Thursday, April 26, 2012

frog on a log in a bog

Here's a phenomenon that I'm not sure if you're aware of (because I wasn't):

BOG!
say what?
 
Not this Bog of Eternal Stench.

BOG is a delicious dish from the South.  It's sssortof like jambalaya, in that it has chicken, spicy sausage, heavy seasonings, [sometimes] seafood, and rice mixed in.

But, instead of being accompanied by a feathered bra and a tacky fake-voodoo cure for a hangover.....
  Bog is more likely to be found under the shade of a tall tree, wearing a Civil War-era hoop skirt and a drinking a glass of sweet tea.

It all starts here:

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The slow cooker.  I'm using chicken thighs because the dark meat chicken has that richer flavor, and more likely to pull apart once it cooks down so you can shred it easily with a fork.  Bones and skin on.  'Cause, for 8-10 hours in the crock pot, you really want all that flavor to soak in to the meat.  It creates a delicious and tender situation.

Throw 'em in, cover with water, and then wait

Go out for the day.  Cast your sails?  Go out into the...uh, fields?  Tour a historic log cabin (that's what I did).  Wave your rebel flag around (I didn't do that).


After a long, sultry day, settle in for a steamy and gut-filling dinner.
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That'll plug the pocket of your gastric cavity for a spell
  
 The water boiling with the chicken all day has resulted in a nice stock.  Don't get rid of it, it's important for the flavor and besides, you've been working hard on it all day.  Cook some rice in the chicken water while you use two forks to pull the meat off the bone.
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Add other stuff of importance.  Sausage and serrano peppers.  I stirred in celery at the end, and I've also seen it with fresh sweet corn.  My sources tell me that Old Bay is a must.  Let your imagination run wild.  All the flavors are there, it's just up to you to assemble the bog to your heart's content.

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Bog is a simple dish, and deserves to be appreciated for being just that.