The supremely comforting one-pot rice dish, perloo (pronounced every which way, including PER-low, PER-la and per-LOO), is a Lowcountry staple with roots in West Africa. This Charleston version from “Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ” by Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie (Clarkson Potter, 2021) calls for two key ingredients: Charleston Gold rice, an heirloom grain, and leftover smoked chicken. Feel free to use arborio rice or another short-grain variety if you can’t get Charleston Gold; and you can buy the smoked chicken from your local smoke shop or BBQ restaurant, or in a pinch, use grocery store rotisserie chicken. You’ll just want to compensate for the absence of smokiness by adding a pinch of smoked paprika, a whisper of fire. —Eric Kim
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