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Popeye's Red Beans and Rice Recipe
Popeye's Red Beans and Rice
By Todd Wilbur

Recipe Type: Side Dish
Calories: 371
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Recipe Rating: 3.6 (5 reviews)
 
I first created the clone for this Cajun-style recipe back in 1994 for the second TSR book, More Top Secret Recipes, but I've never been absolutely pleased with the end result and vowed to one day rework it. After convincing a Popeyes manager to show me the ingredients written on the box of red bean mixture, I determined the only way to accurately clone this one is to include an important ingredient omitted from the first version: pork fat. Emeril Lagasse, a master of Cajun cooking, used to scream "pork fat rules" on his cooking show all the time, and in a dish like this one, he's right. One way to get the delicious smoky fat we need is to render it from smoked ham hocks, but that takes too long. The easiest way is to cook 4 or 5 pieces of bacon, save the cooked bacon for another recipe or eat it!, and then use 1/4 cup of the fat for this Top Secret clone. As for the beans, find red beans they're smaller than kidney beans in two 15-ounce cans. If you're having trouble tracking down red beans, red kidney beans will substitute nicely.
Beans 
1/4 cup smoky pork fat (from cooking 4 to 5 slices of bacon) 
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Toni  
Submitted on 02/24/13
Like another reviewer, I added a bit of Liquid Smoke in addition to using bacon drippings. It still felt like it was missing something so I doubled the garlic and paprika and also added a few splashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce. Perfection!
Sandra  
Submitted on 01/15/08
I love this recipe and use it often. We don't have a Popeyes in our town and have to drive an hour to get it. I only go for the beans & rice. Delicious!!! Thanks!!!
cockyrockys  
Submitted on 12/11/06
I wanna say todd you are the best when it comes to cloning the recipes to our favourite foods. I found a short cut to the Popeyes red beans n rice recipe.. I have eaten it tons of times and it has a very smokey flavor..so by adding liquid smoke, it gives it that taste that Popeyes has.
Kay  
Submitted on 11/20/06
Just awful!!! I went the long route, using ham hocks to render the pork fat. Way, way, way too overwhelming. It was so bad I haven't had the nerve to try it with the bacon. I will eventually because Popeye's RB&R are the best and I'd love to be able to come close to theirs.
FoodGuy  
Submitted on 07/19/05
Close, very close. Just a few changes and it would be a lot closer.