Chicken Perloo
The supremely comforting one-pot rice dish, perloo (pronounced every which way, including PER-low, PER-la and per-LOO), is a Lowcountry staple with roots in West Africa. This Charleston version from “Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ” by Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie (Clarkson Potter, 2021) calls for two key ingredients: Charleston Gold rice, an heirloom grain, and leftover smoked chicken. Feel free to use arborio rice or another short-grain variety if you can’t get Charleston Gold; and you can buy the smoked chicken from your local smoke shop or BBQ restaurant, or in a pinch, use grocery store rotisserie chicken. You’ll just want to compensate for the absence of smokiness by adding a pinch of smoked paprika, a whisper of fire.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- ¼cup olive oil
- 6celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1large green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 3large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1(14-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
- 2teaspoons dry rib rub spice (see Tip)
- Salt
- 6cups chicken stock (see Tip)
- 1cup Charleston Gold or arborio rice
- 12ounces smoked or rotisserie chicken meat, pulled into large pieces (from roughly half a bird)
- Chopped scallions, for garnish
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.Step 2
In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium. Add the celery, bell pepper, onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables become translucent and soft, about 10 minutes.Step 3
Add the stewed tomatoes, rib rub and a pinch of salt to the sautéed vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is gone and the mixture begins to caramelize on the bottom of the pot, about 10 minutes.Step 4
Add the stock and bring to a boil, raising the heat if needed. Stir in the rice and smoked chicken and transfer to the oven.Step 5
Bake, uncovered, until the rice is soft and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, season with salt to taste and garnish with the scallions.