Only One Chipotle Meat Is Cooked In-Store — And It's Not The Most Expensive Option

Chipotle is our go-to fast casual chain when we want something a little above the usual drive-thru fare, but without the fuss of a sit-down restaurant. One of the main things that sets it apart from traditional fast food is how it handles its ingredients — its stores don't even contain freezers. However, despite Chipotle's pride in its super-fresh ingredients, you might be surprised to learn that chicken is the only meat cooked from raw in its restaurants — and it isn't even the most expensive protein on the menu, clocking in at $11.95 (or $12.55 for its pollo asado) compared to $12.70 for carnitas and $13.95 for both steak and barbacoa (prices may vary).

Chipotle's top-quality chicken appears in everything from tacos and quesadillas to its iconic burritos. Unlike its other proteins, which arrive at restaurants precooked and are reheated or finished on-site, the chicken arrives raw and is later grilled in-store. Before hitting the grill, it's marinated in the chain's signature smoky adobo seasoning, helping give it that distinctive flavor. Chipotle has never publicly explained why only chicken gets this special treatment, but considering it's the chain's best-selling protein, it's hardly surprising that the company goes the extra mile to prepare it fresh.

Fortunately, you don't have to work at Chipotle to get an idea of how its chicken is prepared. Former employees have shared details of the process online, including one Redditor who explained that the chain uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs cooked on a flat-top grill coated with sunflower oil at around 475 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit until they reach a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Interestingly, chicken wasn't always the only protein cooked completely from scratch in Chipotle's restaurants. Die-hard fans will remember that before 2016, the chain also prepared its steak from raw beef on-site, marinating it before cooking it on the grill. However, following a series of highly publicized and controversial food safety outbreaks in 2015, Chipotle introduced major changes to how it prepared its ingredients.

Rather than sending raw beef to its restaurants, Chipotle now uses a sous vide process, in which the steak is vacuum-sealed and cooked at a low temperature for an extended period in a controlled, off-site environment. This method allows the meat to cook evenly while helping control harmful bacteria, allegedly without sacrificing its tenderness. The steak is prepared at a central facility under USDA inspection before being shipped to restaurants, where staff season it and finish it on the grill. However, while Chipotle bosses firmly defended the new process, some customers have complained that the switch was a serious downgrade. 

Chipotle's other two meat proteins, barbacoa and carnitas, have long been prepared off-site, in much the same way as each other. Barbacoa is slow-cooked beef, typically from the shoulder, while carnitas is made with pork. Both arrive at restaurants in precooked bags, where they are reheated in-store. According to one Chipotle employee on Reddit, "Carnitas comes in a pre-prepped bag, there's no actual prepping in-store or seasoning from the employees added. We take the bag, shred it up in a pot, cook it until [165 degrees Fahrenheit], then put it on the line."