Redneck Fried Rice!

Fried rice is definitely not a southern dish, but it almost should be or in this case could be.  I mean it's rice, it involves butter and oil and frying and it has eggs.  Doesn't that almost seem southern?   

This version even goes a step further and includes not only pork but bacon, which is why it got it's name.    When I first made the rice, I sent some to my son and a friend of his.  When I asked what they thought of it, they said they liked it. 

 My son, who has taste buds that Gordon Ramsey would be amazed by, asked if the ham in it was country ham.  I told him it was just baked ham diced up small.  He said there was another meat flavor in there, other than ham.  

Then it dawned on me that I had sauteed the ham in bacon drippings.  He picked that right out and said that was the flavor that really made it good.  Of course, bacon grease makes anything  I said, 'it's sort of the redneck's fried rice' and it just stuck.  

This recipe is very versatile, you can add a few peas, small diced carrots or chopped mushrooms if you like.  If you don't have bacon drippings on hand (obviously I always you can fry 4-5 pieces of bacon until crisp and use the drippings to saute your ham.  Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the rice before serving.  

 Here is what you will need for the basic recipe:

2 cups rice (cook it according to package directions and for best results chill it before frying)
1 cup ham diced small
1/2 cup sliced green onion, including some of the green blades
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. bacon drippings
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. Canola or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
dash of black pepper
dash of seasoned salt
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. Teriyaki sauce
2 eggs

Using a wok or deep frying pan, saute the ham in the bacon drippings.  Make sure your ham is diced small so that it cooks up with the rice and blends well.  

Add 1 Tbs. oil and 1 Tbs. butter to the pan. Add the rice, the green onions and minced garlic. Sprinkle all of the seasonings, sesame seeds and the soy and teriyaki sauce over all.  Continue to turn and fry in the pan.

Make a well in the center of the rice and add the other tablespoon of butter to it.  Crack the eggs in the center and scramble.  When the eggs start to set, begin to mix them in with the rice. This should be cooked on fairly high heat without scorching it.  If you need more oil add a little more canola or vegetable oil.  


Take your spatula and sort of press down on the rice and let it get a little crispy on one side, then flip it and do it the same on the other side.  I have spent a lot of time in Japanese hibachi places studying this  That's it!  You now have 'Redneck Fried Rice'!  



  1. I keep my bacon grease in a mason jar in my fridge. How do you keep yours? I love the extra flavor it adds. I use it for my butternut squash soup. So good. This recipe looks so delicious..I may have to try it!

  2. I have one of those old aluminum coffee pots that was used on the stove. I use that. It was handed down from my grandmother, to my mother, and now to me. There is NOTHING like seasoning with bacon grease! Love your page and reading your comments. Great job!

  3. Sorry I can't reply directly to you, but for some reason the 'reply' button doesn't work on here anymore. I use a little glass bowl with a lid for mine and keep it in the fridge. I used to know someone else that used an old metal coffee pot to put theirs in, Angela. That works great.

  4. We used to have grease cans on the stove with a strainer inside - grease went to the bottom. I guess somebody decided it needed to be kept in the fridge!

    1. I still have mine and it still sits on my stove. The bacon grease in it doesn't stay long enough to get rancid. It gets cleaned out on a regular basis lol

  5. Is there any way to get bacon grease without frying bacon? LOL After my husband had quadruple bypass surgery at 51, 3 yrs ago, I don't really fry bacon. I'd sure like to have some grease for seasoning though. I know my Grandmother always had it & she was an awesome cook :-)

    1. You can bake you bacon for about 10-12 minutes, 350 degrees. Place the bacon on a rack then on a cookie sheet and the grease will drip off and you have good bacon. I like mine crisp and my husband likes his bacon warm, so cooking in oven is great as we take some out when it is the way he likes it and cook longer for me. I also keep my bacon grease in the fridge in an big can.

    2. my nannie used to ask some restaurants when she's go to breakfast sometimes if they could set aside some bacon grease for her while they were dining. she'd usually bring a mason jar for it

  6. Wasabi makes their rice with bacon. We LOVE it, but I think I like the price on the 'Redneck' version better.

  7. I thought that somewhere...there had to be some pinto beans in this recipe... LOL....

  8. I figured there had to be pinto beans in this recipe somewhere... LOL... it sounds pretty good without them... :)

  9. My grandmother & great grandmother have been making fried rice like this for years. A lot of people in Louisiana have been making fried rice with bacon grease & eggs for supper long, long ago; especially when all the dinner left-overs were eaten. I love this dish. It was a typical southern dish for us and many others growing up. Thanks for sharing.

  10. My ex used to cook this but he diced up small can. SPaM instead of ham..was best
    thing he was good for....

  11. Love this recipe, we use Spam instead of ham!



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