Shkmeruli Recipe: Georgian Chicken in Garlic Milk Sauce

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.

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.

How to Make Georgian Shkmeruli

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!

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, 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 30-40 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!

Making Georgian shkmeruli couldn’t be easier and it is one of the tastiest Georgian chicken dishes out there. This 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 any questions? Let me know in the comments!