Selasa, 13 Desember 2011
A classic Southern recipe with chicken, smoked sausage and rice very similar to jambalaya but without the tomatoes (often called Chicken Bog).
We toggle between calling this Chicken Pilau (pronounced 'PER-lo') and Chicken Bog. It really depends on who I’m serving it to as to what I call it.
If my family’s eating it, we call it pilau because that’s what they’ve always called it. If I’m serving it to friends, I usually call it chicken bog because that seems to be more common around these parts.
I love to make a double or triple batch when we’re entertaining because it’s a perfect way to feed a crowd without too much fuss and everybody loves it. I get it cooked then leave it on the stove on the lowest heat setting, set out a stack of bowls and a bottle of hot sauce then go enjoy my company.
Daddy’s people come from an area of South Carolina that stretches between Charleston and St. Matthews which means that we have rice in our blood and could cook it blindfolded and drunk but if cooking larger quantities of rice makes you nervous keep these two things in mind:
Firstly, traditional long-grain white rice cooks at a ratio of liquid to rice of 2:1. It’s OK if you have a little more liquid (because it can set and absorb the extra liquid) but you can’t have less.
Secondly, the biggest mistake folks make with rice is messing with it. Every time you take the lid off you upset the 2:1 ratio because you’re letting go some of the liquid via steam. Just stir it once or twice in the beginning until you get the temperature just right, once or twice about halfway through then cover it and walk away.
Just walk away.
I once saw Bobby Flay ruin a pot of jambalaya because he couldn't quit messing with it. Just. Walk. Away.
Chicken Pilau
Yield: 10-12 Servings
prep time: 15 Mcook time: 1 H & 20 Mtotal time: 1 H & 35 M
A classic Southern recipe with chicken, smoked sausage and rice very similar to jambalaya but without the tomatoes (often called Chicken Bog).
ingredients:
- 1 medium-sized chicken
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 stalks celery, cut in half
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 3 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups uncooked long grained rice
- 1 pound smoked sausage
instructions:
How to cook Chicken Pilau
- Remove giblets, etc. from the chicken cavity (if included). Clean and rinse chicken well and place in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid.
- Add broth, celery, onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and next five ingredients (through bay leaf). Bring to a slow simmer over medium heat. Once broth begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover tightly and simmer for 1 hour.
- Remove chicken from broth then set aside to cool. Remove skin, bones, etc. from chicken. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.
- Strain broth to remove onion, celery and bay leaf then return broth to pot.
- Cut smoked sausage into bite-sized pieces. Add sausage and remaining teaspoon of salt (I know this seems like a lot of salt but there is a lot of rice here – just trust me) to the broth then bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add uncooked rice and chicken pieces. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover tightly then cook for 20 minutes or until rice is tender stirring with a fork a few times the first 15 minutes of cook time. Do not disturb rice the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Turn off heat then let dish rest, covered, for 30 minutes before serving.
NOTES:
You can use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken but you must use bone-on, skin-on chicken or the dish will be dry and not as flavorful.
Did you make this recipe?
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