Chicken Bog is a delicious, homely one-pot meal that combines the goodness of chicken, rice, sausage, and a selection of heart-warming vegetables. It straddles a unique balance of taste and texture, much like a fusion between jambalaya and a hearty chicken and rice soup. The interesting moniker of the dish is believed to originate from the way its ingredients huddle or “bog down” in rice during the cooking process.

Sometimes, the dish’s name harkens to the rice growing bogs in the Lowcountry, where the rice for this recipe prefers to grow. True to its name, Chicken Bog should have generous moisture, making it more succulent than a pilaf, but definitely more solid than soup. The distinctive appeal of the dish comes from its usage of Carolina Gold rice, an heirloom long grain rice, specific to the humid Lowcountry rice fields tucked away in South Carolina and Georgia, forming the birthplace of this comforting dish. The tender and slightly creamy rice mingles with equally tender shredded chicken, knitting the dish into the perfect comfort food you crave during a chilly night or on a sick day.

If for some reason you are unable to source Carolina Gold rice, feel free to substitute it with any other long-grain white rice. When cooked, Carolina Gold rice transforms into long, slightly yellow grains which adds a unique twist to the traditional flavor profile of Chicken Bog.

Our cooking method retains more of the liquid by baking the bog in a covered Dutch oven instead of cooking it out on the stovetop. This helps keep the dish closer to a soup rather than converting it into a simple rice pilaf. You can conveniently cut the vegetables and sausage ahead of time and refrigerate them for up to three days. The leftover bog can also be stored in an airtight container for up to a week and reheated using chicken broth or water to relish the same fresh taste.

To prepare the Chicken Bog, one begins by washing the Carolina Gold rice under cold running water until it runs clear, and then setting it aside. Season the chicken and brown it in a dutch oven preheated at 350˚F with olive oil. Once browned, the chicken and sausage are removed from the dutch oven, and the vegetables are cooked in the oil until they soften. The rice is then stirred in, followed by the broth, chicken, and sausage. The Dutch oven is moved to the oven until the chicken is thoroughly cooked, and then the chicken is shredded and stirred back in, finishing off with a final dash of parsley, lemon juice, and butter. The dish is then ready to be served, hot and comforting, with a dash of hot sauce and a slice of lemon on the side.