What am I doing wrong with rotisserie chicken

[Anonymous]

I love the convenience of picking up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, but unless we’re eating it immediately hot from the store it’s always dried and yuck. I grabbed one today at lunchtime, the kids and I ate some at lunch, and then I popped it into the refrigerator. Several hours later I took it out and gave it a quick reheat in the microwave to prep for dinner, and none of us could chew through it at dinner. What am I doing wrong? Does it need to be reheated in the oven and basted with chicken stock?

[Anonymous]

You are buying old ones.

The ones I get from Costco are still juicy even after refrigerating overnight.

[Anonymous]

I can't even imagine. I get mine at Walmart and they are always great.

[Anonymous]

Meat can get tough and chewy if it’s reheated at too high a temperature in the microwave, for too long. If you’re using 100% power, use something lower like 50% and heat it for a longer time instead. Stop and check for temperature and doneness halfway through cooking.

I usually put it in a baking dish, baste, cover with foil and reheat in the oven.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it’s the microwave. I hate microwaved chicken.

[Anonymous]

The microwave makes meat chewy.
Use the oven with a little chicken stock poured in.

[Anonymous]

It might have been out for awhile under heat lamps. I had a tough one from fresh market this week.

I usually remove it all from the bones and seal it in a glass dish right when we get it. It seems to help use it better. To reheat I put it under the broiler a few mins (on a half sheet- not glass dish).

[Anonymous]

Use the toaster oven to reheat.

[Anonymous]

If I’m using it the next day, I put it in the crockpot to reheat. It’s never chewy. I think the microwave is your problem.

[Anonymous]

A performance artist in Philly recently ate 40 rotisserie chickens in 40 days. Perhaps his journey holds clues for how to keep your roasted chicken in a bag from going all tough and chewy by dinner time

https://billypenn.com/2022/10/30/chickenman-philadelphia-rotisserie-walmart-pier-alexander-tominsky/

[Anonymous]

It is the microwave. Oven or toaster oven (never tried a crockpot like someone suggested- that woukd be great for the meat but the skin would get soggy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is the microwave. Oven or toaster oven (never tried a crockpot like someone suggested- that woukd be great for the meat but the skin would get soggy.

I’m the crockpot poster and it might — we never eat the skin. The meat literally falls off the bone.

[Anonymous]

I have found that I need to debone it when I get home, then the chicken is fine later. If I put it in fridge then try and debone later it’s too hard.

[Anonymous]

Thank you from OP. These are good tips. Microwaves is out going forward!

[Anonymous]

I wish they didn't flavor them. The rotisserie chickens from Giant and Wegmans have some weird off flavor that ruins it for me.