History

Chicken bog has been a Pee Dee Lowcountry tradition (just north of Charleston) since at least the 18th century, named for the way the rice becomes bogged down in chicken stock during the slow simmer. The annual Loris Bog-Off festival has run since 1979. Bertha's Kitchen and Hannibal's Kitchen serve the canonical Charleston interpretation alongside red rice and gullah staples.

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 25 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken (1.6 to 1.8kg), cut into 8 pieces
  • 2 litres water
  • 400g smoked pork sausage (kielbasa, andouille or Carolina hot sausage), sliced 1cm
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground white pepper
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • 500g long-grain white rice (Carolina Gold if you can find it)
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • Hot sauce, to serve

Method

  1. Place the chicken pieces in a heavy pot with the water, onion, garlic, bay, Old Bay, both peppers, paprika, cayenne and salt. Bring to a simmer.
  2. Cook gently for 50 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Lift out the chicken, cool slightly, and pull the meat off the bones in big pieces. Discard skin and bones.
  3. Strain the broth and return to the pot. Skim the fat.
  4. Measure the broth; you need 1 litre for the rice. Top up with water if short, reduce if too much.
  5. Add the sliced sausage to the broth. Simmer 10 minutes to render the sausage flavour.
  6. Stir in the rice and bring back to a simmer. Cover and cook on low for 18 to 22 minutes until the rice is tender and most of the broth absorbed; the dish should be wet, not dry.
  7. Off the heat, fold in the pulled chicken and the butter. Cover and rest 10 minutes.
  8. Taste and adjust salt. Scatter with parsley.
  9. Serve in deep bowls with hot sauce at the table.

Tip from the editors. The rice should still glisten with broth; if it dries out before the chicken goes in, top up with another cup of stock. A wet bog is the right bog.

Where to eat chicken bog

Chicken Bog in Charleston

Bertha's Kitchen ★ 4.7

Fried chicken$$north-charleston

Bertha's Kitchen on Meeting Street Road in North Charleston runs Albertha Grant's soul food cafeteria from 1979. Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice.

Order: Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice, lima beans with smoked turkey neck

Why locals love it: A North Charleston cafeteria steam table that has run since 1979 and won James Beard's America's Classics in 2017. Tourist guides barely list it.

Tip: Lunch only Mon-Sat, cash and card. Arrive before 13:00 weekdays or the fried chicken is gone.

2332 Meeting Street Rd, North Charleston, SC 29405

Hannibal's Kitchen ★ 4.5

Soul food$eastside

Hannibal's Kitchen has fed the Eastside of Charleston soul food since 1985. At 16 Blake St. Reservations advised. A neighbourhood favourite.

Try: Crab rice, smothered pork chop, fried whiting, lima beans

Tip: Counter order, dining-room seat. Lunch beats dinner; the line peaks 12:30-13:30 weekdays.

16 Blake St, Charleston, SC 29403

Dave's Carry-Out ★ 4.4

Soul food$$upper-king

Dave's Carry-Out on Morris Street in Charleston runs a counter-only seafood and soul food window. Fried fish sandwich, shrimp platters, devil crab.

Order: Fish sandwich, fried shrimp platter, devil crab

Why locals love it: A counter-only soul food and seafood window on a back block of Morris Street most King Street visitors never find.

Tip: Tue-Fri lunch and dinner only, closed Sat-Mon. Phone ahead to skip the 30-minute counter line at 12:30.

42 Morris St # C, Charleston, SC 29403

Page's Okra Grill ★ 4.3

Southern, Lowcountry$$mount-pleasant

Page's Okra Grill in Mount Pleasant has run family-owned Southern cooking on Coleman Boulevard since 2008. Kitchen leans southern, lowcountry.

Signature: Ashleigh's shrimp and grits, Fried green tomatoes

Order: Ashleigh's shrimp and grits with andouille and tomato gravy.

Tip: No reservations. Walk-ins only; cash and card both accepted.

302 Coleman Blvd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 Book →

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