD NEWS
Why Do Supermarket Rotisserie Chickens Cost Less Than Raw Ones?
BY Kerry Hayes
Buying the convenient and inexpensive rotisserie chicken from a grocery store feels like a bargain, but they only come cheaper due to their nearing sell-by date and smaller size.
Grocery stores want to minimize food and financial loss, so they sometimes repurpose their not-so-fresh chickens by chucking them on the rotisserie and selling them cooked.
Even though it's sold for less, it's a saving for the store compared to throwing it away. Plus, rotisserie chickens are smaller than the raw ones, leading to their lower costs.
According to Rowe Farms (via CBC), a fresh one weighs 3.5 to 4 pounds while a rotisserie chicken weighs only about 2.6 pounds, as a result of the meat shrinking when cooked.