Lowcountry Perloo Recipes

LOWCOUNTRY SHRIMP PERLOO

Steps:

• Using a large stockpot (with lid) or Dutch oven, add bacon and place pot over medium heat; cook until bacon is crispy. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and pat dry. Reserve 2 Tbsp of bacon grease in pot.
• Add onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until onions are translucent but not browned.
• Add crushed tomatoes, rice, corn, stock and Cajun seasoning. Stir and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 25-30 minutes (not stirring), or until rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is fully cooked. (Note: If liquid is entirely absorbed at this point, just add another ¼ cup of water to prevent rice from burning while shrimp steams in the next step.)
• Add shrimp to top of rice. Cover pot and cook over medium-low heat for 5-8 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and fully cooked.
• Prior to serving, garnish with reserved bacon, freshly chopped parsley and green onions. Add salt to taste. (Note: Cajun seasonings vary greatly, so adjust salt as needed based on the Cajun seasoning you use.)

SHRIMP PERLOO RECIPE

Steps:

• Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium, stirring often, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the bacon drippings in Dutch oven.
• Increase heat to medium-high. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper to Dutch oven; cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften but haven't begun to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the salt; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, stirring and scraping to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add tomatoes and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in stock, rice, and butter; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is just tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Working quickly, gently stir in shrimp; cover and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Top servings evenly with parsley and bacon.

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.

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.

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.