Name: Carolina Chicken Bog
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: SouthernUS & Canada
Ingredients: 6 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs , trimmed; Salt and pepper; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 8 ounces smoked kielbasa sausage , cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds; 1 onion , chopped fine; 3 garlic cloves , minced; 4 cups chicken broth; 2 cups long-grain white rice

Why This Recipe Works

A staple in the Lowcountry kitchens of South Carolina, this dish combines inexpensive ingredients—chicken, smoky sausage, and rice—into an easy one-pot meal that works for big weekend gatherings or simple weeknight suppers. Unlike rice dishes like pilaf, where fluffy grains are the goal, bog features sticky—not separate—grains of rice infused with chicken flavor. We brown juicy, inexpensive chicken thighs to add flavor and render the chicken fat, which we save and use to brown the kielbasa and aromatics. The chicken goes into the mix with broth and, as it poaches, it lends more flavor to the mixture. We remove the chicken to let it cool before shredding it and use the superinfused broth to cook the rice.

Before You Begin

Wellshire Farms Smoked Polska Kielbasa is the test kitchen’s preferred kielbasa.

Instructions

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, skin side down, until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer chicken to plate. Discard skin.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot and return to medium heat. Add sausage and onion and cook until onion is translucent and sausage begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside. Stir rice into pot, cover, and continue to cook over low heat until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

Shred chicken into bite-size pieces; discard bones. Gently fold shredded chicken into rice mixture. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Serve.