{"id":1656,"date":"2024-07-04T04:19:05","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T04:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2025-03-29T09:47:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T13:47:28","slug":"costco-frozen-chicken-breasts-kirkland-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2024\/07\/04\/costco-frozen-chicken-breasts-kirkland-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Costco Frozen Chicken Breasts (Kirkland) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s note: I wasn\u2019t paid or compensated in any way for this review, and I have no affiliation with  <\/em>Costco<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call the Chicken Police.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meh. I’m not totally<\/em> sure how I feel about these boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts from Costco<\/a>. They are convenient to keep on hand \u2014 and not terrible<\/em> \u2014 but I’m not certain I saved enough money to justify the modest reduction in quality. Let me explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Large<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Costco sells a few different types of Kirkland (store-brand) frozen chicken meat<\/a> \u2014 including tenderloins, thighs, and wings. The frozen chicken breasts come in a big 6.5 pound bag. But, to my surprise, there were only 9 breasts in the bag. This is because they are HUGE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I mean. Really huge. And thick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a lonely<\/em> single person like I am, one<\/em> breast is likely 3-4 meals. I don’t mind this when I’m cooking a big batch of something, like soup. But for preparing a single-serve entree, these are an awkward size. More about the servings later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tongs<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cooking from frozen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. The bag said I could cook the meat either from frozen, or thawed. I tried them frozen first. I put two, whole, frozen breasts in a pot of soup and let them simmer slowly until cooked through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The breasts shrunk in size somewhat, but remained extremely thick. In fact, I think they got thicker. I let them rest on a cutting board before dicing and returning to my soup to finish cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fingers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The chicken breast texture turned out “ok.” It is a bit coarse, and not the most flavorful, but after simmering slowly in my finished chowder, it tasted acceptable. It’s not tough or chewy. If you are watching your salt intake, the meat did not taste salty at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hand<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was not thrilled to see a huge air pocket under the skin of one of my breasts. I mean, these are “skinless,” so it isn’t “skin.” But the outer layer. The bag says the chicken “contains up to 8% solution water and Kosher salt.” The inside of this weird, cavernous air pocket is oozey and gooey \u2014 not at all the way chicken should be. Not sure what happened here, but it grossed me out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually when poultry has an added salt\/water solution, it is a practice called “plumping,” where the meat is injected with the salt solution. You can read more about “plumping” here<\/a>. I don’t know if this is what Costco did to their chicken or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Again, theses are “skinless” chicken breasts. However, after boiling them whole in my soup, the broth was FULL of little white stringy bits of chicken skin. I mean, a LOT of it. Just tiny, paper-thin shreds everywhere. Because of this, I would not<\/em> recommend boiling the chicken directly in a soup (or other recipe) \u2014 I’d boil it in a separate pot, and then add it later. The skin bits really changed the taste and texture of my chowder! Ew. Call the Chicken Police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cooking from thawed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For my next batch of soup (look, I really like soup, ok?), I tried fully thawing the chicken first. Mine needed about 24 hours in the refrigerator to thaw allll<\/em> the way through. The meat had a moderate amount of foam and bubbles on the surface, but they smelled fine and the thawed texture looked OK. It’s a little “soggier” and more flaccid than fresh chicken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Again, the chicken breasts shrunk somewhat<\/em> during thawing \u2014 there was a lot of water in the bag, too. I diced the thawed, raw chicken before adding to my soup. In the end, I preferred the thawed taste\/texture over the frozen option. The meat didn’t taste as coarse, was tender and easy to chew, and I also did not have any obnoxious skin bits in my soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although the meat tasted “fine,” I could still tell a difference from the fresh chicken breasts I normally buy. It’s just a slightly more processed, less tasty-taste. Not horrible. But not awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(And yes, that’s a slice of Aldi Italian Take and Bake Bread<\/a> on that plate.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thawing Instructions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The chicken breasts are “ice glazed.” Like my heart. (Ice glazing helps prevent freezer burn and reduces changes in texture or taste. Read more about it here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the thawing instructions from the bag. There’s a “quick thaw” option by submerging the chicken in water. This is what I usually do for my frozen fish, and it works well for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutrition Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Nutrition<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here are the nutrition facts from the label on the bag. Since there are 26 servings per bag, and only 9 breasts, this means you are supposed to get 2.89 servings per breast. Awkward, but OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 4-ounce portion has 100 calories and 22 grams of protein. There’s 8% of your daily value of sodium (from the added saline solution), which is modest. Only 1 gram of fat per serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients in Frozen Chicken Breasts from Costco Kirkland<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients from the bag:<\/p>\n\n\n\n