Chicken Bog Recipe (Congaree National Park)

Chicken bog recipe inspired by: Congaree National Park, South Carolina.

A classic comfort food from South Carolina, this Congaree National Park-inspired chicken bog recipe is rooted in both Spanish and West African cuisine. It’s essentially a simpler version of chicken perloo, chicken perlau or chicken pilaf, using only a bare minimum of ingredients.

You don’t need much more than chicken, smoked sausage, rice, and some common vegetables and herbs to make chicken bog. While some chicken bog recipes call for additional vegetables like bell peppers, you can prepare the most traditional chicken bog recipe with only a handful of ingredients.

For my own version of this Congaree National Park-inspired recipe, I’ve used onions, garlic, carrots and celery, along with thyme and rosemary. Most of those are used only to make a delicious chicken broth—arguably the key ingredient in chicken bog—and discarded.

Making South Carolina chicken bog is super-easy and doesn’t require any fancy kitchen equipment or cooking skills. It’s simple and requires few ingredients, yet yields lots of food, making it an ideal dish for large gatherings.

Congaree National Park Chicken Bog Recipe

• Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes (includes making chicken broth)
• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Total time: 2 hours
• Servings: 6
• Calories per serving: 645

Chicken bog is most popular in the (north)eastern part of South Carolina, a low-lying area home to many swamps and wetlands. The epicenter of chicken bog is the town of Loris, which has hosted the annual Loris Bog-Off Festival since 1980.

One theory claims that the name of the dish comes from the area where it originated, a “boggy” place. According to another theory, chicken bog is named after its consistency, which is rather wet and soggy, a stew-like “bog in a pot.”

Of all my recipes inspired by the national parks, this is one of those with the closest historical and natural links between food and park.

It’s as typical a regional dish as you’ll find anywhere in the United States, while its name literally corresponds with the main natural feature of Congaree National Park—swamps.

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Necessary Kitchen Tools

• Large soup pot with lid
• Large bowl
• Fine-mesh strainer
• Cutting boards
• Chef’s knife
• Teaspoons and tablespoon
• Measuring cups

South Carolina Chicken Bog Ingredients

There are two main steps in preparing this chicken bog recipe. First, you’ll make a flavor-packed chicken broth by cooking a whole chicken.

Then, you’ll mix all the chicken bog ingredients—chicken, sausage, rice, broth, onions and herbs—letting them simmer until you get a thick, stew-like rice mixture. Delicious!

Chicken Broth

• 1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds)
• 1 onion, chopped roughly
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed with a knife
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper

Chicken Bog

• 2 tablespoons butter (preferably unsalted)
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/3 cup green onions, sliced
• 1/3 cup parsley, chopped
• (1 shredded chicken (used for broth))
• (4 cups chicken broth (made with chicken))
• Hot sauce

Instructions

Now that you’ve prepped all your chicken bog ingredients, let’s get cooking! I recommend reading through the entire recipe before starting.

Chicken Broth

1. Add all ingredients to the large soup pot.
2. Cover chicken entirely with water, season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Simmer gently until chicken is fully cooked, about 1 hour.
4. Remove chicken to a cutting board and let cool.
5. Pull the meat from the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces.
6. Pour broth through the fine-mesh strainer into the large bowl and set aside.

Chicken Bog

1. Melt butter in the same large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onions and stir. Cover the pot and cook until onions start turning brown, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute.
4. Add smoked sausage. Stir until lightly browned.
5. Add shredded chicken and rice, pour in chicken broth and stir until well combined.
6. Season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
7. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.
8. Simmer until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Stir in green onions and parsley.
10. Drizzle with hot sauce to taste and serve hot.
11. Enjoy!

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If You Decide to Make This Easy South Carolina Chicken Bog Recipe Inspired by Congaree National Park at Home, Feel Free to Tell Everyone About It Below! Happy Cooking!

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Other One-Pot National Parks Recipes

• Rubaboo Recipe (Voyageurs National Park)
• Wild Game Chili Recipe (Grand Teton National Park)
• Chorizo, Black Beans and Roasted Bell Peppers Skillet Recipe (White Sands National Park)
• Ground Turkey Taco Soup Recipe (Petrified Forest National Park)
• Three Sisters Soup Recipe (Cuyahoga Valley National Park)
• Creamy Curried Chicken Recipe (Virgin Islands National Park)