PORTER’S CHICKEN BOG

INGREDIENTS:

4 Chicken thigh/leg quarters or 3 lb. whole chicken
5 Cups chicken broth - reserved from boiling chicken parts
1 Onion finely chopped  - 1 cup or more
1 Small bell pepper finely chopped (about 1 cup or less) use red, green or yellow or mixture of all three colors
1/2 Stick butter (do not substitute margarine)
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped sage - dried rubbed sage if fresh not available
2 Teaspoons Morton table salt - to taste
1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns (Tellicherry) - to taste
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper - to taste
1 10 3/4 oz. can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 Cups long grain white rice (Mahatmas or similar brand) Do not use quick cooking rice!
1 Lb. Smoked Sausage; 1/2 inch slices (most recipes leave it out), however the Porter Family Loves the smoked sausage!
1 Teaspoon bacon drippings
1/2 teaspoon Wild Bill's Meat Rub

Place chicken quarters in small pressure cooker or stock pot and cover with enough hot water to have at least 5 cups of broth after cooking chicken.   If using pressure cooker, chicken will be tender in 20 minutes timed after pressure indicator starts letting off excess build up of steam and with a regular stock pot it will take at least an hour.   Remove chicken pieces from pot; allow chicken to cool and pull meat from bones shredding chicken by hand.   Discard bones and heavy fat and skin.   If chicken is very fat pour broth from pot into a bowl and strain off some of the fat.  Sauté onion and bell pepper in butter and bacon drippings until tender.

Add 5 cups of chicken broth back to pot along with can of cream of chicken soup, salt, black pepper, sage, cayenne pepper, chopped onion, Wild Bill's Meat Rub, bell pepper and 2 cups rice.   Bring to a boil and add chicken pieces, sliced sausage and reduce heat to low placing lid on pot and simmer (covered) for 20 minutes or more until all broth is absorbed and rice is cooked.   Leave lid on pot while cooking:   Remember:  “If you are looking, you are not cooking.”

Chicken bog is a South Carolina traditional recipe that goes back at least a century or more.   I added the cream of chicken soup, freshly chopped sage, smoked sausage and cayenne pepper to give it an ATTITUDE.  There are many variations to this recipe but I like the combination and simplicity of my version not to mention the main thing TASTE!   Some say the recipe gets it name because the chicken is bogged down in the rice.  Left over Bog freezes very well.  Recipe by Bill Porter 2007.

YIELD:  4 to 6 big servings.