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Georgian food is so incredibly delicious but few people know of its many iterations beyond the realms of khachapuri and khinkali. One of my absolute favourite Georgian dishes, for example, is shkmeruli — a decadent chicken dish cooked in a milky garlic sauce. Originally hailing from the Racha region of northwestern Georgia, this chicken dish is fairly ubiquitous on restaurant menus throughout the country. However, if you want to learn to make this flavourful chicken at home, then make sure to follow my shkmeruli recipe for a delicious dish that’s easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner.
Unlike many other Georgian dishes, there are actually very few iterations of shkmeruli and most every recipe only contains a small handful of ingredients. Because of this, you’re going to want to make sure that you have the best quality ingredients possible in order to make the best version of this shkmeruli recipe possible. So make sure to get that good, free-range chicken and splurge on the tasty butter – it will be worth it!
If you’re interested in expanding your cooking repertoire or just want to explore Georgian cuisine deeper, then make sure to give this shkmeruli recipe a go! You seriously won’t be sorry.
What is Shkmeruli?
Before I dive into how to make shkmeruli, we probably need to talk about what exactly it is. Well, simply, shkmeruli is a chicken dish cooked in a garlic milk sauce. And it is absolutely delicious!
This Georgian chicken dish is typically made with a young hen or small chicken that has been spatchcocked — also known as butterflied. If you’re not familiar with this term, it basically means that the backbone of the chicken is removed so that the whole chicken lies flat.
This is easy enough to do on your own (there are countless internet tutorials out there) with just some kitchen shears or a sharp knife and a bit of confidence, but if you’re not keen to do chicken surgery for dinner, you can always ask your butcher to do it for you. Young hens prepared this way are so common and sought after in Georgia, for instance, that you can just purchase them already butterflied at the supermarket!
Traditionally, the chicken is browned and the fat rendered off of it in a frying pan, the sauce is made, and then all of it is transferred to a clay baking dish (called a ketsi) and moved into the oven to finish cooking. It is served in the sauce with an ample amount of crusty bread to soak up the delicious gravy. If you don’t have a ketsi, the dish can easily be made in any oven-safe skillet – a cast iron works great!
The sauce is incredibly simple and just made with milk, butter, and a LOT of garlic. Georgians and never shy about bold flavours and you shouldn’t be either — this is a dish for garlic lovers and it is really very delicious.
And that’s it! This Georgian chicken dish is refreshingly simple and absolutely lovely. It’s easy enough to make on a busy weeknight but impressive enough to serve at a dinner party — what more could you ask for?
Shkmeruli Recipe: How to Make Shkmeruli
Now that we’ve talked about what shkmeruli is. it’s time to finally talk about how to make it! As I’ve already mentioned, it’s a very easy recipe to make and just requires a little bit of time and attention, but no special skills or equipment!
First off, preheat an oven to 200°C (400°F). You’re also going to want to pat your chicken dry with paper towels and season it liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat until shimmering and add the chicken, breast side down, to the skillet.
Once you’ve done this, you’re going to want to sear the chicken for about 8-10 minutes per side, or until the skin is deeply browned and very crispy and a good amount of fat has been rendered off. Resist the urge to check its progress before at least 5 minutes have passed — it will prevent it from forming the crispy brown skin we are looking for.
In the meantime, take the time to mince or grate your garlic. This recipe calls for 10-12 cloves of garlic and, while this may seem like quite a lot, I assure that it is not. I find it makes the most cohesive and smooth sauce if you grate the garlic on a rasp-style grater to essentially make a paste. It also works to mince it as finely as you can or even to use a garlic press.
Once the chicken has sufficiently browned (after about 8-10 minutes), use tongs to flip the chicken over and brown on the other side, about 5-10 more minutes.
Your chicken won’t be fully cooked after this, but it’s time to transfer the chicken to a plate (uncovered to ensure the skin stays crispy!) for the time being while we assemble the sauce. There will be a fair amount of chicken fat in the pan at this time, but that isn’t going to stop us from adding a pat of butter to the skillet.
Adjusting the heat to low to medium-low, melt the butter until foamy and then add the garlic to the pan and saute until very fragrant, only about 30 seconds. Then, whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in your 350 millilitres of whole milk.
Once the milk is incorporated, heat, still whisking to prevent the milk from breaking, until simmering. Using a good set of tongs, return your chicken, breast side up, to the skillet, ensuring it is bathed in sauce.
Transfer to the oven and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through and an instant-read thermometer registers at 75°C (165°) when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. It can be helpful to temp your chicken before putting it in the oven to gauge how long you will need to cook it for — nothing is worse than overcooked chicken!
Remove from the oven and return the skillet to the heat and bring to a simmer and add the rest of your butter, one pat at a time, whisking to incorporate fully before adding another pat. You should now have a glossy and homogenous sauce. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 5 more minutes until slightly reduced and thickened.
While the sauce is simmering, transfer your chicken to a cutting board and, using a sharp knife, divide it into 4-6 pieces. Transfer the chicken back into the skillet, a serving dish or a clay ketsi if you happen to have one!
Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve. I think it would go without saying that this goes beautifully with a bit of crusty bread to soak up all of that delicious, garlicky sauce!
Shkmeruli Recipe: Georgian Chicken in Garlic Milk Sauce
Yield: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
This garlicky, creamy chicken dish originally hails from the village of Shkmeri in the Racha region of northwestern Georgia but can be found on restaurant menus throughout the country. Requiring only a handful of ingredients, this delicious dish is refreshingly simple to make.
Ingredients
- 1 1kg (2.2lb) whole chicken, butterflied
- 10-12 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated
- 350ml (1 1/3 cup) whole milk
- 50g (4 tablespoons) butter, divided
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Pat your chicken dry with paper towels and season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat in a large, oven-safe skillet until shimmering. Place the chicken breast-side down in the pan and sear chicken without touching until skin is deep brown and crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Flip chicken using tongs and cook the other side for about 5-10 more minutes.
- Remove chicken from pan, transfer to a plate, uncovered to ensure skin remains crispy. Set aside.
- In the same pan, reduce heat to medium-low and 20 grams of butter. Melt until foamy and add the garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Switching to a whisk, slowly drizzle in milk while whisking constantly. Once all of the milk is added continue whisking until it reaches a simmer.
- Return chicken to the skillet and move to the oven and finish cooking until done, or when an instant-read thermometer reads 74°C (165°F) when inserted into the thickest part of the breast, about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and take the chicken out the pan and allow to rest while finishing sauce. Return the skillet to medium-low heat and, whisking constantly, add butter one pat at a time, whisking until one pat is completely incorporated until adding another. Sauce should be glossy and homogenous. Simmer for about 5 minutes further until slightly thickened and reduced.
- In the meantime, transfer chicken to a cutting board and using a sharp knife, divide into 4-6 pieces. Transfer back into the skillet or into a serving dish and pour sauce over chicken,
- Serve immediately, preferably with a side of crusty bread.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 761Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 256mgSodium: 416mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 72g
Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Making Georgian shkmeruli couldn’t be easier and it is one of the tastiest Georgian chicken dishes out there. This shkmeruli recipe is traditional and authentic and is sure to bring a bit of the Georgian table to your home kitchen!
Are you searching for the perfect Georgian chicken recipe? Have you made shkmeruli chicken before? Let us know in the comments!
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