The Hot-And-Ready Ribs That Have Costco Shoppers Torn
One of the benefits of a Costco membership is that you're almost always bound to find something in the store that suits your tastes. This isn't any clever marketing PR either, considering just how massive your average Costco store is. To say that people don't find all sorts of delicious, unconventional, and even downright surprising treasures hidden in those towering aisles wouldn't exactly be true. If you're a fan of barbecue, you'll find a few interesting products here and there if you look around hard enough.
Take, for example, Costco's BBQ Brisket Sandwich, which was available at the store's famous food court. Insider's review notes that, while the sandwich was one of the more expensive items on the menu at $4.99, the brisket sandwich was described as delicious, with a generous amount of smokey, savory, and tender brisket. If you're a fan of poultry, you can always rely on the rotisserie chicken Costco is so well-known for, which Reader's Digest assures its readers will always remain at a modest $4.99. While not exactly soaked in barbecue sauce, you're free to dress your rotisserie chicken however you want for a quick BBQ dinner.
But let's say that you're a fan of ribs. While Costco doesn't exactly sell ribs as cheap as its hot dog and soda combo in its food court, some customers claim to have discovered a "hot-n-ready" meal of barbecue ribs that are well worth the price. Just how true are these claims?
Not every store has hot-n-ready ribs for sale
When we mean "hot-n-ready" ribs, we're talking about barbecue ribs that are kept warm inside a plastic container. The idea is that customers get the ribs while they're "hot" in the store and can eat them as soon as they want without having to heat them up. On r/Costco, a discussion was held regarding these ribs — more specifically, where exactly these little saucy morsels can be found.
One Reddit user noted that Virginia-based Costcos regularly stocked the barbecue ribs alongside the rotisserie chickens. However, this same Reddit user said they never saw them in Seattle, Washington. "They have them about 50% of the time in the Bay Area," claimed another user. "Sometimes they also have 12 packs of grilled drumsticks."
It's important to note that these ribs only refer to the pre-cooked ready-to-eat ribs. Uncooked ribs, like the kind you find at your local grocer or butcher, are still widely available in most Costco stores. You can also purchase Kirkland-brand ribs, for example, at your local Costco (via CostCuisine) — it's the ready-to-eat ribs that you might have to go searching for.
But, even if you do find these hot-n-ready ribs at your local Costco, are they even worth the money?
Many are divided on these hot-n-ready ribs
Let's say that you find a package of ready-to-eat ribs at your local Costco, and you decide to try them. But before you put them into your cart, maybe you would like to hear what the public has to say about these ready-to-eat pieces of pork. It would seem that some don't particularly care for the ribs, with reviews ranging from "okay" at best to low quality at worst.
"They are meh..." stated one Reddit user. "When they used to put BBQ sauce on them, they were delicious, but the dry rub is overly salty to me." Sadly, this wasn't the only self-appointed food critic who thought the ribs left something to be desired. "They are a pass for me boss," said another user. "They have not been cooked to tender, have no smoke flavor, and taste primarily of black pepper."
YouTuber Chef Dawg was a little more positive in his feedback, noting that although he would prepare his own ribs for a large group, the ready-to-eat ribs are good for convenience when you want some hot prepared ribs to eat. The U.S. Sun also explains that pre-cooked ribs can actually save you money, depending on which type of ribs you buy. While the ready-to-eat ribs that are prepared warm can cost $8.49 per pound, the pre-cooked but chilled ribs are even cheaper at $4.99 per pound.
If you want to try the ribs for yourself, there's no harm in it. Perhaps you'll find that it's a good deal for a quick barbecue dinner.