Shkmeruli - Georgian Creamy Garlic Chicken

Shkmeruli is a very traditional and famous dish from Georgia that you should not miss out. It's super easy to prepare, use just a few simple ingredients and is super flavourful. The chicken legs (normally it uses a whole chicken, but chicken legs are just my favourite) are first fried in a pan until very crispy, then placed in the oven with a sauce made from lots of garlic cloves and heavy cream. To garnish the shkmeruli, I have used some parsley to sprinkle over the chicken. This is not very traditional, but it gives the whole dish a little freshness and colour, which never hurt. Of course, you can also leave out the parsley.

1 kg Chicken legs (or drumsticks or thighs)
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
12 Garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tbsp Chicken schmaltz (or oil of your choice)
200 ml Heavy cream
200 ml Wholemilk (or heavy cream)
1-2 tbsp Parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Pat the chicken legs dry and season with salt and pepper. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
Heat the chicken schmaltz in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken legs, skin side down, in the skillet and fry for 8-10 minutes until the skin is crispy. Then turn over and fry for a further 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place them in an oven safe casseole.
Add chopped garlic and cook on medium low heat for a minute or until aromatic and lightly golden. Add the milk, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the milk simmers gently.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. Sprinkle the chicken with chopped parsley. Enjoy them with your favourite sides, rice, mashed potatoes or fresh bread.

11 comments:

Tom 4/12/24 12:06: ...chicken never looked so good!
eileeninmd 4/12/24 12:41: This chicken recipe does look yummy!
Take care, enjoy your day.
DEZMOND 4/12/24 13:08: Georgia is such a lovely country. I used to drink Georgian black tea as a kid but we no longer have it here.
Lola Martínez 4/12/24 14:12: No se puede decir que no sea cremoso el pollo, habrá que probar esa salsa para conocerla. Me gusta que es muy sencillo de hacer.
speedy70 4/12/24 14:34: Molto appetitoso questo pollo!!!
Brian's Home Blog 4/12/24 19:05: I couldn't have the dairy products but I can imagine how good that must taste!
Bill 4/12/24 20:11: Yummy looking chicken.
Christine 4/12/24 20:16: Yummy
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 4/12/24 21:41: I'm quite familiar with Georgian cuisine, but I don't think I've tried Shkmeruli - the chicken looks absolutely gorgeous!
Citu 4/12/24 22:26: Se ve muy rico. Gracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
Carpet Cleaner Long Island, NY 4/12/24 23:02: Thank you so much for sharing!