Costco's 21-ounce French Brie is the Thanksgiving buy worth grabbing early
Bon Appétit contributor Jenn de la Vega has shopped Costco's forklift-trafficked aisles for years, and her Thanksgiving list is packed with warehouse-size shortcuts for feeding a crowd. The anchor of the whole lineup is a cheese: Kirkland Signature and Isigny Ste Mère Double Crème Brie, clocking in at a hefty 21.16 ounces.
Isigny Ste Mère is a farmer-owned dairy cooperative in Normandy, France, and de la Vega says the wheel is richer than the Brie in most grocery store cases. Her move is to bake it into a pecan Brie brûlée or herb-baked Brie, and if it lands on a cheese board, let it sit out for an hour or so before guests arrive. She pairs it with Better with Buckwheat Maine Crisps in Savory Fig and Thyme and Firehook Sea Salt and Chive crackers, both also on Costco shelves.
The rest of the cart
The savings are the whole point, and she prices everything out. Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock comes in a case of six 32-ounce cartons for $11.99, or $1.99 each, which she says undercuts the same amount at Wegmans ($3.49 a carton) and Trader Joe's chicken broth concentrate ($3.99). Green Valley Organic Pumpkin runs $9.89 for six cans, about $1.64 each, a couple of dollars cheaper than every other store she checked.
Appetizers get their moment too. Asaro Organic Castelvetrano Green Olives come in a big jar she reaches for as a snack, whips into a green olive tapenade, and even drops into a dirty mezcal martini. For the centerpiece, Costco sells an Organic Grand Champion Jaindl frozen turkey for $13 a pound, online only; the Pennsylvania birds eat an all-vegetarian, antibiotic-free diet and ship frozen within two or three days. Not feeling turkey? Maple Leaf Farms whole duck roasts up quicker, and some locations carry the brand's fully cooked Roast Half Duck, ready for the air fryer.
Rounding out the list: a two-pound bag of Kirkland Pecan Halves for pecan cream pie and vinaigrettes, Cornhusker Kitchen Wagyu Beef Tallow for roasted potatoes and caramelized onions, a 20-pound sack of all-purpose flour for holiday baking, and Fresh Gourmet Crispy Onions to scatter over green bean casserole, salads, and "the turkey herself."