“C” is for Chicken bog

“C” is for Chicken bog. While anecdotal evidence exists that the name chicken bog was related to the “boggy” nature of is home, the Pee Dee, culinary historians agree on one thing: that a “bog (unlike a pilau) is any stew that includes wet, soggy rice.” Traditionally, the ingredients are chicken, rice, sausage, and onions, seasoned with salt and plenty of black pepper. The best chicken to use is an older hen, free-range and full of flavor; the second choice is a fat roaster. The chicken is poached, and then its meat is pulled off the bone. The fat is removed from the broth, and then the rice, chicken, sausage, and onions all simmer gently together in the broth until the rice is “done.” A good chicken bog is one where the rice is plump and moist.