Best Carolina Pilau Perloo Recipes

LOWCOUNTRY PERLOO

Steps:

• Peel all the shrimp and put the shells, and heads if you have them, into a pot with the bay leaves, onion, celery and carrot. Cover with 7 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 30 minutes while you chop everything else for the perloo.
• As the stock is simmering, slowly fry the bacon in a large, heavy pot. When it is crispy, remove the bacon (eat a slice) and chop roughly. Set the bacon aside.
• Saute the 2 cups chopped onion, 2 cups chopped celery and the diced yellow bell pepper in the bacon fat until soft but not browned. Add the garlic and rice and cook, stirring often for 3 minutes, until the rice turns translucent.
• Add the white wine, tomatoes and chile pepper to the pot and stir well.
• Set up a fine-meshed strainer with a paper towel in it. Ladle two or three ladles of the shrimp stock through this strainer into the rice pot. Stir well. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process until the rice is tender.
• Add one more ladle of shrimp stock to the pot, along with the shrimp and the parsley. Mix to combine, cover the pot and turn the heat to its lowest setting. Cover for 5 minutes to let the shrimp cook, then mix in the bacon and black pepper and serve.

CAROLINA PILAU (PERLOO)

Steps:

• Fry the bacon in a large skillet over very low heat, just until it reaches the crisp stage. Remove from pan, crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat, then add the rice and stir, cooking slowly until rice is lightly browned.
• Add the boiling stock, stir, and bring back to the boil.
• Add chicken, vegetables, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until rice, chicken and vegetables are done and liquid is absorbed.
• Serving Ideas : Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and parsley.

CHARLESTON SHRIMP PILAU

Steps:

• Fry bacon until crisp; remove and cook onion in bacon fat until translucent.
• Add tomatoes and rice; mix well, cover and heat to boiling point.
• Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork to prevent sticking.
• Set in a warm place where there is no danger of scorching for another 20 minutes to allow the rice to become fluffy.
• Add shrimp and bacon; place in a casserole dish and bake at 350F for 15 minutes.

JOHN MARTIN TAYLOR'S SHRIMP PERLOO

Steps:

• Peel the shrimp, breaking off the heads. Place heads and shells in an enamel or stainless steel stockpot. Place the bodies in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Roughly chop the carrots and celery and add to shrimp shells. Add thyme. Peel and quarter the onion and add to stockpot. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook stock uncovered at a steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and stock has been reduced by about one-third. (The stockpot may be covered if the stock appears to be reducing too much.)
• Remove from heat and strain through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the solids. You will need three cups of shrimp stock for the perloo. Freeze the rest.
• In a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, saute the bacon over medium-low heat until crisp. Remove bacon, set aside to drain and pour off all but about three tablespoons of bacon grease - enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
• Add chopped onion to bacon grease and saute over medium-low heat 5 to 10 minutes, until onion is transparent. Add tomatoes, red pepper and parsley, stir to mix well and cook another five minutes.
• Add rice, salt and shrimp stock, raise heat slightly just to bring the stock to a simmer, then lower heat, cover pot and leave to simmer 20 minutes. Do not remove lid while cooking rice.
• After 20 minutes, lift the lid and fluff the rice with a big fork while tossing in the shrimp. Cover the pot again and turn off the heat. The perloo will be ready in 5 to 10 minutes and the shrimp will not overcook.
• Crumble reserved bacon and sprinkle over the top of the perloo with the additional chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

RED RICE PERLOO

Steps:

• Rinse the rice until the water becomes slightly clear. (This removes the starch.)
• Process the celery, onion and bell pepper in a food processor or until finely minced. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the minced vegetables. Cook until the vegetables are softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, sugar and House Seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Stir in the okra, rice and butter and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and vegetable stock and check for seasoning.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked, 20 to 30 minutes. Fluff the rice, then add the lemon juice and sprinkle with parsley if desired. Serve immediately.
• Stir together the garlic and onion powders, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.