About Kakhetian Mtsvadi
Kakhetian Mtsvadi: Georgian Pork Grilled over Vine Embers
Make Kakhetian mtsvadi with well-marbled pork neck, salt, a light brushing of dry wine and raw onion, grilled over steady embers.
Kakhetian mtsvadi is a pork skewer associated with Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region. The defining local touch is the fire: dried grapevine clippings are burned down to embers, which lend smoke without the flare of an open flame. The meat is cut into substantial pieces, salted and turned often as it cooks.
This home version keeps the seasoning spare so the pork and ember smoke lead. It uses six skewers, with about 200 g of raw pork for each serving. A well-marbled neck or collar cut stays juicy over direct heat; trim only very thick, hard outer fat and leave the fine streaks in the meat.
Other Georgian households prepare mtsvadi with pomegranate juice, spices, onion marinades or different meats. Those are valid variations, but this recipe follows the salt-forward Kakhetian style: raw onion goes on the serving platter and a little dry wine is brushed over the meat near the end of grilling.
