Nothing beats the tradition of a Sunday chicken roast, cooked to golden crispy perfection with herbs and potatoes. But if you’re not feeling up to cooking, a pre-cooked supermarket roast chicken could just as well make a great centrepiece to a no-fuss meal with some salad and bread rolls. In fact, nearly one in three (33%) shoppers buy a hot chook for parties. Plus, 22% of respondents said they typically pick up a rotisserie chicken as part of their regular grocery shop and 54% have tried options from different supermarkets. About a fifth (23%) of those surveyed also said they prefer to buy later in the day when the price is reduced. To find out which stores offer the best combination of taste and value, Canstar Blue compared the finest hot roast chickens at the supermarket.
Canstar Blue surveyed 1,867 Australians for their feedback on the supermarket hot roast chicken(s) they’ve purchased and eaten in the last three months. Note: this refers to pre-cooked, ready to eat hot chickens sold in the meat or deli section of the supermarket.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their supermarket hot roast chicken(s) from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Costco roasted the competition with five stars in every category! This steaming win comprised of five star reviews for taste, value for money, freshness, packaging convenience and overall satisfaction. The only other brand to enjoy five stars was Foodland, which impressed with the freshness and taste of its roast chicken.
Find more detailed information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
Costco started stocking its shelves with its own range of products nearly 20 years ago, joining a long list of supermarket homebrands such as Woolworths Essentials and Coles Brand. You can grab the popular rotisserie chicken from Costco’s Deli department for $6.99, although you will need to fork out an extra $60 for the annual membership fee before you can start shopping. Members can alternatively pre-order hot chooks online, but you’ll need to order a minimum of 20 chickens.
There’s a lot to think about when shopping for a rotisserie chicken. First, you’ll need to consider all matters of size. If you’re preparing lunch for the whole family for example, then anything other than a whole cooked chicken simply won’t cut it. On the other hand, if you’re just sorting out dinner for two, then a half chicken should be more than enough. Most supermarkets sell whole roast chickens, as well as half cuts and other parts. Curious as to which cut Aussies like best? Here’s what our survey respondents said were their favourite chicken bits:
Flavour is also very important. Most deli sections in supermarkets will offer classic roast chickens as well as other flavours like garlic herb butter or sage and onion stuffing. Whatever you choose is subject to personal preference, but always pay attention to how fresh your roast chicken looks. If it looks dry or somewhat undercooked, forget it. Your roast chicken should look tender and well sauced from the outside.
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s Site Editor, Dean Heckscher. He’s our resident expert on all things automotive, health & fitness, streaming and more. Dean is also one of Canstar Blue’s customer research report producers, helping to turn complicated subjects into easily-digestible information for our readers. He’s passionate about helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services.
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Here are the past winners of Canstar Blue’s hot roast chicken ratings:
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