- TikTok creator Johnny Novo has reviewed 25 grocery retailer rotisserie chickens since March in a sequence referred to as “Hen Wars,” score them based mostly on style, texture, and worth.
- Fairway Market earned the highest spot with a 9.1/10 score for its moist Pollo Asado hen, adopted intently by Publix and The Contemporary Market.
- Novo emphasizes moist hen breast and daring seasoning as key components for a excessive rating, usually favoring shops with flavorful, well-textured birds like these from Wegmans, Sprouts, Jubilee Market, and Acme.
Rotisserie hen is a weeknight savior in lots of households, and it’s probably the greatest leftover elements to have within the fridge for reworking into shredded hen dips, quesadillas, salads, and even hen pot pie.
Not all rotisserie chickens are alike; a superb one ought to be crispy and completely glazed on the skin whereas being juicy on the within. As prospects have clearly expressed their love for these handy proteins, grocery shops and grocery store chains throughout the nation—together with each giant chains and regional favorites—have developed their very own variations of rotisserie chickens. Naturally, somebody needed to rank them.
Johnny Novo (@jnov__) is a meals content material creator on a distinct segment (however vital) mission: discovering one of the best grocery retailer rotisserie hen. It began in March this 12 months when he posted his first rotisserie hen evaluate and launched this journey to his followers. In a humorous voiceover, Novo says, “The subsequent section of my evolution as a person is to begin reviewing all of the grocery retailer rotisserie chickens.” He says that this is likely one of the finest gadgets you will get from a grocery retailer — and we agree.
Novo calls this sequence “Hen Wars” and is absolutely dedicated to the duty. Since March, he has reviewed 25 rotisserie chickens, all from varied grocery shops. His movies persistently spotlight the value of the hen first, adopted by his dwell style check and evaluate of the poultry. After the primary 20 opinions, the creator posted his rankings so far in April, noting that he nonetheless has extra work to do.
After testing the primary 20 grocery shops, three chickens needed to accept the underside spots within the rankings: these had been from the regional supermarkets Morton Williams, Butterfield Market, and Vons.
Novo has already sampled rotisserie chickens from a variety of main grocery shops, together with Walmart, Entire Meals, Costco, Publix, and Albertsons. Some giant chains dominated the highest rankings, whereas in different situations, smaller shops emerged victorious. Listed below are the seven finest rotisserie chickens that this knowledgeable has recognized up to now.
Fairway Market
After the primary 20 opinions, New York Metropolis-based grocery store Fairway Market emerged because the clear winner within the grocery retailer hen wars, with Novo awarding it a 9.1 out of 10. Fairway’s Pollo Asado Rotisserie Hen is seasoned with conventional Latin spices, and Novo notes that a number of viewers requested he evaluate this particular hen, regardless of the grocery retailer being a small chain.
“That is trying phenomenal,” says the rotisserie connoisseur at first look as he admires the feel of the meat and the crispy, well-seasoned pores and skin. He’s particularly impressed by how moist the meat is, saying, “It’s not dry in any respect. This could be one of the best grocery retailer rotisserie hen I’ve had.”
Publix
In second place on the rotisserie hen rankings is none apart from Publix, the Florida-based grocery store chain that has avid followers all through the Southern United States.
In his evaluate, Novo notes that a lot of his followers extremely requested the Publix Deli Mojo Oven Roasted Hen. He charges this merchandise a exceptional 9 out of 10, citing its flavorful, well-seasoned pores and skin infused with lime and garlic, in addition to the exceptionally moist hen breast, which is commonly liable to drying out.
The Contemporary Market
Shoppers on the East Coast could be aware of medium-sized grocery chain The Contemporary Market. As Novo evaluates the butter, garlic, and thyme-flavored hen, he says that “this could be one of the best pores and skin” he’s had. Based on the creator, the breast meat is flavorful and completely tender, incomes it an 8.9 out of 10. If you find yourself loving this hen, the grocery store additionally provides one other taste choice: its Roasted White Wine Herb Hen.
Sprouts
Along with a plain choice, Sprouts provides three flavors of rotisserie hen: pollo asado, barbecue, and herb. Novo opted for the limited-edition pollo asado roasted hen to guage. Whereas he notes that the pores and skin “is a little bit soggy,” he finds this acceptable provided that it’s a “bag rotisserie hen.” The meat’s tenderness and the flavorful seasoning on the pores and skin in the end impressed him, main him to fee it an 8.6.
Wegmans
Wegmans is the place all of it started for Novo and his hen wars sequence. As the primary evaluate within the quest to search out one of the best grocery retailer hen, the Wegmans rotisserie hen acquired an 8.5 out of 10 from the creator again in March.
Within the evaluate video, the hen appears well-seasoned and crispy, topped with a beneficiant quantity of rosemary on the pores and skin. Since this preliminary evaluate, Novo has sampled over 20 grocery retailer chickens, making it no shock that Wegmans has dropped to fifth place on the record. Nonetheless, when the creator first tasted the Wegmans Rosemary Roasted Hen, he was instantly impressed. “I don’t know what’s going to beat this,” he remarked — and now we’ve the reply.
Jubilee Market
Brooklyn-based grocery store Jubilee Market is situated in Greenpoint and completely sells chickens sourced from extensively revered meat wholesaler Pat LaFrieda. Novo notes that the grocery store’s hen is priced equally to Costco’s, which is stunning contemplating the warehouse retailer is thought for its affordability — and Jubilee’s hen even outranked this towering competitor by way of taste and texture.
Previous to tasting the poultry from Jubilee, he observes that the meat appears pretty dry, however he’s then pleasantly stunned by how juicy it seems to be. Novo can also be happy with how the meat falls off the bone, however the star of the present was as soon as once more the seasoning, making the poultry worthy of an 8.4 out of 10.
Acme
From the Northeastern grocery chain Acme, Novo reviewed and rated the Lemon Pepper Roasted Hen. When he first takes the hen out of the bag, it’s visibly very juicy. He observes a “little little bit of dryness” within the hen, however nonetheless finds it to be “fairly tender for a breast.” For him, what makes this poultry actually scrumptious and above common is the hen’s leg and thigh, incomes it an 8.3 out of 10.
Based on Novo, when score chickens and reviewing them on the spot, he believes {that a} rotisserie hen qualifies as “a really elite hen if the breast is moist too.” A grocery retailer will probably obtain a rating from him within the 9 vary if the breast is “excellent,” as he explains within the Acme evaluate. So, for those who’re somebody who hates a dry hen breast — or one of many many individuals who depend on rotisserie chickens for meal prep — you would possibly wish to preserve tuning in to his poultry opinions.