The One About Chicken Bog
Hello Gamecocks! As promised from the last blog entry, let me share with y'all a Southern delicacy, the Chicken Bog. (Like I said, I've lived here for almost 9 years and have never had this dish until this past weekend, but apparently it's pretty big in the South.)
Chicken Bog is pretty much an entire meal on its own. A good serving of this fantastic and hearty entree for lunch will have you pretty much rolling over and laying in bed for an afternoon nap. Every Southerner will have their own little chicken bog spin but the main ingredients that make an appearance at each bowl include rice, pulled chicken, link sausages, and your everyday pantry spices.
I'm not sure if I've made this confession before, but I'm a pretty big Food Network Channel Junkie. That's probably my only gripe with USC. I more than love being a Gamecock and all, but they've yet to get my favorite channel on their cable network. I've suggested this on the technology and services survey, so maybe in the next year or two, we'll be getting that channel!!! I'm blurbing on the Food Network because I'm going to reference the woman known as the "queen of southern cuisine and home cooking" for a chicken bog recipe. The one and the only, Ms. Paula Deen...
Paula Deen can best be seen on the Food Network Channel melting away 3 sticks of butter in a pot. She is soul food and good ol' home-style cooking all the way. Onions, salt, ground red and black pepper corns, House Seasoning, and bay leaves add a spin to her version of the chicken bog. For the kind of link sausages she uses, she likes the smoked kind to add more depth and variety. And to top it all off, for her chicken bog recipe, she uses a stick of butter. I'm surprised to see she only uses that much, but I'm sure she probably sticks another half or two when no one is looking! To see exactly how the lady with the thick Southern accent puts this dish together, you can click right here!
Dillon High School prepared a mighty big spread for us USC students who came out to volunteer. Fried chicken, mac and cheese, green beans, chicken bog, and ice cold sweet tea...it does not get any more low country South than that!
Everyday I'm feeling even more and more like a Southerner. My friends even enjoy my occasional slurs in addition to the "y'all" that I have managed to stick into my everyday language. Oh, what a great thang it is to be a Southerner!
Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!
P.S. As y'all may notice, I've added a new category..."It's a Southern Thang!" Look forward to more blogs about everything southern. From cornbread muffins to banana puddin's, from country gravy to black-eyed peas, from thick accents to country music (okay, so maybe not that. That's taking me until now to get used to!) I'll take y'all along on my journey through the great South!