Undercooked chicken? Sauce with a foul odor? A deceptively meaty dish?
If employees won't touch these Popeyes menu items, you certainly shouldn't.
Macaroni and cheese, with its basic composition of melted savory cheeses and chewy noodles,
is a dish that might be considered hard to mess up. However, according to a surprising number
of customers across platforms such as Reddit and YouTube, Popeyes manages to do just that.
In a Reddit thread titled, "Why is Popeyes Mac and Cheese so watery / runny?," several
Popeyes employees showed up to agree with the sentiment. One worker on another thread said,
"Worst thing would be the Mac and cheese because
it's an overpriced side and the consistency is never correct."
Another employee on a separate post even went so far as to use an expletive to emphasize
how much they personally disliked the dish. With all this in mind,
you may want to avoid the mac and cheese next time you're at Popeyes.
"Popeye's chicken is f---ing awesome."
Sometimes, one foul memory is more than enough to
turn someone off to something forever. For a handful of Popeyes employees,
it seems that certain unappealing sights and actions taken by coworkers during the
handling of a few notable chicken items — in particular the filets used for Popeyes chicken
sandwiches — have made for some lasting negative associations. One employee on Reddit admitted,
"I think I remember one of my coworkers dropped a chicken sandwich filet on the
ground in the cooler, looked at me, said 'shh', and used it anyways."
Further on in the post, the worker also divulged that sometimes a chicken chunk
ends up undercooked — and that they themselves had once bitten into a still-bloodied piece without
knowing it. Similar incidents have been reported by other alleged employees, so just as with
ordering poultry from any restaurant, be aware of the risks as a consumer before you place an order.
While it's true that Popeyes may be most widely celebrated for its chicken,
the chain has also been recognized for its long and running list of different kinds of sauces
and ranches. From discontinued selections such as Blackened Ranch, Mardi Gras mustard,
or Red Hot Honey Sauce to current offerings like Sweet Heat Sauce or Buttermilk Ranch Sauce,
there's no doubt that the company has invested quite a bit of effort in developing unique sauces.
But while some of these creative dressings might be worth the hype, according to certain employees,
many of the specialty ranches in particular haven't quite hit the mark.
On a Reddit thread, a worker responded to a user's question regarding their
personal favorite sauce with an interesting admission, stating,
"Since we sadly don't have a honey mustard it's gonna have
to be the regular old ranch with some hot sauce,
all the other ranches are disappointing to me and taste like thousand island with random peppers."
Another employee on a separate post claimed that the company's current specialty ranch selection,
the Buttermilk Ranch, was their least favorite of all the restaurant's sauce picks.
"It's time to ranch it up!"
The Creole-seasoned Cajun Rice side from Popeyes is so beloved by customers
that when it was suddenly taken off the menu seemingly without warning in 2021,
throngs of furious customers flocked to social media to display their anguish.
Perhaps this is what caused the franchise to resurrect the dish for a limited time in 2022,
where it was quickly and enthusiastically snatched up by nostalgic consumers. And while much of the
chain's fan base waits in anticipation to see whether Popeyes will restore the side's status
to either a limited-time or permanent menu item in the future, the employees believe the potent rice
dish should continue to stay far, far away. One Popeyes kitchen worker made the claim on Reddit,
"I don't recommend the Cajun rice even though so many people stand by it. It's
quite literally just white rice with a meat gravy mixed in. But it makes me
want to puke making it since the gravy is bright green and very unnatural."
The dish was reported as foul-smelling and unattractive to look at by another
employee commenting on Reddit as well. Whether or not these admissions will
turn people off to the dish when and if it returns remains to be seen.
Ahh, the Popeyes biscuits. Whether or not they are enjoyable is truly a
controversial topic among customers. But whichever side of the fence you fall on,
one generally cannot deny that the chicken chain's savory baked rounds are quite dense.
"Am I just a basic biscuit?"
Workers of the chain do not deny claims of overly
dense biscuits coming out of the ovens in their kitchens. However,
one did offer a possible explanation of why on Reddit. The employee explained:
"I think it’s because they’re made out of cake flour. Sadly they are frozen but
we coat them in butter before we put them in the oven and after. But yeah,
would not recommend eating without water."
On another thread in the same forum, one consumer joked:
"As a hazing ritual do you make the new employee eat a biscuit with no drink?"
In jest, another user answered:
"I think that's attempted murder."
While Popeyes has historically been praised for its glorious and crispy fried chicken tenders,
some more recent reviews across numerous platforms cast doubt. In a Reddit post titled,
"quality of chicken tenders gone down in the last year or so?," customers communally
discussed issues such as rubbery strips and chewy breading. A handful of employees joined
the debate, offering suggestions as to why, the majority of which seemed to include theories
that the individuals preparing the poultry pieces follow improper cooking techniques.
One worker in particular, however,
disagreed, offering their own, simpler explanation. They said,
"All this is wrong, hear me out. I work in the kitchen at Popeyes, ask for them fresh. The batter
is hard and has a poor taste after 5 minutes that's all it takes to make your chicken bad."
They continued, discounting the theory that it
had anything to do with incorrect hand breading or cooking failure.
"There is no wrong way to cook the chicken without it being thrown out,
the batter and flour stick straight to the chicken so there will not be too little or too much."
Whatever the true cause of the waning quality of Popeyes tenders may be,
taking the employee's advice and asking for a fresh batch certainly can't hurt.
Interesting spices that challenge the palate are often associated with New Orleans, the city where
Popeyes got its start. With the region sporting such a vibrant blend of historical influences,
seasonings from multiple cultures have worked their way into the food over the years. This
creates platefuls of powerful flavors and, often, some eye-watering spiciness. However,
if a burning tongue is what you seek, you may want to skip the spicy chicken tenders from Popeyes.
Consumers across online platforms have called out the chain's "hot" variant on tenders,
claiming the actual spice in the dish is only minimally detectable.
One user requested an explanation from a willing employee on Reddit, asking:
"Why do they say 'spicy' tenders? Genuinely can't tell the difference between them and the normal
ones. Any like, code word I can use to get them to dump that spice on like I'll die without it?"
The worker came back with a rather discouraging answer, explaining that
the spices are all applied prior to cooking and are never sprinkled on post-frying. Therefore,
the spiciness factor stays relatively mild, which can be somewhat off-putting for those craving
a legitimate kick. To confirm this wasn't just customer opinion, the employee said,
"I would agree with you, they could be spicier."
When we think of mashed potatoes, we naturally envision giant spuds freshly cooked to perfection
and mashed with butter and salt to create steaming, creamy bowls of deliciousness. However,
some people don't realize that not all mashed potatoes originate from recently harvested starchy
vegetables. Many fast-food chains utilize powdered mashed potatoes — a dehydrated and packeted potato
product that can, in a sense, reactivate when hot water is added. Unfortunately, Popeyes is
no exception. While this is understandably a much faster process than boiling, peeling,
and mashing fresh potatoes, it can make the idea of actually eating the end result
slightly off-putting for those charged with making it. One employee on Reddit admitted,
"Spoiler alert- It's powdered mashed potatoes,
the kind they add lots of water to make it seem like regular mashed potatoes."
This was corroborated on other threads, with one former worker describing tiny specks
and granules sometimes being left behind when they aren't absorbed properly during
stirring. Disgust for this less-than-fresh shortcut reads clearly between the lines,
but for those not required to stir the powder-and-water mixture, some think Popeyes'
potatoes can still be enjoyable. One user responding in the thread wrote,
"I still love mashed potatoes from places like this… it’s a guilty pleasure."
Popeyes' gravy is so coveted that it has inspired countless copycat recipes online. With that said,
the home cooks tirelessly working to recreate their fast-food favorite have actually whipped
up a much fresher version than the original in their own kitchens. This is because the
Popeyes gravy that many believe is too good not to be scratch-made actually arrives at
stores preserved and bagged. One former employee on Reddit joked,
"I worked at Popeyes many years ago. Getting to work two hours before opening to prepare
the gravy, cook the gizzards, boil and reduce, etc. was such a tiring process. Just kidding,
it came in a bag that we put in boiling water to heat up."
This fact is confirmed across the board by additional workers, who often break the hearts of
the Popeyes fan base online by exposing the truth. On a separate thread, one hopeful consumer asked,
"How do you make the only thing I live for, I mean the gravy?"
Bluntly, a responding employee answered with four simple and disheartening words:
"It's in a bag."
You'll have to decide for yourself whether this bothers you enough to stop ordering it.
"Not the gravy!"
TRUFF is a line of high-quality condiments, including hot sauces,
cooking oils, and mayonnaise. All of their products contain truffles — a fungus that grows
underground and is often used in the culinary sector due to its poignant flavor. Recently,
the TRUFF company joined forces with Popeyes to develop a line of products featuring its various
sauces. One of the limited-time offerings in 2023 was the Spicy TRUFF Chicken Sandwich, which calls
for a spicy chicken patty topped with a generous layer of TRUFF mayonnaise in a brioche bun.
While food brand mashups can often yield a favorable result, according to consumers and
employees alike, this creation is anything but. And it appears to be the fault of the
mayonnaise itself — specifically, its smell. One user on Reddit said of the sandwich,
"The smell immediately put me off. Gross. Took 1 bite, spit it out."
An employee on a separate thread titled "TRUFF mayo is so bad"
shared that preparing the dish is about as enjoyable as eating it. They explained,
"I work at Popeyes and this sauce right here is the worst thing you
could possibly get. Right off the bat when you get this sauce it has
the worst smell. Everyone in my store calls it the stink sauce."
If you're into truffles, this one might be enjoyable — but at the very least,
you should prepare your nose for an interesting sniffing experience.
Let's face it; it can be hard to eat out as a vegetarian. However,
a person who stops in for sustenance at Popeyes wishing to avoid meat may assume,
at first glance, that they've found the perfect dish in the restaurant's Red Beans
and Rice. A famous recipe that consists of simple white rice, mixed seasonings,
and succulent red beans certainly wouldn't have any meat in it, right?
Wrong. As professed by several employees across Reddit,
the red beans are actually developed using pork fat — a fact that is not at
all obvious when looking at the dish. One worker on a thread from years ago claimed,
"There is lard and/or meat in them. Contrary
to what some workers are instructed to say they are NOT vegetarian-friendly."
Unfortunately, it appears nothing has changed. In a more recent Reddit thread that asks "Does
Popeyes use any type of pork in their products in the US?," an employee answers without hesitation:
"Red beans have pork in them."
If you're avoiding meat for any reason, don't be fooled by the popular dish's
appearance. You can thank the hard-working employees of Popeyes for clearing things up.