My
obsession with perfecting chicken bog began eight years ago when I
moved to Hartsville SC. I had never even heard of it until my, then
six-year-old, son came home from his new school and asked, “Mom have
you ever had chicken bog?” I first tasted this deep south delicacy
when my employer treated our whole staff to chicken bog church
plates. I thought, this is what we call chicken and rice in Upstate
South Carolina, which is where I am originally from. But is it really
just chicken and rice?
Over
the last few years, I have set about to master THE BOG. I have
enjoyed many variations of this celebrated dish. I have eaten
anything from shamefully bland chicken and rice, to spicy bog, bog
with sausage, bog without, bog with chicken and even pork bog. The
more bog I have tried, the more compelled I have felt to make my very
own version of chicken bog, as inexperienced and intimidated as I
was. When in doubt ask!!! And so, I questioned anyone who would talk
to me about the art of bog preparation. I asked what kind of rice to
use, with sausage or without, what kind of sausage, which spices are
most pleasing? Ect....After countless interviews and many google
searches, I finally found a starting place. I LOVE all things spicy
and southern, so its not surprising that I chose Paula Deen as my
mentor. Her chicken bog recipe was easily found on the internet. I
followed her recipe to the letter and it was very good. So good that
I decided it was tweak worthy. Yes people, I said it, I tweaked the
great Queen Deen's Chicken Bog Recipe.
I
won't give away all my earnestly sought secrets, but I will highlight
some pointers which will make all the difference in your chicken bog
recipe. First and foremost, pick the best ingredients. As with all my
recipes this means; meats, vegetables and dairy raised or grown
locally, if possible. Other grass-fed and organic options can most
likely be found at your local grocery store. Personally I shop as
locally as the availability within my community allows. Locally
raised meat, poultry, and eggs, just to name a few things, can be
found at Dr. James Easterling office at 912 S Fifth Street. Gardner
Fertilizer & Farm Supply has meat, eggs, and dairy products;
along with many other dry ingredients. I get organic vegetable
baskets at Seersuckergypsy while in season. When I cannot find
everything I need in those places, I try my local grocery store or
shop online. Hartsville has a growing weekly farmers market as well.
The second and maybe the most important step for amazing chicken bog
is to make the broth from scratch. Make bone broth if time allows.
How
does one serve bog? Cole slaw is a perfect side dish, maybe this
suggestion is an inspiration from all the church plates I have
consumed. I add sausage and hot spices as I prepared the bog, but hot
sauce or jalapenos are still a must when I'm ready to eat it. Some
folks even like to eat it with bread and butter pickles. Obviously,
the side dishes and condiment choices vary as much as the recipes
themselves.
With a
little effort and ingenuity along the lines of healthful, local and
organic ingredients, even southern cuisine can do the body good.
Besides being about healthy food, whole wellness living can be about
an attitude of empowerment which gives us permission to abandon the
absolute and impossible rules we unwittingly set for ourselves, like
NO CARBS EVER!!!! So go ahead and have some bog, even though it
chock-full of rice, because a whole wellness lifestyle can also be
about flexibility while enjoying moderation with all types of
delicious food. I hope this Bog blog inspires you to live well, cook
well, shop local and to become a fearless tweaker of both recipes and
life.
http://www.mainstreethartsville.comhttp://seersuckergypsy.com
