What's Going On With Costco Chicken? I Asked an Expert to Explain "Woody Breast"

I buy loads of chicken at Costco. Usually, it’s a rotisserie chicken, which makes its way into everything from stir fry and salad to broth throughout the week. But sometimes I buy the large multipacks of chicken breasts instead.

Recently, I’ve seen Costco shoppers hopping on Reddit to complain about “woody chicken.” I’d never heard the term and asked an expert what they were talking about.

What Is Woody Chicken?

Woody chicken is a relatively new issue, says Jacob R. Tuell, PhD, assistant professor at Northwest Missouri State University and member of the Institute of Food Technologists’ Muscle Foods Division.

“In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the incidence of various disorders (myopathies) affecting chicken meat quality,” explains Tuell.

These disorders can include woody chicken breast, white striping, and a condition colorfully referred to as spaghetti meat. 

• Woody chicken breast: These breasts are unusually hard (“woody”) and fibrous when they’re raw, and often there’s a ridge on the tapered end.
• White striping: There are obvious white streaks on the surface of the breast.
• Spaghetti meat: The muscle fibers are abnormally separated, which gives the chicken a stringy look, like spaghetti.

Often, a single chicken breast can exhibit several of these conditions. It appears that some online complaints involve a combination of issues.

“When you refer to shoppers complaining about ‘woody’ chicken breasts that also have a stringy texture, this indicates they are likely being affected by both woody breast and spaghetti meat,” Tuell says. 

It’s much more likely that you’ll get a chicken breast with issues than you’ll get one without, Tuell points out. In a recent study, researchers examined 179 chicken breasts and found that only 18.4 percent were normal, while 13.4 percent had a single issue—like woody breast—and 68.2 percent had more than one disorder.

What Causes Woody Chicken and Other Issues?

“These conditions are linked to rapid growth rates in modern broilers,” Tuell says. “As the breast muscles rapidly grow, their blood supply is not able to keep up, leading to degeneration of the muscle tissue over time, along with excessive accumulation of fibrous connective tissue and fat.”

Woody breasts are more common in larger birds, usually those raised for commercial production. 

One commenter on Reddit wrote, “The taste and safety is totally fine. But the texture is awful. When you take a bite out of the breast, you can feel each individual fiber is how I would describe it. Not enjoyable.”

How To Spot Woody Chicken 

If you touch the chicken through the packaging, woody breasts are typically harder than normal chicken. Choose smaller breasts that are less likely to be woody and look for a healthy pink color.

If you end up with woody chicken, it is safe to eat, if not the highest quality. Conditions like woody breast end up decreasing the amount of protein in the chicken and increase the amount of moisture and fat. But the meat can’t retain the moisture, so it becomes less juicy than normal. That affects the chicken’s texture, but it’s less apparent when cooked, Tuell says.

Tuell says he personally hasn’t come across a severe case of woody breast or spaghetti meat when grocery shopping. “But, I almost always buy chicken thighs and drumsticks as they tend to be more flavorful and juicier,” he says. “That has always been the case, but is especially true today as the incidence and severity of these defects increase in the breasts but largely not in the legs.”