This recipe is from my new book, CopyKat.com’s Dining out in the home. You can order CopyKat.com’s Dining Out in the Home at Amazon.com.
You can make Popeyes Red Beans any day with these beans, and here we use spices right out of your own kitchen cabinet to create the Cajun flavor. The ham hock in this recipe provides a wonderfully smoky flavor that infuses the beans. The lard is a key ingredient here, as this type of rendered fat gives the dish a lot of its Old South flavor. Lard is found in most grocery stores where solid shortening is sold.
Popeyes Red Beans
Popeyes Red Beans and Rice
Popeyes Red Beans and Rice will remind you of dishes that you will enjoy in New Orleans. It is hard to beat this, by using canned beans you will save time in the cooking process. We use ham hocks here for the smokey flavor.
Ingredients
- 3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans red beans, divided
- 1/2 to 3/4 pound smoked ham hock
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon lard
- 4 to 5 cups cooked long grain rice, drained
Instructions
Pour 2 cans of beans with their liquid into a 2-quart pan. Add the smoked ham hock and water. Bring the pan to a simmer on medium heat for an hour, until the meat starts to loosen from the bone. Remove from the heat and cool until the ham hock is cool enough so the meat can be removed from the bone. Place the meat, beans, and liquid in a food processor. To the mixture add the onion powder, garlic salt, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and lard. Process for only 4 seconds. The beans should be chopped and have a soupy, liquid consistency. Now drain the liquid from the remaining can of beans and add the beans to the food processor. Process just for a second or two—you want these beans to remain almost whole. Pour the bean mixture back into the pan and cook slowly on low heat, stirring often, until ready to serve. Serve the beans over the cooked rice.
Print Recipe
Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice 
Cracker Barrel the Old Country Store Green Beans 
Chili’s Black Beans 
Durgin Park Baked Beans 
Treebeards Red Beans 
CopyKat.com is the creation of Stephanie Manley. Stephanie started publishing recipes on the web in 1995 as a means to capture her family recipes in a format that they would not be thrown away. Over the years she has developed many recipes that taste just like restaurant recipes. 
