The Best (And Worst) Trader Joe's Marinated Meats To Grill This Summer

We are into the dog days of summer now. While some parts of the country are beginning to daydream about fall, there are other regions (ours) that have a few months of pool season and backyard barbecues left to go. Pre-marinated, packaged meats are handy throughout the year, but are especially helpful for summer cookouts. The snug packages fit easily in an ice chest and can deliver bold flavors without requiring any prep work. 

Trader Joe's is packed with new finds for your summer cookout, and some of the heavy hitters are in the pre-marinated meat section. Availability can vary, but we grabbed every option available at our local store in downtown Austin. That gave us a nice mix of poultry and beef with global inspirations. We put the meats to the test to see which are worth a spot on the grill and which aren't. 

To judge the meats, we grilled them on a propane grill. All the cooking was completed in the same morning but was intentionally staggered so that each meat was sampled individually and fresh off the grill. No sauces, condiments, or other embellishments were added. We discovered some that stood out from the pack and some that we'd advise leaving in the store. The best ones can provide a boost of flavor at your next barbecue, but are simple enough to prepare for a weeknight dinner. 

The first thing we noticed about the lemon rosemary spatchcocked chicken was that it didn't just hit the grill with a sizzle; it landed with a bang. We cut open the plastic wrap and used rubber tongs to pull the chicken from the package while holding it over the grill, allowing a fair amount of marinade to spill into the flames. The only obviously flammable ingredient in the marinade was olive oil, which ignited a small fireball that engulfed the chicken.

We lifted it off the grill and allowed the initial flare-up to die down, then placed the chicken where the flames could lick the sides of the meat. Once the chicken had an initial char, we moved it to a cooler section of the grill and roasted it with the lid closed until it was done. Trader Joe's credits an Irishman with spatchcocking. The idea is to flatten the chicken so that more surface area is exposed and the bird cooks more quickly. 

At $5.99 a pound, the spatchcocked chicken was the cheapest meat we analyzed and was also one of the best-tasting. The marinade had a saltier and more savory flavor than we anticipated. It was reminiscent of the seasoning on most grocery store rotisserie chickens. The meat was firm, but easy to chew and juicy throughout. The only knock is that even with the spatchcocking, a full bird is a lot to cook, and it took more effort than some of the other meats. 

The pesto chicken breast is one Trader Joe's meat that didn't live up to its potential. Typically, pesto chicken is a satisfying combo with a subtle herbal flavor that makes it exceptionally versatile. We started to have doubts about the product as soon as we cut into the package. The aroma was a bouquet of basil, oregano, and garlic, but the meat was extremely small and thin. We went back to the package to verify it said breast and not tender. 

While the pesto chicken is made from chicken breast, it's been sliced scallopini-style, ostensibly so that more of the meat is exposed to the marinade. We found the meat too thin to be labeled as a breast and not ideal for grilling. In the best of times, breasts can be tricky to keep juicy on the grill. The small portions from Trader Joe's didn't give us much to work with and cooked in a few minutes. 

We were disappointed not to get a plump breast since this was the most expensive poultry we tested at $8.99 per pound. The meat had a subtle, herbal flavor that was inoffensive, but it wasn't very exciting either. As expected, it was on the dry side. There are better ways to cook the chicken than on the grill, but it would taste average at best. Our final verdict is that the chicken breast is generic-tasting and not worth a spot on the grill.

We had doubts about the sun-dried tomato and basil tenders before analyzing them, but they turned out to be one of the best meats we sampled. Our concern was that the chicken tenders would be too thin and would grill into crispy, dry wafers. The fear was compounded because we had grilled the disappointing pesto chicken breasts before the tenders.

The fears were completely unfounded. The tenders were plump and bathed in a savory Mediterranean-style marinade. The sun-dried tomato marinade gave the meat's exterior a light pink hue that contrasted well with the seared grill marks. You don't need to know the difference between chicken strips and tenders to make these juicy and delicious. The tenders were thin enough to cook quickly, but the herbal marinade permeated the meat, and each bite was full of flavor.

At $7.49 per pound, it was cheaper than the pesto chicken and had more flavor as well. Of the two herbal-marinated cuts of chicken, the tenders were a clear winner in our book. The flavor was versatile. They'd go great by themselves with a roasted vegetable, sliced on top of a Caesar salad, or added to pasta.

The teriyaki steak was the most underwhelming meat we tried, which was surprising since it was among those we found most appealing in the store. The package came with several small steaks tightly rolled together. We used tongs to stretch the meat flat on the grill, and the dark, sticky marinade looked and smelled great. The marinade caramelized over the flames, giving the steak an appetizing crust. As great as it looked on the grill, it didn't meet our standards in the flavor and texture department. The fact that it did poorly in our testing shouldn't come as a surprise since customers say it's one of Trader Joe's meats to avoid.

The secret to skirt steak is as much in how you slice it as how you cook it. It's a tough meat, but slicing against the grain helps tenderize it. Unfortunately, even sliced correctly, the Trader Joe's steak was chewy. The marinade had a robust flavor, but it was overly sweet.

The teriyaki skirt steak wasn't just one of the worst tasting; it was also the most expensive meat we tested at $16.99 per pound. It cost more than twice as much as our favorite meat. The flavor and texture were turn-offs, and combined with the price tag, it made this meat the absolute least favorite of the seven we sampled. 

Steak tips are nuggets of beef trimmed from larger steaks and roasts. They can come from different sections of the cow, but the most tender beef tips come from specific cuts. The balsamic rosemary ones from Trader Joe's use sirloin, and they were quite tender. We were worried that the nuggets of meat would fall through the grates, but the tips were meaty and fit securely on the grill surface without requiring any additional equipment.

We grilled them directly over an open flame, and the meat cooked quickly (about five minutes) and had a nice char. It was a fun, multisensory grilling experience. The meat sizzled when it was dropped onto the grill, and the smoke had a strong aroma of rosemary. We turned the steak tips often so they cooked evenly and let the flames lick the bottom of the meat.

At $11.99 per pound, it was the second-most expensive meat we analyzed, but still reasonable by steak standards. The marinade gave it a classic flavor that tasted like a special occasion. The rosemary was pronounced, and we enjoyed that. It would go well with many Trader Joe's side dishes, such as loaded mashed potatoes, spicy spuds, and mac and cheese. While the flavor was great, the meat was not particularly attractive. The dark staining from the balsamic caused even the large nuggets cooked to medium-rare to appear well-done.

We had high expectations for this package. In general, thighs are a forgiving meat that almost always come off the grill juicy and tender. The package from Trader Joe's contained boneless, skinless thighs marinated with herbs such as basil, cilantro, and mint.

Savory herbed sounded like a versatile and tasty flavor, and we figured the poultry would be good alone or as a component in other dishes. But as soon as we opened the package, our expectations plummeted. They had a sticky, mushy texture and oozed through the grates. We had to let them sit for a few minutes to build enough texture so that they could be moved without falling apart, and they left muck stuck to the grill.

Once they firmed up and started acting like chicken thighs, they looked great on the grill and had an herbaceous aroma that pairs well with smoke. They were on the smaller side for thighs, and some of them cooked down until they resembled a nugget you'd pull off a skewer more than a full thigh, but even the nuggets remained juicy and the meat had a firm but easily chewable texture. At $6.99 per pound, it turned out to be a decent-tasting meat, but the size and overall unpleasantness of the cooking experience make this a product we don't recommend. 

The plump shawarma thighs were our overall favorite. We cooked them at the same time as the pesto chicken breast, and the thighs were the larger of the two. That is both a compliment to the extra-plump thighs and a knock on the breast. These thighs were also significantly larger than the savory herbed ones. The marinade was aromatic, featuring onion, garlic, sea salt, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, paprika, turmeric, and parsley.

The marinade sizzled on the open flames and caramelized into a crispy crust surrounding the meat, which turned out as flavorful as the aroma hinted it would be. The large thighs were easy to manage, and we grilled them over medium-high heat with flare-ups that occasionally kissed the meat. The cooked chicken was flavorful with a velvety, juicy texture.

These chicken thighs were the second-cheapest meat we tested, and we thought the package provided good value at $6.99 per pound. The sliced meat was great wrapped in a pita with tzatziki and hot sauce (which is how we ate it), but it can certainly be used in other ways. Trader Joe's recommends pairing it with Middle Eastern-inspired dishes such as hummus, tzatziki, and sliced cucumbers. We recommend you grab it fast because TJ's always seems to discontinue your favorite products.

When trying these marinated meats from Trader Joe's, we figured there was no better choice than to throw them on the pit and see how they performed. We asked an experienced backyard griller to cook the meats and share their opinion of the overall cooking experience. The meats were cooked over a propane grill to give them a classic grilled flavor with less smokiness than you would get from a charcoal or wood fire. 

The meats were grilled on the same day and intentionally timed to come off one at a time. The meat was allowed to rest for two minutes before being sampled, and no sauces or condiments were used. The leftover meat was incorporated into meals over the next several days to see how well the flavor worked in other preparations. 

The packaged meats were judged on three criteria. Overall cooking experience: this included how easy the meat was to cook, how it smelled, and how it performed on the grill. Flavor and texture: how well the cooked meat tasted and whether it was juicy and tender or stringy and dry. Versatility: is the meat adaptable to other preparation or is it a one-trick pony?