“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 its home, the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, modern food historians and folklorists offer other explanations. Traditionally, the only 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 rooster. The chicken is poached, and then its meat is pulled off the bone, not chopped. The fat is removed from the broth, and then the rice, chicken, sausage, and onions all simmer together in the broth until the rice is “done.” Whether chicken bog is eaten with a fork or a spoon, depends upon the cook.