Skip This Classic Italian Dish From Costco Unless You Want A Watery Mess - Tasting Table

"When you buy Italian food at a grocery store, there is always the risk that it will be incredibly disappointing compared to the real deal. Homemade Italian dishes rely on the use of fresh, high-quality ingredients, and when crucial elements, like pasta, are reheated, they can end up mushy. Tasting Table tried and rated 11 Italian food products from Costco to determine which you should buy and which you should skip. Unfortunately, one classic Italian dish ended up being a watery mess."

"Sabatino's Tuscan Style Chicken Piccata comes in a 32-ounce package that costs around $17. It isn't frozen, but it contains fully cooked chicken that must be kept refrigerated until use. The packaging describes the dish as containing tender chicken breasts with a creamy lemon caper sauce and sun-dried tomatoes, which sounds promising. Yet immediately upon opening the package, it was obvious that the dish was far from appetizing."

"Overall, the texture of the chicken was okay; the chicken was soft but in strange, unappealing chunks. The flavor was unimpressive, with the most obvious being tart lemon without anything else to offer balance. Although you could potentially improve the dish by adding your own seasonings or some fresh vegetables, that would defeat the purpose of buying a ready-to-eat convenience meal."

Sabatino's Tuscan Style Chicken Piccata is sold in a 32-ounce refrigerated package for about $17. The product contains fully cooked chicken breasts with a described creamy lemon caper sauce and sun-dried tomatoes. Upon opening, the chicken is pressed together in a compact brick that must be separated before heating. Heating on the stovetop yields a thin, runny sauce rather than a thick creamy texture and the flavor profile is dominated by tart lemon with little balance or additional seasoning. The chicken texture is soft but presents as odd, unappealing chunks. Some shoppers find it convenient, while others recommend preparing chicken piccata from scratch.

Read at Tasting Table