Chicken bog. Photo: Loris Chamber of Commerce.

Chicken bog is a seasoned chicken, rice and sausage dish that's not half as soupy as its name suggests. What chicken bog isn't -- at least according to the organizers behind the 30th annual Loris Bog-Off being held this weekend in Horry County, S.C. -- is pilau.

Samantha Norris, executive assistant to the Chamber of Commerce's board of directors, maintains that bog is distinct from the beloved African-tinged casserole served one county over, also known as pilau, perloo, pilaf and perlau.

"Some people tell me bog is wetter, some people tell me there's more chicken in bog," Norris says.

Food historians don't necessarily agree: In her book "The Carolina Rice Kitchen: The African Connection," Karen Hess posits that bog is really just pilau made on a massive scale. "It is difficult to make very large amounts of a proper pilau, so it ends up being 'boggy,'" she writes.

Not so, sighs Norris: "It's called bog because it's bogged together. It's cooked in a big pot and stirred with boat paddles."

Clearly accustomed to talking to people who persist in envisioning something swampy, she adds, "I think you'll understand when you see the pictures. You eat it with a fork."

Bog can be prepared in any proportion, and is served in homes and restaurants around Pee Dee. Boggers at the festival will make enough bog to serve 25,000 eager eaters, all of whom are eligible to cast their votes in the People's Choice bog competition. In the three years since the People's Choice category was created, no bog cook has earned first prize from both the official judges and the crowd.

"Oh, that really would be good," Norris says, imagining the excitement of finding the very best not-pilau out there.

Ever tasted bog? Tell us in the comments.