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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.
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10-16-2009 @3:45PM Hagan said... Is it at all similar to the halal meat that you get in the carts on the street in NYC? Mixed playe of lamb and chicken on 56th and 6th? To die for.
http://wanderingfoodie.com
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10-16-2009 @9:28PM J Wynia said... I was introduced to chicken bog by some friends in South Carolina and this is the recipe they use and that I now use:
http://www.home-ec101.com/chicken-bog-chicken-bog-chicken-bog-time/
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10-17-2009 @1:11AM sarah d. said... I'm from Florence SC in the Pee Dee and chicken bog is something I definately miss. Its so full of flavor, the chicken flavor seeps into the rice and the aroma is amazing. The rice is cooked enough so its almost to the point of getting mushy, but its still got enough shape to eat it with a fork. My mom also adds thinly sliced kielbasa and tons of pepper, really makes the dish sing.
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10-21-2009 @3:06PM Vicki Thompson said... Perlau is much different from a bog. A bog is nearer to a jambalya. Perlau is dry and almost every recipe I've ever seen has shrimp, no chicken or sausage. There is also a difference in the spicing. Perlau is uses bacon and green peppers as it's main flavoring, while a bog is more highly spiced.
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