The ‘Bachelor’s Handbag,’ ‘Barbie Bird,’ ‘Picnic Poultry,’ ‘Mum’s Night Off,’ ‘Tradies Tucka,’ or the simple ‘Roast Chook,’ are all clever ways to describe the humble supermarket roast chicken.
Next to the Bunnings snag, the roast chook might be Australia’s national dish, and no matter which side of the fence you sit on, you’ve probably put a few of these on your dinner plate over the years—with a side of Gravox and frozen veggies of course.
However, like the NRL State of Origin does every year, the nation is clearly divided by its allegiance to either the Coles or Woolworths roast chicken. Of course, there are a few blokes who always reckon Aldi’s better at everything, but they don’t even have a horse in this race. Then you have the tight arses who reckon the half-price Costco Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken is the best thing since sliced bread, and for them, we question whether the added cost of an industrial fridge to store 35 tubs of ice cream and the one-hour drive to their nearest store was worth the $7.24 saving on their weekly shop.
The roast chicken debate comes down to two brands: Coles and Woolies. Both offer quality birds at the same $12.50 price point, but which is better? Thankfully, the world’s biggest hub for unhelpful information, Reddit, is here to save the day. The people have finally voted, and there’s a clear winner in this debate.
First, let’s see what these contenders bring to the table.
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Coles Roast Chicken vs. Woolworths Roast Chicken, By the Numbers
| Coles (per 100g) | Woolworths (per 100g) | |
| Energy | 684.80kj | 866.00kJ |
|---|---|---|
| Energy (Cal) | 163.83 | 206.98 |
| Protein | 23.10g | 21.60g |
| Carbohydrate | 1.90g | 3.00g |
| Fat (total) | 7.00g | 12.10g |
| Fat (saturated) | 2.00g | 3.70g |
| Sugars (total) | 0.40g | 1.00g |
| Sodium | 470mg | 559mg |
| Dietary Fibre | 0.10g | 1.1g |
By the numbers, it’s interesting to note that the Woolworths Roast Chicken is worse for you, which might explain why it tastes so good. It has more calories, carbs, fat, sugar, and sodium, and yet, less protein.
Who Makes the Best Supermarket Roast Chicken?
The people have spoken over at r/australia on Reddit, and the Woolworths Roast Chicken has been voted as the best supermarket roast chicken in Australia.
It’s closely followed by “Red Rooster,” but clearly the bloke who wrote this struggles with basic English comprehension (like most Reddit users) because last time we checked Red Rooster was not a supermarket.
That’s followed by a comment from a typical Reddit know-it-all who says that it “think it depends on the individual store,” because they don’t all have the same ovens. Quite frankly, we didn’t need to know that information, but apparently, that’s something to consider when you’re shopping for a great roast chook.
Coles is struggling for votes at this point, and it’s IGA who comes in second place with a look-in from a Redditor with a suspiciously bird-like name “The_Duc_Lord,” who would like to give a special shoutout to his local IGA, which is still charging a very pre-cozzie-lives $11 for its bag of bird. That’s immediately followed by another user who would like to point out that IGA Marion Bay’s roast chicken is now $13.99, but he still buys it.
Costco never ceases to amaze, and they sneak in for third place on the best supermarket roast chicken debate with a $6.99 bargain and a half. Although, in typical Costco fashion, you have to drive 30 minutes in the wrong direction to get your hands on it. “I bought two roast chooks a few weeks back. They both tasted good. The one from Woolworths (admittedly Macro) was $13. The one from Costco was $7 and had twice the amount of meat. Costco is 20km from me though, so I don’t get ›there regularly,” said a Redditor.
Coles finally sneaks in at fourth place, but it’s too little too late at this point. Still, the Redditor reckons they’re the shout for being “super juicy,” and the stuffing isn’t half bad either.
Of course, this is all according to the people on Reddit, but we’ll be watching that post carefully over the coming days, so have your say and see if you can turn the tides for your team! Let us know if we should get our hands on a few roast chickens and put together a taste test for ourselves.
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