Costco Kirkland Signature Poke Review

I love checking out different Costcos when I travel. You get a great mix of your favorite products that you always buy along with a sprinkling of exciting new ones. This is especially true in Hawaii, because Costco carries some very cool locally-themed things like Kirkland Signature Poke! I tried all four kinds that were available on my recent trip to the Big Island. Read on to hear my thoughts on Costco’s versions of this classic Hawaiian dish.

If raw fish isn’t something you find appealing, Costco has lots of other fish and seafood products that you cook! Like the Kirkland Signature Everything Seasoning Breaded Cod, High Liner Miso Glazed Cod, Kirkland Signature Breaded Panko Shrimp, Kirkland Signature Stuffed Salmon, Kirkland Signature Tilapia Loins, Kirkland Signature Atlantic Cod and the Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.

Location in Store

I found the poke in Kona, Hawaii, in the refrigerated deli section where all the other pre-made meals are. The item numbers are 13591 for the Fresh Shoyu poke, 17193 for the Ahi Wasabi Poke, 34948 for the Garlic Shrimp Poke and 39876 for the Spicy Ahi Poke.

Taste

I tried all four kinds of poke and wrote notes on each one so I’m going to share my thoughts with you! Keep in mind these are just my personal thoughts on the poke.

Fresh Shoyu Poke

The poke is slightly fishy tasting. The onions add a nice flavor but the white onions are quite strong tasting and almost have a heat to them. The fish isn’t super flavorful other than being slightly fishy.

The texture of raw fish is enjoyable but I know some people don’t. I did notice a bit of pieces with gristle. I bought these a day before I tried them so that could be why they’re a bit on the fishy side.

The sauce makes it really good, I tried it by itself first before without the sauce and prefer it with the sauce. The sauce is very salty and pairs well with the texture of the fish. The sesame seeds in the sauce add some nice flavor and texture!

Ahi Wasabi Poke

The wasabi poke has fish eggs in it but you can’t see them. It has a lot of crunchy texture from the large amount of sesame seeds.

There’s a moderate amount of heat from the wasabi. The fish tastes the same as the shoyu poke which makes sense because they’re both made of Ahi tuna.

What I didn’t like is that there are quite a few gristley pieces. The flavor and heat is nice, I like wasabi but I don’t like all the crunchiness.

It might be the fish eggs turning me off because I don’t like roe but I just don’t think it’s as good as the Shoyu so would skip buying this one next time.

Garlic Shrimp Poke

As soon as you open the container the smell hits you! The shrimp have an extremely strong smell of garlic. The smell almost turned me off of trying the shrimp but I’m pleasantly surprised by how good this is!

I like the combination of garlic and sesame. Overall the flavor is really good. My parents don’t like garlic and they even ate a bunch of shrimp and enjoyed them.

The texture of the shrimp is nice and firm, not soft and mushy. They’re great on the own or would be amazing in a salad or a wrap.

Spicy Ahi Poke

This one is pretty spicy! I’d say it has a moderate to high amount of heat. There’s a generous amount of mayo-like sauce and that’s where the heat is coming from. The mayo is tasty though.

The ahi is just slightly fishy tasting, but not too bad. A lot of it is also gristly like the other ones, which is unfortunate. I had to spit out a few gristly bites. The good pieces are much more enjoyable.

The roe adds a bit of crunch, but there isn’t too much. I don’t like roe, so I could do without it completely. The green onion adds a hint of flavor and texture that compliments the fish well.

Cost

Overall the poke seems reasonably priced to me. Considering this is fresh, quality, raw fish. Where I live fresh caught fish isn’t always an option but even frozen fish is pretty expensive!

Fresh Shoyu Poke

The Fresh Shoyu Poke costs $21.99 per pound. Our container was a bit over a pound so we paid $25.29.

Ahi Wasabi Poke

The wasabi poke also costs $21.99 per pound. Our container was just a tad under one pound so we paid $21.77.

Garlic Shrimp Poke

The shrimp poke costs $9.99 per pound which seems really reasonable! We got a large container for $12.99.

Spicy Ahi Poke

The spicy poke costs $20.99 per pound. Our container weighed exactly one pound!

Convenience

The shrimp poke has a best-before date that’s three days from the date is was packaged. The other three kinds has an expiry date that’s two days from when it was purchased. Obviously, it needs to be kept refrigerated and I wouldn’t chance eating it past the best-before date.

You can eat the poke on it’s own or turn it into a poke bowl with some rice, seaweed, carrots, cucumber, edamame, avocado and even mango!

Nutrition

Calories

Fresh Shoyu Poke

A four-ounce serving contains 130 calories, three grams of fat, two grams of carbohydrates, and zero grams of of sugar.

Ahi Wasabi Poke

A four-ounce serving contains 150 calories, three and a half grams of fat, three grams of carbohydrates and one gram of sugar.

Garlic Shrimp Poke

A four-ounce serving contains 130 calories, eight grams of fat, 11 grams of carbohydrates and zero grams of sugar.

Spicy Ahi

A four-ounce serving contains 150 calories, one gram of fat, six grams of carbohydrates and one gram of sugar.

Ingredients

Fresh Shoyu Poke

Kukui nut is a Hawaiian nut that’s used to add a distinct, nutty, salty flavor to dishes. Unfortunately, the poke is not gluten-free (wheat coming from the soy) and contains tuna, wheat, soy, kukui nut and oyster.

Ahi Wasabi Poke

I don’t love the high fructose corn syrup and rapeseed oil listed on the ingredients for the wasabi poke. There’s also artificial colors like yellow #5 and blue #1. The Ahi Wasabi Poke contains tuna, flying fish roe, herring roe, kukui nut, bonita, wheat, soy and sesame. I think Bonita is supposed to read as Bonito, which is a kind of fish.

Garlic Shrimp Poke

The shrimp has a short and sweet ingredients list, it’s gluten-free as well as dairy-free!

Spicy Ahi Poke

The spicy poke contains tuna, wheat, soy, egg, sesame, soybeans, anchovy, red tobiko and flying fish roe. This one also contains alcohol for those who can’t have alcohol as well as artificial color.

Scoring

Taste: Fresh Shoyu Poke 7.5/10 Ahi Wasabi Poke 6/10 Garlic Shrimp Poke 8.5/10 Spicy Ahi Poke 7.5/10

Cost: 8/10 for the fish and 9/10 for the shrimp

Convenience: 10/10

Nutrition: 8/10

Overall

Give it a try!

If you’re someone who enjoys raw fish/poke this is definitely a treat to pick up from Costco! You can eat it as is or make it into a fancy poke bowl!

Have you tried the Costco Kirkland Signature Poke? What did you think of it? Which one is your favorite? Drop a comment below!

Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).