Costco Turkey Breast Oven Browned (Kirkland) Review
Author’s note: Not a paid review! These are my own silly opinions. I have no affiliation with Costco or IKEA. I bought this turkey with my own dad-gum money.
I gobble-gobbled it up.
I don’t eat a ton of lunchmeat — partly because it’s spendy, and partly because of health concerns. Processed meat is considered a significant contributor to “chronic diseases and mortality.” The World Health Organization even classified it as a “carcinogen”! Sheesh.
But, sometimes I get cravings for a nice, meaty sandwich. I bought this Costco Oven Browned Turkey Breast because it was only $4.79 per pound, and had impressively natural ingredients. More about the ingredients later.
What does it taste like?
The texture straddles “deli meat” and “home cooked turkey.” It’s not as smooth or solid as a processed cold cut, but has a slightly different grain than a freshly baked, unprocessed turkey. It leans a little closer to the latter, however.
The meat is tender and juicy with a natural “turkey” taste. It essentially has no additional flavor. If you want other flavors, you’ll need to add them yourself. This turkey is not very salty — but also not bland. I added salt to mine, but I salt virtually all my food. I love salt.
Quality
My turkey had no unwanted parts. No fat. No gristle. No jiggly bits. No skin. No fillers. Just solid, lean, tender meat. This made me very happy.
Do you also hate jiggly bits? Perhaps you would enjoy my humorous review of Costco’s Chicken Street Tacos Meal Kit.
There was some liquid in the package when I cut it open — probably less than 1/4 cup. So, still mostly turkey, by weight.
Costco’s turkey breast also tastes admirably fresh. And smells fresh. The meat is soft enough to easily cut with a fork. Basically, it’s really good. Better than I expected!
What did I make with my Costco Turkey Breast?
I’d like to tell you all the cool things I did with this turkey, but the truth is I mostly used mine for sandwiches. That’s what I did. I made sandwiches. A LOT of sandwiches. So many sandwiches.
I used Costco’s (new?) Rustic Italian Loaf for bread, and some Youngsters Baby Swiss (from the Netherlands, but also purchased at Costco). The only thing I did to “enhance” my turkey is a generous grate of fresh pepper, and some salt. It was delicious without anything “extra.”
I also cubed the cold turkey breast and added it to a charcuterie board. The meat held a good shape, but was tender enough to melt in my mouth, even as thick cubes. Here’s what my board looked like:
And here are the turkey cubes. They were nice dipped in the jams on my board, as well as spicy brown mustard, and a truffle-hot-sauce (which I may eventually review…maybe).
I think this turkey would also work well as carved cold cuts on a party buffet. Or even as hot slices in a traditional Thanksgiving-style meal (with mashed potatoes and gravy and suchlike). Although it’s not 100% the same as a regular home-baked turkey, it’s passable. And tasty. And easy? I like easy.
If you are eating this on sandwiches, like I did, this is the thinnest I could slice my turkey with my sharpest, serrated knife. I’m sure I could do better with a deli slicer, if I had one. Anyone want to buy me a deli slicer? What, no one? Oh, bummer.
Ingredients in Costco Turkey Breast
Here are the ingredients from the label:
- Turkey Breast
- Turkey Broth
- 2% or less of: Sea Salt, Sugar
Pretty good for a deli-style prepared meat. It’s nice to see sea salt, too.
Additionally, this turkey is:
- Raised without antibiotics (“No Antibiotics Ever”)
- Gluten free
- Preservative free
Cooking and Carving Instructions
There are instructions on the package to serve this either cold or hot:
- Cold Entrees: “Carve product as indicated by arrows on the package and serve.”
- Hot Entrees: “Remove product from bag and place in a shallow pan. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover pan with foil. Cook at 350° in a pre-heated oven for approximately 1 hour or until turkey breast reaches an internal temperature of 140° F.”
This is the knife I used to slice my turkey. It’s technically a bread knife, from IKEA. But I use it for all sorts of things, like watermelon and hard winter squashes, meats, and cheeses. I’ve owned it for close to 15 years. It’s an awesome knife. Super sharp, and great for wide items, like this turkey breast. And no, IKEA isn’t paying me to say that. I am not even a blip on IKEA’s radar. Although, if IKEA wanted to give me a deli-slicer, I would probably take it.
Nutrition Facts in Kirkland Oven Browned Turkey Breast
Because the turkey is 99% fat free, a 2 ounce serving has only 60 calories and half a gram of fat. Pretty good. You also get 12 grams of protein and a little dab of iron and potassium. There’s a modest 13% of your daily value of sodium per serving.
Now, let’s be real. A “normal” serving of meat is about 4 ounces. So, just double all of those numbers and you’re getting a much more realistic sense of the nutrition. Mmmkay.
Price and Servings
Costco’s turkey breasts are sold by weight, and they vary in size. I bought the smallest package I could find, which was about 3 pounds. Mine cost $14.42. The price per pound is $4.79, which is “good” for pre-cooked turkey, and “great” for deli-meat turkey.
Per ounce, the turkey costs 30 cents. Per 2-ounce serving, it is 60 cents. If you eat a “normal human being” serving of 4-ounces, it is $1.20.
Again, for being “pre-cooked,” this is a really good value. You aren’t losing any of the meat from trimming away fat or skin or jiggly bits, and you aren’t losing water weight as it cooks. It’s essentially all food-weight.
This turkey is more expensive than Costco’s frozen Kirkland Chicken Breasts (you can read my snarky review here), but that chicken is smaller and lighter after cooking, so it’s not as huge a savings as it sounds. Plus, you gotta cook it. Plus, I liked this turkey a whole lot better than the chicken! Much tastier.
My turkey breast was 48 ounces, so at 2 ounces per serving, it would yield 24 servings. However, in reality, I got about 10 big, meaty sandwiches from it, plus a generous sprinkle of chunks for my charcuterie board.
Shelf-life
The sell-by date on my unopened packaged allowed me about 3 weeks to consume (or freeze). There isn’t any information on how quickly it should be eaten once opened. Or, if there is, I couldn’t find it.
I ate mine in exactly 7 days, and although it tasted somewhat “less fresh” at the end of the week, it was still edible. I mean, I ate it. So.
This is a “Kirkland Signature” (Costco store-brand) product, and the item is #47500. You can find this in the Deli area, near the cheeses.
Dramatic Conclusion
This is tasty, easy, high-quality turkey meat. It’s a great value. I would buy it again. It’s a good option for a lunchmeat without added preservatives.
I might try freezing half of it next time, however, so that I’m not in a mad rush trying to “gobble” it up before it goes bad.
Gobble. Ha.
The End.
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews of Costco products I’ve written:
