There are lots of deals to be had at warehouse giant Costco, but many shoppers seem to agree that Costco's cheap rotisserie chickens and its famous food court hot dogs are among the most convenient and affordable food items on offer at the store. Well, at least in the United States. But just over the northern border, Canadian customers have a different prepared food item at Costco that they can take home at the end of a tiring shopping trip without breaking the bank: fried chicken.
Introduced to Canadian stores at the end of 2016, the Costco food court's deep-fried chicken wings were originally sold in a pound or three-pound container. They now come in 10-piece or 30-piece servings, and are paired with hot sauce, barbecue sauce, and/or gravy for dipping. The wings have a thin coating, not a thick crunchy breading, and are fried fresh in the food court area. Though prices can vary depending on location, the cost of the 10-piece chicken wings at one Canadian Costco in 2022 was $8.99, and the 30-piece was $22.99 (converted to USD, that's $6.76 and $17.29 respectively). That's a lower price than many fast food chicken prices (an order of 10-piece wings at one LA-area Wingstop was going for $12.39 in August 2023). But how does Costco's fried chicken taste compared to fast food fried chicken?
Costco Fried Chicken
ostco's fried chicken in Canada is convenient (you don't have to cook it) and affordable, but does it beat the flavor of fast food fried chicken? One reviewer for Foodology says that because the chicken lacks a thicker, crispy breading, it's "got nothing on Church's Chicken." But others are fans. "The wings are honestly even better than they look," shared one customer on Reddit, saying "I prefer them to actual wing shops." One American who traveled to a Canadian Costco in 2023 praised the fried chicken in a TikTok review, saying "Wow...it's very good. It's very crispy, and very like, tender inside."
It's enough to make American Costco fans want to take a trip up north, but unfortunately, it sounds like this Canadian fried chicken treat is starting to disappear from stores. On Reddit, several people have posted about chicken wings being removed from the menu at their Costco stores. There are a few rumors as to why, from unstable chicken wing prices (restaurants were struggling to sell chicken wings when prices skyrocketed in 2022, though wings are 22% cheaper this year) to problems with the supplier. Either way, even for those who do live in Canada, it sounds like Costco fried chicken might soon be a thing of the past, and fast food fried chicken will have to do.
