Spatchcocked chicken pressed flat under a weight and pan-fried until impossibly crispy outside, juicy inside — Georgia's signature pressed chicken.
Chicken tabaka takes its name from 'tapaka' — the heavy-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting weighted lid used to make it. The chicken is spatchcocked, seasoned simply with salt, pepper and garlic, and pressed flat in the pan with a weight (traditionally a heavy stone) so the entire surface contacts the hot pan. The result is shockingly crisp skin and juicy meat, served with bazhe walnut sauce and tkemali plum sauce.
Serves 2
Place spatchcocked chicken skin-side down on a board. Press hard with palms to break breastbone and flatten completely.
Rub minced garlic, salt and pepper over both sides — work into the meat.
Heat butter and oil in a large heavy frying pan or cast-iron skillet on medium-high. Add bay leaves.
Place chicken skin-side down. Cover with a smaller pan or pot, weighted with cans or a foil-wrapped brick. Fry 12–15 min — skin should be deep mahogany and crisp.
Remove weight. Flip chicken. Cover (without weight) and cook 8–10 min more until cooked through (74°C in thigh).
While chicken cooks, mix crushed garlic, water, vinegar in a small bowl.
Lift chicken to a board. Rest 5 min.
Pour garlic sauce over the warm chicken — it sizzles into the crispy skin. Garnish with coriander and lemon. Serve with mchadi or potatoes.
The pan must be heavy and the heat steady — flimsy pans warp under the weight.
Don't move the chicken during the press-fry — let the skin develop full contact and colour.
Use a small Cornish hen per person for individual portions
Brush with adjika (Georgian chilli paste) before frying for spicy version
Serve with tkemali (sour plum sauce) instead of garlic sauce
Best fresh. Reheat in oven 180°C for 10 min.
Tabaka — the technique of pressing a small bird flat in a heavy pan — comes from the Caucasus mountain regions where wood-fired stoves and limited fuel made this efficient cooking method essential. It's a dish historically associated with Georgian shepherds and country inns.
Maximum skin contact with the pan = maximum crispness. Also faster, more even cooking.
Use any heavy oven-safe object: cast iron pot, foil-wrapped bricks, large cans of tomatoes.
Per serving · 2 servings total
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