Coco’s Chicken Rice with Turmeric

Unlike cats, which are true carnivores, dogs are omnivores, able to eat anything we can. (“Grandma! Must I tell you again? Stop feeding Flo from the table!”  “Oh, I know . . . but just look at that face . . . ”). Nevertheless, I haven’t met a dog yet that given a choice, didn’t prefer meat. For cost, convenience and quality (the labels from all the major producers proclaim their product to be “antibiotic free” and “minimally processed”), Coco and I buy skinless and boneless chicken thighs or bosoms, whichever are on sale in the supermarket family pack.

Like many light-pigmented dogs (Coco’s a beautiful white pit bull with brown spots), she is bothered by skin allergies. Of all grains, rice is least likely to trigger allergic symptoms. Brown rice, which retains the bran and germ that are milled away in processing white rice, is an outstanding source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids.

Vegetables are beneficial to dogs for the same reasons they are good for humans. Flush with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and of course the eponymous beta-carotene, carrots are available year ‘round, retain their nutrition well in storage, and are cheap, especially when purchased in 5-pound bags. Many dogs enjoy munching on them raw, but due to the design of their digestive system, are unable to access the nutrients unless they (the vegetables) are thoroughly cooked.

In recent years, some controversy has arisen over the safety of feeding dogs garlic. Breeders, farmers and hunters, however, have been feeding their hounds garlic for centuries, believing that it makes them less appetizing to fleas, ticks, and worms.

I have always fed my dogs garlic, as both an antiparasitic agent and general immune-system booster. Dogs don’t sweat, so they can’t exude the smell through their pores like we do–though with all the garlic we eat around here, it would likely go unnoticed. And let’s face it–whatever effect it may have on a pit bull’s breath can only be to the good.  

Ingredients

6 pounds of skinless and boneless chicken, thighs or bosoms

1 quart carrots, peeled and sliced into coins

6 cloves of garlic, chopped or sliced

3 cups of brown rice

2 tablespoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 cups of purified water

Method

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Place in the pot with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer about an hour.

If you want to filch some for yourself, you will probably want to add salt. This dish is suspiciously close to my maternal grandmother’s signature chicken rice. I believe she used paprika in place of the turmeric, and added a can of Sauce Arturo, an old-fashioned tomato product by which she swore.   

Serving Suggestions

Put in dog dish. Place on floor. Stand clear. Delicious accompanied by a bowl of fresh water. 

©2009 Chef Henry M. Summers