Chicken Perloo
intro
A hearty one-pot Lowcountry rice dish with tender chicken, smoky bacon, and aromatic veggies, simmered to fluffy, deeply savory perfection.
Ingredients
Steps
Crisp the chopped bacon
Place a heavy-bottomed 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, add the 120g chopped smoked bacon, and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fat is fully rendered and bacon is crisp around the edges. Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a small plate, leaving all rendered fat in the pot.
Sear the chicken chunks
Pat the 680g chicken thigh chunks dry with paper towels, season lightly with ½ teaspoon of the measured kosher salt, then add to the hot bacon fat in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes total, flipping once halfway, until golden brown on all sides (chicken does not need to be fully cooked through at this stage). Transfer seared chicken to the plate with the reserved bacon.
Sauté the trinity base
Reduce heat to medium, add the diced 150g yellow onion, 100g celery, and 110g green bell pepper to the remaining fat in the pot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables soften and turn translucent. Add the 10g minced garlic, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and cook for 30 seconds more until fragrant.
Toast the rice grains
Add the 360g uncooked long-grain white rice to the pot with the sautéed vegetables, stirring constantly to coat every grain in the spiced fat. Toast for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until the edges of the rice grains turn slightly translucent and take on a pale golden hue with a nutty aroma.
Simmer the perloo base
Pour in the 720ml low-sodium chicken broth, undrained 400g diced canned tomatoes, remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and 1 whole bay leaf, stirring to combine. Return the reserved bacon and seared chicken to the pot, bring the entire mixture to a rolling boil over high heat, then immediately reduce heat to the lowest stovetop setting, cover tightly with a lid, and simmer for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
Rest and fluff perloo
After 20 minutes of simmering, turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and let the perloo rest for 10 minutes to fully absorb remaining liquid. Remove and discard the bay leaf, add the 120g frozen peas, then fluff the entire mixture gently with a fork to distribute all ingredients evenly. Top with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley before serving.
Tips
2.Use long-grain white rice for the best results: short-grain, sushi, or instant rice will turn sticky and clumpy, rather than the light, separate grains traditional to perloo.
3.Customize the flavor to your taste: add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper for gentle heat, or replace 120ml (½ cup) of chicken broth with light lager for a malty, rich depth.
OMG this perloo is exactly what my grandma used to make! I’ve been chasing that flavor for years and this recipe nailed it. The rice was perfectly fluffy, not mushy at all, and the chicken was so tender. Served it for Sunday family dinner and everyone went back for seconds. Even my picky 7 year old cleaned his plate!
Super excited to try this! Quick question — can I use brown rice instead of white rice without messing up the cook time? I do meal prep for the week and usually stick to whole grains.
Made this for our neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were hounding me for the recipe all night! I added a little extra smoked sausage because my family loves meat, and it paired so well with the chicken and seasoned rice. SO good, will be making this on repeat for cookouts all summer.
As a working mom of three, I’m always on the hunt for easy one-pot meals that don’t skimp on flavor, and this is a total game changer! Only had to dirty one pot, took less than an hour total, and the whole house smelled amazing while it cooked. My kids asked for seconds before they even finished their first serving.
Tried this for the first time tonight and the flavor was incredible, but my rice came out a little mushy. Did I do something wrong? I followed the recipe exactly as written, I think?
Made this on our recent car camping trip and it was the perfect campsite meal! Cooked it up in our cast iron dutch oven over the campfire, added a dash of hot sauce on top, and it was warm, filling, and so flavorful after a long day of hiking. Even our camp neighbors wandered over to ask what smelled so good.
So happy this recipe is naturally gluten free! I swapped the regular chicken broth for low-sodium gluten free broth and it didn’t change the flavor at all. Served it with a side of collard greens and it felt like a proper Southern Sunday supper even though I’m all the way up in Seattle.
Has anyone tried freezing this after cooking? I make a bunch of freezer meals for my elderly parents who don’t cook much anymore, and this seems like something they’d love.
Added a big scoop of homemade pepper vinegar on top of my serving and it was *chef’s kiss*. That little tang cuts through the savoriness so well. 10/10, will be a staple in my dinner rotation from now on.
I’m a total beginner in the kitchen and I was so nervous to make this for my roommates, but it was so easy! The instructions were super straightforward, no fancy ingredients needed, and my roommates thought I’d been cooking for years. They’re already begging me to make it again next weekend.
Threw in a handful of crumbled crispy bacon when I fluffed the rice and it took this over the top! The smoky saltiness from the bacon paired so perfectly with the tender chicken and seasoned rice. My husband said it’s the best thing I’ve made all year.
Used leftover rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to make this even faster on a busy Tuesday night, and it worked perfectly! Cut the prep time down to like 10 minutes, and no one could tell I used pre-cooked chicken. Total hack for busy weeks.
This was really tasty, but I found it a little underseasoned for my taste! I added an extra teaspoon of cajun seasoning and a pinch of cayenne when I stirred in the rice, and it was perfect for my family who loves a little heat. Great base recipe, super easy to tweak to your taste preferences!
Making this for my son’s high school football team dinner next week — if I triple the recipe, will it still cook okay in a big stock pot? I need to feed about 15 hungry teenage boys, so I want to make sure I get it right!
Tossed in a cup of frozen okra when I added the rice and it was so good! Added that classic Southern veggie element without having to make a separate side. The okra got perfectly tender and didn’t get slimy at all, which was a win.
Born and raised in Charleston, and I can confirm this is the real deal perloo! No weird fancy add-ins, just simple, hearty, flavorful rice and chicken like my granddaddy used to make over the stove. So many recipes online try to overcomplicate perloo, but this one gets it right.
I always prefer chicken thighs over breasts because they’re juicier — would it work to swap the boneless breasts for boneless skinless thighs in this recipe? I don’t want to dry out the chicken by using the wrong cut.
Made this for our first Sunday dinner in our new house and it felt like the perfect welcome home meal! The whole house smelled like comfort food, our dog kept hanging around the stove begging for bites, and my partner said it’s his new favorite meal. We’ll be making this for years to come, I just know it.