Name: Racha Shkmeruli: Georgian Garlic Chicken with Milk Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 1 small whole chicken, about 1 kg, giblets removed and butterflied; 15 ml neutral sunflower oil; 6 g fine salt; 1 g freshly ground black pepper; 40 g garlic, peeled and crushed or finely grated, about 1 large head; 50 g unsalted butter, divided into 25 g for the garlic and 25 g to finish the sauce; 350 ml whole milk; 2 g fine salt, for the sauce; adjust only after tasting

Wide view of Racha Shkmeruli: Georgian Garlic Chicken with Milk Sauce on a rustic table, with the serving setting visible around it.

Yield4 servings

Serving sizeone quarter of the cooked chicken with a share of the garlic-milk sauce

DifficultyIntermediate

Dietary notesContains poultry and milk; gluten-free by listed ingredients, subject to product labels and cross-contact

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The dish

About Racha Shkmeruli: Georgian Garlic Chicken with Milk Sauce

A small whole chicken is pressed flat, browned until the skin is crisp, then finished in the oven and served with a warm sauce of crushed garlic, butter and milk. This home-kitchen version serves four and keeps the chicken’s browning separate from the gently simmered sauce.

Shkmeruli is a Rachan chicken dish named for Shkmeri village. A small chicken is flattened and cooked until its skin turns crisp, then served with garlic and milk. It is now found across Georgia, while the sauce and cooking method vary from household to household.

This version keeps the defining trio of chicken, garlic and milk. It browns the butterflied bird in a heavy skillet, then finishes it in the oven so the thick breast and thigh cook evenly. The garlic-milk sauce uses the pan’s savory drippings, butter and whole milk. Crush or finely grate the garlic so it disperses through the sauce; warm it gently so it smells fragrant without turning bitter.

Some Rachan descriptions use garlic and water without milk, and other home versions add spices or sour cream. Here, whole milk gives the sauce a pourable, savory texture. Serve the chicken and sauce in the skillet or transfer them to a warmed clay ketsi if you have one. Bread is useful for the sauce but is not included in the recipe yield or nutrition.

Use a food thermometer to check the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh, avoiding bone. The chicken is ready only when both readings reach at least 74 °C. A browned exterior is a quality cue, not a doneness test. Keep raw poultry and its utensils separate from cooked chicken and sauce.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Shkmeruli: Racha’s crisp chicken with garlic and milk

Chicken

1small whole chicken, about 1 kg, giblets removed and butterflied
15 mlneutral sunflower oil
6 gfine salt
1 gfreshly ground black pepper

Garlic-milk sauce

40 ggarlic, peeled and crushed or finely grated, about 1 large head
50 gunsalted butter, divided into 25 g for the garlic and 25 g to finish the sauce
350 mlwhole milk
2 gfine salt, for the sauce; adjust only after tasting

Method

Prepare and season the chicken. Pat the chicken dry; do not rinse raw poultry. Cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it, then open and press the bird flat. Season both sides with 6 g salt and the black pepper. Crush or finely grate the garlic.
Brown the skin side. Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy oven-safe skillet until shimmering. Set the chicken skin-side down in the skillet and place the weight on top. Cook over medium-high heat for 8–10 minutes without moving it, until the skin is crisp and deep golden. Lower the heat if the drippings smoke heavily.
Turn and brown the second side. Turn the chicken carefully and cook for 5–7 minutes over medium heat with the weight in place. Transfer it skin-side up to a roasting pan or leave it in the oven-safe skillet.
Finish the chicken in the oven. Roast skin-side up at 200 °C conventional or 180 °C fan for about 25–35 minutes. Check the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh, without touching bone. Both must reach at least 74 °C; size and starting temperature affect the cooking time.
Make the garlic-milk sauce. While the chicken roasts, leave about 15 ml of drippings in the skillet and carefully discard any excess. Melt 25 g butter over low heat. Add the crushed garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant; do not brown it. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring it to a gentle simmer for 2–3 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 25 g butter and 2 g salt. Keep the sauce below a hard boil.
Rest and carve the chicken. Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean board and rest for 10 minutes. Cut through the joints into four serving portions. Keep any tools and surfaces that touched raw poultry separate from cooked food.
Warm the chicken with the sauce. Arrange the chicken in the warm skillet or a warmed clay ketsi. Spoon the hot garlic-milk sauce over and around it, then heat gently for 2–3 minutes.
Serve hot. Bring the chicken and sauce to the table in the skillet or ketsi. Offer bread separately to catch the sauce.

Serving, storage and substitutions

Serve the chicken hot in the skillet or a warmed clay ketsi, with bread on the side. Bread is an optional accompaniment and is not part of the serving or nutrition estimate.

Refrigerate chicken and sauce in shallow covered containers within 2 hours. Keep them at 4 °C or below and use within 3–4 days. Reheat gently in a covered skillet, stirring the sauce, until both chicken and sauce reach 74 °C throughout. Add a small splash of milk if the sauce thickens.

For easier preparation, ask a butcher to butterfly the chicken. A warmed oven-safe serving dish can replace a clay ketsi. Prepare the garlic shortly before cooking and make the sauce fresh for the best texture. Sour cream belongs to a different household variation and is not a like-for-like replacement in this version.

For best quality, freeze cooled chicken and sauce in airtight portions for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat throughout to 74 °C.

Practical guidance

Troubleshooting

If the skin browns before the chicken is cooked through, move it skin-side up to the oven and continue cooking until both thermometer readings reach 74 °C. If the garlic begins to darken, lower the heat and add the milk promptly; scorched garlic becomes bitter. If the milk sauce separates slightly, whisk it gently off the heat before serving.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: one quarter of the chicken with one quarter of the garlic-milk sauce
Calories: approximately 565 kcal
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Protein: 36 g
Fat: 43 g
Fibre: about 0 g
Sodium: approximately 1,030 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk. The listed ingredients contain poultry and no wheat, egg, nuts or soy; check product labels and cross-contact warnings.

Do not rinse raw chicken. Prevent raw-poultry juices from contacting ready-to-eat food. Cook the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh to at least 74 °C, measured with a clean thermometer away from bone. Refrigerate cooked chicken and sauce in shallow containers within 2 hours at 4 °C or below, use within 3–4 days, and reheat throughout to 74 °C.

To finish

Crisp-skinned chicken and a warm garlic-milk sauce make Shkmeruli a simple, richly flavored Rachan main course.
Flatten the chicken for even browning, use a thermometer to confirm doneness, and keep the milk sauce at a gentle simmer.