Monk: Chicken Bog is a South Carolina Pee Dee regional dish with Gullah
Geechee roots that’s at least 300 years old but if you were to ask someone outside of that small region, chances are they have never heard of it. Per DiscoverSC.com, it’s most popular in the stretch of SC between Horry County (think Myrtle Beach) to Florence in the eastern part of the state. Loris, SC (30 miles inland from Myrtle Beach towards the NC border) has been home to the Loris Bog-Off Festival since 1979. Personally, it wasn’t until a little over 2 years ago that I first encountered and tried it at Buxton Hall Barbecue (in the mountains of NC no less). Though if you know Buxton Hall, that’s not so far-fetched because pitmaster Elliott Moss is originally from Florence and has brought his family’s recipe for the dish to western NC.
I liken chicken bog to a SC version of jambalaya. It’s base ingredients are rice, chicken, and sausage and from there its anyone’s call. In that way, its a bit like Brunswick stew where everyone has their own version – some have various veggies while others are pretty simple with just the main ingredients and everyone’s spice mix is a well-kept secret. The version I made with my neighbor for an oyster roast this past weekend was on the simpler end of the spectrum. My neighbors have been having oyster roasts for a while now and initially would cook a chili to accompany the steamed oysters. A few years back, they made the switch to chicken bog and it was such a fan favorite that they haven’t done chili since.
I don’t have the recipe but the version we made was pretty simple (check the Discover SC page above for a more exact recipe). In two large pots, we placed 3 whole chickens, chopped smoked sausage, and spices into water and brought to a boil which both cooked the chickens and also created the stock we would later cook the rice in.
Then, the chickens were taken out of the stock and pulled into coarse chunks and set aside. Combining the stock into one pot, the rice was boiled and once cooked we added the pulled chicken back in and stirred the entire pot up. Spoon that mixture into bowls, add some hot sauce if you prefer, and its done – simple as that. It was a huge hit, and its so easy that you should do it too at your next oyster or even pig roast.
For more on Chicken Bog:
A Taste of SC: Just What Is Chicken Bog?
Elliott Moss’ Chicken Bog recipe
“On South Carolina, Gullah Cuisine and the History of Chicken Bog” by RL Reeves Jr