Thanks, We Hate It!

April 11, 2024 8:22 PM

Our Costco has gone to bags rather than plastic clamshells for its rotisserie chickens. Spouse hates this, as his habit is to slice off bits frequently and there's no way to do this with the bag without it being a giant greasy mess. What can we put the chicken in when we get home that will replicate the original containers?

This would ideally be either disposable or dishwasher-able, since I am the main dish-doer in the house and I do not eat chicken and find dealing with it a little icky.

posted by charmedimsure to Shopping (24 answers total)

Is a large tupperware or glass container workable? If you don't like the depth, you can use it upside down with the chicken sitting on the lid.
posted by ssg at 8:26 PM on April 11 [2 favorites]

Put the chicken on a plate, wrap it in plastic wrap.

It would however be best if spouse would carve the chicken on day 1 and pack the pieces into a regular food storage container. Once the breast is off the back the chicken will pack down flat for storage.
posted by shock muppet at 8:29 PM on April 11 [12 favorites]

I would use a covered casserole dish, like the Corelle ones. (Which are what I use to reheat rotisserie chickens if I buy them to eat later.)
posted by LadyOscar at 8:31 PM on April 11 [9 favorites]

Response by poster: It would however be best if spouse would carve the chicken on day 1 and pack the pieces into a regular food storage container. Once the breast is off the back the chicken will pack down flat for storage.

Obvs. For purposes of this question, however, please assume spouse is ungovernable and will not change.
posted by charmedimsure at 9:02 PM on April 11 [34 favorites]

Our Costco has gone to bags... Spouse hates this

Maybe there's a reason they're called "bachelor's handbags"?

I'd chuck it on a plate, and cover it with whatever fit... a bowl or whatever.
posted by pompomtom at 10:29 PM on April 11 [2 favorites]

I would go to another store and buy a rotisserie chicken. Reuse the container.
posted by shockpoppet at 10:33 PM on April 11 [23 favorites]

Depending on the size of the chickens, what about the clamshells that “organicgirl” washed lettuces come in? I try to reuse them to hold additional lettuce I’ve washed and spun dry myself, as well as other unwieldy fresh veggies like radishes with greens still on or too-big scallions or bundles of herbs. The ones easiest to clean and reuse are the ones for romaine, I think. They aren’t the most sturdy so I don’t think they will hold up to very sharp knives but typically a rotisserie chicken shouldn’t need a very sharp knife. Definitely not dishwasher safe but easy enough to acquire a new one per chicken, and they are pretty easy to clean by hand. (Though note, your ungovernable spouse may not change their habit about chicken snacking, but perhaps they could be persuaded to add the habit of washing the chicken container post-nibbling. As an ungovernable individual myself I find it a lot easier to add a new thing than to change an existing thing about myself.)

For a more robust container I would opt for a nice lidded casserole dish I think. You can find these in all kinds of sizes and materials. Get one with a lid that is oven proof and not an annoying plastic lid that will warp in the dishwasher.
posted by Mizu at 10:33 PM on April 11 [2 favorites]

Cake dome/cover, acrylic stand with dome, snap-close cake carrier. Domed, oval cupcake carrier, if you can find the right dimensions [about 11" x 9" and 6" high, for a roughly 3-lb chicken].

Elegant cake stand = Tom & Jerry effect when opening the fridge.

Roll Top Polycarbonate Tray Cover, 13" x 10 1/2" x 6 1/4"
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:20 PM on April 11 [8 favorites]

I am the main dish-doer in the house and I do not eat chicken and find dealing with it a little icky ... For purposes of this question, however, please assume spouse is ungovernable and will not change.

OK, I'll make that assumption. It follows that your spouse's hatred for Costco's floppy greasy chicken bags is entirely their problem rather than one that you are under any obligation to mitigate for them.

If you felt super kind, you could suggest that the chicken goes on a plate while still contained in its bag, then the bag gets cut open in an H pattern so that it opens up like a big rectangular flower but not quite so far that juice and fat leaks out onto the plate, and then after bits get sliced off, the petals get folded back in and secured with a clothes peg or bulldog clip. But only if you felt super kind.
posted by flabdablet at 1:46 AM on April 12 [10 favorites]

Tupperware roast chicken container
posted by jgirl at 3:31 AM on April 12 [16 favorites]

My first thought was a Tupperware of appropriate size and shape, e.g. Ziploc large rectangle (9 cups).

But upon reflection I think this misses a fundamental characteristic of the rotisserie chicken container, namely that the bottom is shallow, allowing for easy slicing access. This makes a cake stand, as Iris Gambol posited, the more appropriate option.

However, a rotisserie chicken is a pungent and perishable thing, so you really want a fairly airtight vessel to minimize refrigerator cross-aromatization and maximize shelf life.

Thus, I would suggest a Rubbermaid Servin Saver Cake Keeper.
posted by staggernation at 4:09 AM on April 12 [5 favorites]

A cake server is going to take up a shit-ton of room in the fridge.

You can just buy rotisserie chicken clamshells online ($.50-$0.75/ea delivered in quantities of 50) or check local restaurant supply shops for lower prices.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:30 AM on April 12 [10 favorites]

There are also airtight glass containers like this (that one's turkey-size, but there are smaller ones). Not shallow access, but I don't think slicing should be a problem.
posted by trig at 4:48 AM on April 12

I would get a casserole dish like this. Personally I'd go glass, not because I have a particular concern about plastic safety but because I feel like bio fats and plastic get nasty easy. Greasy glass comes out great in the dishwasher.
posted by phunniemee at 5:33 AM on April 12 [3 favorites]

Look at that vintage Tupperware 857 it is literally the exact thing you are looking for.
posted by rockindata at 5:40 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]

Plate/shallow dishwasher safe food storage container of your choice that is big enough to accommodate the width and length of the chicken. Cover with clingfilm or kitchen foil. Should come out at approximately the same or slightly less fridge space requirement as the historic containers.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:41 AM on April 12

In case that´s not clear, the cover of choice gets folded back gently to facilitate access but then is closed again - strictly a 1 cover per chicken process.
posted by koahiatamadl at 5:49 AM on April 12

You can buy 50 disposable chicken clamshells for ~ $20.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 6:01 AM on April 12 [3 favorites]

Buy a 6 liter Cambro storage tub with a lid, and plop the little gal in there when you get home from the store.

Cambro makes their stuff from polycarbonate, so it will outlast the heat death of the sun. The lid is rigid, so you can stack stuff on top of it in the fridge.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:17 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]

I really liked @jgirl's suggestion, and you can uncover a lot more about it by looking up "Tupperware Flavor Saver Container" (or at least using that as a starting point for alternatives). Tupperware is sold out for now, but there are many used listings for a reasonable price.

The genius part of it, and you need to make sure that any used item contains this part: it comes with a lifting tray. You put the chicken on the tray and then lower it into the container. It's perfect for getting the whole chicken out for cutting board carving. But the container itself is wide and open enough to facilitate the random picking you desire.

Good luck! I, myself, have been getting chicken-in-bags lately but I've been putting the meat in entree-sized reusable takeout containers (bones/wingtips/juices saved for making broth). Carved chicken parts are much easier to pick on.
posted by brianvan at 6:46 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]

Look for a washable item that could go in the bag or in a ziplock bag. For example, I got some prepared chicken in the fridge section. It was in a vacuum sealed bag in a sturdy plastic dish with 1” sides. This is especially common at Trader Joe’s. It would easily go in a dishwasher. Those chickens are pretty small, a takeout container bottom might work.
posted by theora55 at 9:02 AM on April 12

We bring our own containers to places that insist on plastic and or styrofoam. If they balk, we do too.
posted by terrapin at 11:39 AM on April 12

I use a Cambro - any of the red-lid sizes will accommodate a chicken, and usually will have the container inverted so the chicken is on the lid (sometimes on an plate on the lid but not always) and easy to access.
posted by janell at 1:22 PM on April 12 [2 favorites]

I should add, sometimes the cambro is on its side, which also has good carvability but accommodates a juicier situation.
posted by janell at 3:50 PM on April 12