I
grew up spending weeks in the spring and summer traveling between Athens,
Savannah, and Gainesville. Having family in all those areas, I was
priviledged, blessed really, to an exposure of different regional foods. My
paternal grandmother exposed me to all things Athens and central and southern
Georgia. My maternal grandmother and great grandmother exposed me to Coastal
Georgia and Lowcountry foods. My mom and aunts taught me early on of those
wonderful dishes coming out of the farmlands and foothills of North
Georgia.
But... when I want a simple, one pot, warm and cozy comfort
food, I remember Great Granny's Chicken Perloo. Perloo is a lowcountry dish,
made of basics...rice, chicken, pork, savory seasonings. Perloo is actually the
gullah pronounciation of the word "pilau," a dish that originated with the
people of the gullah nation. The folks north of Savannah and Charleston
probably use the "proper" pronounciation, Chicken Pilau. But I prefer the old
term my Granny and Mama used, "perloo." Another spelling is "perlo." Recipes
for Chicken Perloo are as varied as the pronounciation. Some are simple, like
my family's. Others are all gussied up with herbs, olive oil, mushrooms and
peppers. I like mine simple. Here's the recipe as I remember it from my Mama,
Granny, and Great Granny.
1
fryer chicken, cut up
4
- 5 cups water
Salt, pepper, chicken boullion cubes or poultry
seasoning
1
lb. country ham, or thick bacon (later my mom started using polish sausage as a
substitute)
1
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1
large or 2 small onions, chopped
1
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
2
cups white rice
(Optional - 1 chopped tomato, chopped bell pepper)
Place chicken in a large dutch oven, or soup pan as my mama
would say, cover with the water, season well with salt, pepper, a couple of
chicken boullion cubes or poultry seasoning. Bring to a simmer and cook
chicken 20-30 minutes until done .
Remove chicken from broth, saving
the broth, and set chicken aside to cool. When cool enough to handle,
skin and debone, and shred or cut up chicken. Add the chicken back to the
broth.
In
a large fry pan, heat the tablespoon or two of vegetable oil. Add cubed country
ham or bacon and cook until crispy. Remove pork from the pan and add the
chopped onion and celery, adding a bit more oil if needed to prevent veggies
from sticking. Cook veggies until tender and translucent. Add pork and veggies
to the broth and chicken. Bring to a boil.
When broth begins to boil, add the rice. Stir well. Reduce
heat to low, cover, and simmer slowly until rice is cooked and water is
absorbed. Stir occasionally and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper if
desired.
Final thoughts....
**
Many recipes will call for pouring the broth into another container and setting
aside. Use the same dutch oven or soup pan to brown the pork and saute the
onion and celery. Then, pouring the broth back over the veggies. My family
always cooked the pork and sauted the veggies in a large fry pan, then deglazed
with a bit of broth, adding it all back to the broth.
**
Sometimes Mama or Granny would add chopped tomato to the mix after everything
was combined back into the broth. Sometimes they even added chopped green pepper to the onion and
celery.
**
Polish sausage is a nice hearty substitute for ham or bacon. In fact, I prefer
it. If you use polish sausage, you'll want to slice in about quarter inch
rounds.
Chicken Perloo ~~ takes me back to Savannah and my island
everytime.
