Chicken Bog. Chicken Pilau. Chicken Perlo. Chicken Pilaf. While there are many variations (and names) of this dish, Chicken Bog is what it’s always been called at our house. This rustic, homey dish of chicken, rice, and sausage has always been a comfort food. Growing up, it was also pretty economical being that the ingredients are few but it makes a lot.
Many argue that there are actual variations between the Bog, Pilau, and Pilaf versions of the dish and most of them seem to hinge on the amount of liquid in the them. I can’t argue for or against that idea, only that Chicken Bog is what it’s always been at our house and this is the method my mom has used to make it for years.
Now, let’s get to the name. Chicken Bog. Doesn’t exactly sound appetizing, right? I’ll never forget the first time I told my wife, then girlfriend, we were having Chicken Bog for supper. A puzzled look came across her face. “You’re having what?” she asked. “That sounds terrible!” she said.
There are a couple theories behind the moniker. Some say because it’s thick and sticky, it’s called bog. Others claim that the chicken gets bogged down in the rice. Still others say that the name comes from the swampy, bog-like low country area in South Carolina where the dish originated. My mom lived in Florence, South Carolina for a while and picked up the dish from a native South Carolinian. Regardless of what you call it, I just call it delicious.
Chicken Bog
Ingredients
- 1 (4 to 5 lb) whole chicken
- 2 ribs celery
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 (14-ounce) package smoked sausage
- 4 cups long grain rice
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- If included, remove and discard the chicken innards. Add the chicken and the neck (if included) to a large stock pot.
- Wash and coarsely chop the celery. Peel and quarter the onion. Peel and smash the garlic with the side of a knife. Add the celery, onion, and garlic to the pot. Add enough water to just cover the chicken. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper then stir. Simmer the chicken for 40 to 60 minutes or until cooked through, being cautious not to boil. Boiling the chicken will result in dry, tough meat.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Then remove and shred the meat, discard the skin, bones, and neck. Set the meat aside.
- Strain the broth from the pot through a fine mesh strainer and set aside.
- In a large Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid, add the butter and melt. Slice the sausage in 1/3-inch slices and add it to the butter. Cook over medium-low heat to just brown the sausage. Add 8 cups of the reserved broth to the pot and bring to a rolling boil. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Add the rice and stir well. Add the shredded chicken. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add additional broth if necessary. Serve immediately.
Brent says
How much rice? The ingredients list left off the rice and amount needed for the recipe. Sounds good and would love to try it.
Brent says
Nevermind…I’m blind! LOL! I see the 4 cups of rice now.
Stacey says
No worries! 🙂
Dawn says
How much rice is called for in this recipe? Thanks!
Mandy @ South Your Mouth says
YASSSS!!! One of my all-time favs!! This looks perfect, Stacey!
Stacey says
Thank you!!!
TONIE WILLIAMS says
How about adding some broccoli to it ?
Stacey says
Feel free to do that!! Enjoy!
rex butler says
this is much closer to the myrtle beach recipe. that last recipe had tomatoes in it . I grew up in myrtle beach and never had bog with tomatoes. some people later on started adding black eyed peas to it.
Stacey says
Interesting! Hope you’ll enjoy it!!
Vanns4 says
@Rex Butler the name for that one is called Red Rooster stew.I have been eating chicken bog all my life and it’s one of my favorite things to cook.Here in Dillon,South Carolina we have 2 organizations called Neighbors Helping Neighbors and Cooks For Christ and what they do they will host a benefit for a person or family that are going through a sickness,or a legit financial problems.They will sell chicken bog tickets for the benifit and it depends on how many tickets they sell but they usually raise a lot of money for the individuals.Neighbors Helping Neighbors has a cooking shed and Cooks For Christ has a mobile trailer.They cook the chicken bog in big wash pot and I have seen over 10 wash pot at one time cooking chicken bog.Most of the time they sell well over a 1000 plates of chicken bog.Neighbor helping Neighbors plates have coleslaw,chicken bog,apple sauce and 2 pieces of lite bread.Cooks For Christs plate has chicken bog,green beans,coleslaw,and lite bread.Here is one of the many benefits that have helped a lot of people
https://www.advocatesc.org/2017/03/cooks-for-christ-chicken-bog-fundraiser-raises-63k-for-nichols-hurricane-victims/
Lesli M says
Yummo! I think this looks incredible!
Stacey says
Thanks so much, Lesli!!
David Phipps says
Stacey, I’m impressed! This is the closest recipe to the chicken bog I grew up with in Horry County! We didn’t do the celery and garlic, and we cooked the chicken and sausage together, with some extra chicken livers added in. Other than that we’re pretty much on the same page. I like it either way, boggy or pilau. I was born in Loris (home of the world famous Loris Bog-off), lived and went to school in Conway, and worked (and played) in Myrtle Beach. I always chuckled at the Northern transplants who cooked the chicken and rice separately and then mixed it together and called it chicken bog! Our sides were sliced light bread and sweet pickles lol… Btw, I happened upon your article as I waited for my pot of bog to cook! How’s that for a coincidence!!
Stacey says
I would say that’s a pretty awesome coincidence, David! Glad to hear my recipes passes muster from a native! Thanks!!
Liz says
Please come make me dinner ♡
Cathi says
The first time I had chicken bog was at my step fathers house who was an attorney in NMB for 40 years. And, I agree that this is very similar to his recipe but he didn’t onclude celery or garlic…lots and lots of black pepper though! And, always served w white bread (Sunbeam) and coleslaw. My mother has passed
Away so we don’t get down to NMB much any more so my kids (27&25) will be so excited when I make this for them!
Dwyane Jordan says
Hi Stacy,
I think I may have figured out where chicken big may have came from. I was watching something on PBS on night and a lady had a recording of her grandmother singing a song in an African language and went to Africa trying to find her where her grandmother came from.. After visiting several villages and not having any luck of finding people who would know they song, she finally gave up, had her last meal but decided to visit one more village. There she played the tape and the people started singing the song. It was a song that they would sing during their burial process. After the funeral they would have a feast, of chicken, rice, sausage and saffron. I grew up in Conway, SC and there my dad would add yellow food coloring to his chicken bog. I assume this is a dish brought to America through slavery. I wish had more information about the show but I love this story. Hope you do too.
Stacey says
That’s very interesting! I’ve never heard of anyone adding food coloring.
Yvonne says
My mom would add tumeric to make it pretty! We always had a salad with Wishbone Italian dressing on the same plate. It was so good!! ( Horry County natives.)
Stacey says
Love that! Thanks for sharing!!
Allison MacKay says
Hi, Interesting recipe, but please state whether the rice is measured raw or cooked. 4 cups raw seems like a huge amount once cooked. Thanks!
Stacey says
The rice is raw. Yes, it makes a lot! 🙂
Allison MacKay says
I guess it’s measured raw, Must feed an army!
Cheryl McGregor says
I make bog all the time with home grown rabbit. It is very good.
Sherrie says
I have even started adding shrimp to mine, it is so good!!
Stacey says
Yum!
Royalty says
Thanks ma’am
P.J. Coldren says
The giant interweb seems to think my e-mail is pjcoldren[at]gmx.net. It is NOT. see below. Please add the correct e-mail to your list, as I don’t give a rodent’s posterior if that P.J. gets your recipes. I want them! Thank you.
Stacey says
My list is showing that you unsubscribed on May 4th of 2017. As a security measure, it won’t allow me to add you back. You’re welcome to do that though. Just visit here: https://southernbite.com/subscribe/
Elizabeth says
I’ll be trying this recipe. I sorta grew up in Georgetown, so our perlo was a lot more salty and was cooked with homemade chicken stock, lots of pepper and lots of butter along with the rice, chicken and sausage. Looks really good though. I introduced my native Texan husband to perlo. He said it looked like vomit but tasted like heaven 😂 he grew up on gumbo too so I’m sure he thought I cooked it too “dry” as perlo is not a soup. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll try it tonight.
Stacey says
Ha! Sure hope y’all enjoyed it!
Jim Hicks says
My mother’s sister and her sister’s husband cooked Chicken Bog for a get together on “the river” back when I was about 10 yrs old. I saw Uncle Edward deboning the chicken in a huge pot big enough to feed an army. Was so good I later got the recipe from a very distant relative from Marion, SC. Mother was from Mullins, SC and dad from…Florence, SC.
Stacey says
It’s one of my favorites!
Jim Hicks says
Tonight I made a half recipe. My mistake, sort of, was to forget to buy sausage and had to use a link of British Banger breakfast sausage made kind of locally. It was not what I expected when I bought a pound or two about six months ago. I had wanted to buy small thin ones instead of fat long ones. And the taste was altogether not what I hoped to buy. Next time I’ll rectify that glitch. I think, then, the flavor will change a bit. As I remember from Uncle Edward Taylor’s bog (I’m 76 now) his had a lot of black pepper. Also, locally the Kroger had much too large heavy selections of whole chickens, so I bought 5 pounds of cut up whole chicken. It was missing one drumstick and the neck. Odd chicken there. I froze the other half for a second attempt. Thanks for the memory and recipe.
barbara says
i just read all the reviews & giggled – i too grew up in scranton sc ,, but my family just called this chicken & rice,, but i married a man from penna & introduced him to southern cooking, && he loves going to church fellowships where they have chicken & rice, pork bar-b-cue,, such a small world
Stacey says
That it is! 🙂
Charles Howse says
Hi Stacey,
You might just want to mark this recipe “Fool Proof”. I made it SOOO Wrong, and it still got rave reviews!
Already have 3 requests to make it again!
I used frozen Boneless Skinless breasts, and heated them in the oven instead of simmering a whole chicken.
I chopped the onion, celery, garlic and sausage and sauteed it in oil all at once, instead of in the water with the chicken and the sausage in butter.
I used boxed Chicken Broth, and added the rice before the broth was boiling.
The only thing I did right was add the chicken last, cover and simmer until tender.
How about a tip on reheating?
Stacey says
So glad you enjoyed it and it turned out great regardless! I find that reheating anyway other than microwave often ends up in scorching.
donald k walker says
i had it many years ago and it was delicious until i tryed to get the last serving. it had a squirrel in the pot with head tail and all but fur on it. chef said gives it so much flavor.. that is a true story of my perlo!!
Stacey says
🙂
Barbara Eastes says
What a blast from my past! I grew up in South Carolina and worked for the Democrat Party in the mid-70s and also worked for Congressman Mendel J. Davis from Charleston. Chicken Bog was a standard at political fund raisers. Thanks for posting this recipe. Barbara Eastes
Stacey says
Sure hope you’ll enjoy!!
Derrick says
THANKS MY MAN, IM FROM LAKE CITYAND THIS DISH RIGHT HERE WAS AT EVERY EVENT. MY AUNT MARY COOPER WAS FROM HEMINGWAY AND SHE MADE IT OUT IN THE YARD IN A BIG BLACK CAST IRON POT… LOT OF MEMORIES MY FRIEND THANK YOU!!
Stacey says
Sure hope you’ll enjoy it!!
Brittany says
I am born and raised in Florence and took to Pinterest and selected a recipe solely on the photo…turns out my taste buds are very locale specific! Can’t wait to try it!
Stacey says
Hope it turns out great for you!
Joseph says
I was born in Marion but grow up in Latta! This is how we also made it but with chicken bouillon cubes! I’m cooking it now. I live in Alabama now. But when I met my wife she never heard of it! But now she loves it!
Stacey says
Nothing a little chicken bouillon can help! 🙂
Meg M says
Chicken Bog and Chicken Perlo are not the same dish. Chicken Bog is wet whereas Chicken Perlo is dry.
Stacey says
Yep! That’s what I’ve been told.
Eva says
Stacy, love the recipe, might give it a go, but only 2 of us, so will wait for an empty freezer so I can make it and freeze the extra. I got a similar recipe from an advertizement on canned Zucchini and tomatoes (which I no longer find in the stores) although it was only sausage in the recipe, you cooked your sliced sausage and added your onions garlic and celery, and then the canned veg, let it simmer a few minutes and then added the rice, needed a bigger skillet, the next time I split the rice into 2 casserole dishes and poured half the veggie mix into each. You baked it in the oven after mixing it all together, the large skillet was too small for the rice called for and I had to scrub the oven. The casseroles worked fine, and we ate it for two days.
Stacey says
That sounds great, Eva! Thanks for sharing!
CATHERINE LEE says
This is delicious! I’m a California girl so I’ve never heard the names for the recipe and honestly I always thought I made it up myself. Hadn’t used sausage though, just the chicken, the rest is identical. Now with the sausage it’s twice as good. I don’t always use a whole chicken, usually a pack of thighs because we love the dark meat. Wonderful! Thank you for all the great informational tidbits as well. Keep on cooking!
Stacey says
Thanks, Catherine! I hope you’ll give this version a try!
Bob Glenn says
Great info and receipt on “Chicken Bog.” Naturally many have ideas and receipts that reflect chicken and rice (truly a marriage made in heaven), but the chicken and rice dish by that name is specific to the Pee Dee region of SC. And the name refers to the chicken being sunk or “bogged down” into the rice. The name says what it is.
In the Dillon County SC country where I was born and raised, black iron wash pots were employed to cook this mighty fine dish. Whole chickens (without the innards) were simmered in water until throughly cooked, then removed, and the meat deboned and reintroduced to the stock. Rice is added and gently cooked until done. The addition of sausage is popular now and the addition of any other ingredient is optional. Salt and pepper are very important and added to taste while the chicken cooks. The degree of moisture at the finish is to one’s preference. Typically chicken bogs are more moist than plain rice. This simple construct is hard to beat!
Stacey says
Thanks for the insight, Bob!
Richard Turner says
I grew up really close to SC in NC and we just called it Chicken and Rice. I live in Wilmington NC now
and we call it Chicken Bog. I always add at least a stick of unsalted butter and smoked sausage.
I also use onions and celery and garlic and occasionally a carrot. It has always been a family favorite.
One of the tobacco whse’s in Fair Bluff, NC would cook a bog about 3 or 4 times during tobacco
season I managed to show up on that day. Those days are gone now but like Chicken Bog and Beach
Music It will always be a part of my life.
Stacey says
Love how recipe names can vary by location!
Pamela King says
I am so excited to find this and cool it later today. My parents were both from Marion and Fork, SC. My paternal grandmother, Tempie, would cook up a huge batch of chicken bog on Sundays and the whole family would gather at her house in Mullins to eat. It is by far my favorite food memory in my life. Thank you.
And to the commenter that is from Hemingway, my Dad used to go to a country sausage maker out that way many years ago. Best country sausage ever!
Stacey says
I sure hope it turned out great for you!!
Jamesvillan says
I have lived in Moncks corner, SC which is about 20 min from Charleston, my entire life (49 yrs). It’s amazing how just a few miles can show the variations of the recipes. With all of them still containing the southern basics. Haven’t seen it with the celery and only a few times with the garlic. Lots and lots of pepper. The only time u take it easy on the pepper was if it was being made for a church function, donated to families after a funeral or things of that nature. But, family reunions/get together. U made sure u had a drink when u ate it cause the pepper gave it a kick. We have always called it Chicken Perlo. If shrimp was added with the chicken & sausage we usually refered to it as Chicken Bog. Regardless of the name, u knew u were getting ready to eat a dish that was made by a resident/native of the area and u were going to stuff ur self silly. When asked if it was good, it was common to get the reply “ it was so good I had to loosen my belt and undo the button on my pants. Give me a couch and it would b perfect!!!” Thanks for sharing. Everyone should try it.
Stacey says
Thanks so much for sharing, James!
Melissa says
Just searched chicken bog on Pinterest and your recipe came up. I grew up in Loris, SC /Tabor City and had this many Sunday lunches. Mom always served with Chicken and pastry/dumplings (the slick noodle- like ones not biscuit like dumplings)…and usually speckled butter beans.
nothing like grandma and mamas cooking!
Stacey says
Now you’ve got me craving speckled butter beans – my fav!
Latasha Terry says
Parboiled rice works best
Stacey says
Great tip! Love how parboiled rice keeps its shape.
Reenie says
Made this w/o celery…the man hates veggies…and this is a great recipe. Super simple, too. Made the chicken in a traditional pressure cooker first, for extra moist chicken and tons of delicious stock afterwards. (Added a touch of olive oil, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning for flavor perfection.) Then cooked 2 thinly sliced Kielbasas in a little stock with butter to brown. Then added remainder of stock, shredded chicken and jasmine rice. Somehow doing it in that order makes the flavors blend so nicely! Yummo!!! This is a FAVE in our home!!
Stacey says
So glad that y’all enjoyed it!!
Teresa says
I left my chicken. bog recipe (in one of my cookbooks) at home when I went to the grocery so I pulled yours up while I was there. Wow! This will be the only chicken bog recipe I’ll make from now on. It was fantastic! I’ve never been a fan but my husband loves it. One taste and now I’m a fan! I’m from Moncks Corner, SC (now in Mississippi) so I grew up on this. We always called it “bog,” not perlou. But my grandma used to make a sausage perlou for my grandfather at Thanksgiving because he didn’t like turkey. That one is also a big hit!
Stacey says
Awesome! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Teresa! I’ve been eating this for as long as I can remember and it’s always been a family favorite! I’m so glad it turned out great for you!
ROSALYN RODGERS says
Is the extra broth always 8 cups…I plan to make for crowd and use the 12 cups of rice…do not want it to boggy but not soupy either. Rice is usually 1 cup rice to 2 cups water/broth …help…
Stacey says
The ratio of 1 cup rice to 2 cup broth works in this case. So if you’re planning on using 12 cups of rice, you’ll need 24 cups of broth. If you’re worried about it being too sticky, you can always rinse the rice first.
chantal bell says
I’m from Loris. We have a chicken bog festival every October
Stacey says
I need to get up there for that!!
Marshall Cochrane says
I’ve never heard of chicken bog before…I was born in New Orleans and raised in LA. I happened onto the recipe from my cousin who lives in So. Carolina…I’m going to try it and I’ll let you know…
Stacey says
I sure hope you enjoy it!
Lane Edwards says
Needs: cup of scallions, cup of chopped green pepper, can of diced tomatoes, couple tsp of Worcestershire, thyme, pound of med shrimp and parsley – in addition to your ingredients. Been making for many many years. Try, you will like. Add shrimp towards end of oven time so they do not over cook.
Stacey says
Those all sound like delicious additions, but it wouldn’t quite be the Chicken Bog I grew up with. That’s starting to sound more like jambalaya and I do love me some jambalaya!
Holly says
I love chicken bog! My dad’s family is from Florence, SC. 🙂
Stacey says
We’re big fans, too! 🙂
Ricky G says
I grew up in Florence, SC and the biggest debate was always smoked sausage or breakfast sausage. I prefer a spicy breakfast sausage (Neese’s if you can find it). No matter your preference this is a great base recipe that you can tweak to your liking.
Stacey says
Thanks, Ricky!
Kathy Collins says
I grew up in Florence SC and my mom made this all the time. So happy to see the recipe here. The only thing I would add is that she used to boil some eggs, slice them and throw them in at the end. Try it!
Stacey says
Thanks, Kathy! Sure hope you’ll enjoy it!
Melissa says
I live in Tabor City right now and came down from Winston Salem. Chicken Bog was a surprise to me as was Chicken and Pastry!!! I love them both. People around here insist you use Penders smoked sausage otherwise it’s not the same. First time I cooked it I used kielbasa, I admit, it’s not the same.
Stacey says
Wish I could get my hands on some Penders!
Dan Sine says
I’m from MB and planning on making this for a guy’s snowmobile trip in Washington state’s Cascade Mountains.
As presented, will this recipe feed eight adult men for their lunch, or should I double it?
Stacey says
Hey Dan! This makes quite a bunch, but I’m not sure that it will be enough for 8 big appetites. It all depends on serving size.
Erin says
God bless you, this is exactly what I was looking for. I grew up in South Carolina but I live in Utah now. Every time I say chicken bog no one knows what I’m talking about, and they all look at me funny. Thing is I’ve spent the past 10 years looking at all of them funny because dagnabit ain’t no one out here knows how to cook worth a darn. Jello this, casserole that, salad as the main dish, no thank you. They have alright desserts out here, but it ain’t the same. I’m cooking up some chicken bog for a big crowd tomorrow and needed a quick refresher because it’s been a hot minute since I whipped it up. Your whole recipe feels like home, and I can’t thank you enough!
Stacey says
Thanks so much, Erin! I sure hope you enjoyed it and showed them all how delicious chicken bog can be!
Carol says
I love making chicken bog for a crowd of people who have no idea what it is…and they ALWAYS LOVE IT. I use regular Jimmy Dean sausage as o pposed to kielbasa…….my husband being a North Carolinian by birth and a transplanted south Carolina. loved regular good old Jimmy Dean…LOL. I doubt it makes a huge different. There is just no way you can ruin chicken bog. I now live in SW Florida…getting ready to move to a smaller place…so I’m having my women pals in for dinner and of course, we are having chicken bog, a great salad made with strawberries, biscuits (of course)…..ans probably banana pudding and carrot cake for dessert. I have a wonderful carrot cake erupt made with baby food carrots, impossible to ruin. In fact one of my daughter-in-law’s friends asked me to make it for HER birthday. I love this site…love trying new things……thanks for all the ideas!!
Stacey says
Thanks so much, Carol!!
Scott says
Can you use skinless and boneless chicken breast instead of whole chicken
Stacey says
You can, but the broth won’t be a rich without the bones. You could always add in some bouillon to richen it up.
Jim Gleaton says
I also added some herbs at the same time as the rice and chicken. I used a bay leaf, and 1 tbsp. each chopped fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Stacey says
Sounds delicious! Hope it turned out great for you!