Scarlett's Chicken and Rice (Bog)

One of my favorite chefs, Vivian Howard did this recipe with her mom on her show.  It is also in her cookbook which I own and adore; Deep Run Roots. In her book she says this dish is called "Bog" in some parts of the south.  This dish is about simple southern foods, which I love.  It also reminded me of another dish I tried to make which was chicken and dumplings .  Chef Sean Brock made that with his mama.

Broth is the key here.  Since I can't find an "old hen" here easily, I had to use a young chicken.  I even went to a place where I had a chance to get it but ended up with a non-medicated bird instead.

I followed the recipe exactly as written as she told a tale about how trying to re-do it elevated and improve on it was an epic fail...I have Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice at home here, so that is what I used.

When I looked at other recipes for Bog, I saw they all had smoked sausage in them.  As I had some leftover from New Year's Eve, I thought this was a perfect way to use it up.

I sliced and added it when the chicken went back in.

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• 1 large chicken left whole (best case scenario, this would be an old tough bird/laying hen) 
• cool water to cover
• 1 yellow onion (peeled and split - I didn't peel mine)
• 1 bay leaf 
• 3 sprigs thyme 
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups white rice (mom swears by Uncle Bens, I like Carolina Gold) 
• 3 Tbsp. butter   

Put your bird, the split onion, thyme, and bay leaf in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Cover the bird, just barely with cool water. Add 2 Tbsp. salt and 2 tsp. black pepper to the pot.

Cover and bring it all up to a simmer. Cook for about an hour or until the bird, in my mom’s words, is “falling to pieces.”   If this is a typical young chicken this should not take any longer than an hour and a half. If it is a laying hen, it could take up to 5 hours. I know that is crazy, but a hen will provide a much better broth.

Once the bird is “falling to pieces” turn off the heat and let her rest in the broth for 30 minutes. Remove and reserve the bird. Discard the onion, bay leaf, and thyme.

Tear the chicken meat into medium pieces and add it back to the pot. Below is the picked over bones and skin that was left.

Bring the broth and the chicken up to a simmer.

Add the rice. If you are a rice rinser, resist the urge here, as the starch helps make the broth homey and rich. Cook the rice for about 12 minutes, depending on the variety or brand the time could vary. The rice should be just cooked through and should absolutely hold its shape. Turn off the heat. Add your butter. Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional salt or pepper.   

I like to add a little lemon juice for balance, but my mom would never approve of this behavior.    

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On her show, I saw her make this for 400 people honoring the women in her family and she garnished with cilantro and fried chicken skins.  I didn't make the skins but I did add fresh cilantro when serving.  I also used some lemon.

Wowza!  The broth was amaaaaaazing!!!!  This was sooo tasty as in heavenly.  That being said, you can see that the rice stole all of it.   ☹  I can hear Miss Scarlett's voice saying, "NEVER use more than 2 cups of rice".  I had about 2 & 1/2 in the Anson Mills bag and I used it all...

Also, I didn't like the sausage at all.  I thought it took away from the simple perfection of the broth.  Anyway, this meal was comfort food to the max.  I will make it again with the 2 edits I just stated (no sausage and less rice).  Also, the lemon was a fantastic finish as was the cilantro.  Next time I'll make it more soupy, like Miss Scarlett likes hers.