The first time Ben's coworker brought chicken bog to a firm cookout, I thought it was some kind of soggy rice casserole that had gone wrong. Then I ate a plate of it standing up by the truck tailgates, and then another, and by the end of the afternoon I had cornered the man and asked how he made it. "Chicken, rice, sausage, one pot," he said, as if that were the whole story. It nearly is.
Chicken bog is a Lowcountry dish, from the Pee Dee region and the coast, and it shows up at church suppers, family reunions and fundraisers all over South Carolina, often cooked in huge outdoor pots. The name, depending on who you ask, comes from the bits of chicken "bogged down" in the rice, or from the wet, low-country ground itself. It's somewhere between a pilaf and a porridge. It's supposed to be a little wet. That's the point.
Late September is when I start making it again. The worst of the heat finally broke here last week, the mornings are cool enough to leave the windows open for an hour, and I'm ready to stand over a pot on the stove for something other than boiling pasta.
Why it works on a weeknight
The traditional version starts with a whole chicken simmered for an hour or more. That's how I make it on a Sunday. On a Tuesday, I use bone-in thighs, which cook faster and stay juicier, and the whole thing takes about an hour, most of it hands-off. It feeds the three of us twice, plus a little for Ben's lunch, and the total cost is around $13.
Ingredients
- 2 to 2½ lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 6 thighs ($6 at Food Lion on sale)
- 12 oz smoked sausage, sliced into coins ($3)
- 1 medium onion, diced ($0.70)
- 2 stalks celery, diced ($0.50)
- 2 cups long-grain white rice ($1)
- 6 cups water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1½ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (be generous; it's a peppery dish)
- Optional: a bay leaf, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a chicken bouillon cube ($0.30)
Steps
- Brown the sausage. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the sausage coins until they've browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Scoop them out and set aside, leaving the fat behind.
- Soften the vegetables. Add the butter, onion and celery to the pot. Cook about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft.
- Simmer the chicken. Add the chicken thighs, 6 cups of water, salt, pepper and the bay leaf and bouillon if using. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Pull the chicken. Lift the thighs onto a plate. When they're cool enough to handle, pull the meat off in bite-sized pieces and discard the skin and bones. Fish out the bay leaf.
- Measure the broth. You want about 5 cups of broth in the pot. Some will have cooked off; add water if needed. Taste it now. It should be well seasoned, a little saltier than you'd want to drink, because the rice will absorb it.
- Cook the rice. Bring the broth back to a boil and stir in the rice, the sausage and the chicken. Lower to a simmer, cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Rest and stir. Turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Then stir it well. It should be moist and slightly loose, with the rice soft and full of flavor.
Notes
On texture
People argue about this. Some families like their bog almost soupy. Others want it closer to a firm pilaf. If you like it wetter, add an extra cup of broth when you add the rice. If you prefer it drier, use 4½ cups. Mine lands in the middle, and leftovers firm up in the fridge anyway.
On the sausage
Any smoked pork sausage works. The sausage carries a lot of the flavor, so if you only splurge on one thing, splurge there.
Leftovers
Chicken bog keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Add a splash of water or broth when you reheat it on the stove to bring the texture back. It also freezes reasonably well in flat freezer bags, though the rice gets a little softer.
Serving
We eat it straight from bowls with hot sauce on the table and something green on the side, usually sliced cucumbers or a quick slaw. Lila likes hers with a pat of butter on top, which I suspect is how half the state eats it too.
Last night the pot sat on the back of the stove while I helped Lila with her first-grade spelling words at the kitchen table. The windows were open, the evening was finally cool enough that Pepper wanted to come inside, and the whole house smelled like black pepper and smoke. When Ben came in from the carport, he didn't even put his bag down before lifting the lid.
