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The One Costco Rotisserie Chicken Secret You Have To Know

This is LIFE CHANGING.

Oh, how I do love a juicy Costco rotisserie chicken. It's my favorite way to get a delicious protein for dinner with minimal effort, and especially helpful when you're prepping meals for the week. But my least favorite part of buying a Costco rotisserie chicken is having to hack at the meat in order to get all of it off the bone and onto a plate. It's the messiest experience, and certainly not one I look forward to. Until, of course, my eyes were opened to this brilliant Costco rotisserie chicken secret that completely changed my life.

Instead of taking a knife to the juicy chicken breast and slicing, or digging at the bits of chicken meat still in the bones, all you have to do is make one simple move to ensure easy dissembling of the rotisserie chicken. Before doing anything else, remove the wishbone in the back of the chicken and the breasts will easily come right off.

When I first heard this secret, I was in complete denial that it could actually work. After years and years of digging into the crevices of my rotisserie chicken to get all of the meat possible off the bone, I didn't want to believe there was an easier way. Mostly because I wasted so much time picking away at my rotisserie chicken!

And yet, the rumors are true. To prove to any of you skeptics who also believe that this little rotisserie chicken trick couldn't be that easy, I'm going to walk you through it step-by-step. Then, after getting your mind blown from trying this trick yourself, cook up one of these 12 Meals You Can Make With a Costco Rotisserie Chicken!

Find the wishbone first.

costco rotisserie chicken 4
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!

If you don't know where that it is, the wishbone is at the back of the chicken between the two breasts. Pull that out first before doing anything else to make the process easier.

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Remove the legs and wings.

costco rotisserie chicken 3
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!

This will make the process of taking the chicken breast off a lot easier. Pull off the legs and the wings and place them in a serving bowl and set them aside.

Pull off the chicken breasts.

costco rotisserie chicken 2
Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!

While you could carve it off with a knife, the best way to do it is to pull off the chicken breast with clean hands. It's true—the chicken breast will come right off. Especially when you're dealing with a juicy Costco rotisserie chicken.

This trick will work for any chicken!

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Kiersten Hickman/Eat This, Not That!

I'm writing about the Costco chicken because, well, I'm biased toward them. They are cheap and easy to grab, and you can make a myriad of recipes with one. But you can obviously do this same trick with any other rotisserie chicken you like to buy. Like The #1 Best Rotisserie Chicken to Buy, Says Dietitian.

For more Costco tips, read these next:

Kiersten Hickman
Kiersten Hickman is a freelance health and nutrition journalist. Read more about Kiersten