There are many recipes and cooking options for Georgian barbecue, and each has its own connoisseurs and devoted admirers.
The marinade, the type of meat, the amount and composition of the spices used, the marinating time and the cooking technique may differ, but the principle, the concept of cooking, is always the same. Sticking to this foundation, cooked by you Georgian barbecue will invariably delight you, your guests and loved ones with amazing taste and aroma.
Let's try to understand the intricacies of cooking Georgian barbecue by preparing juicy barbecue from pork...
Prepare the ingredients according to the list.
Georgian kebab can be made with pork, veal or lamb, but whatever type of meat you use, it should always be the freshest and highest quality meat you can find. To prepare pork skewers in Georgian style, it is best to use the neck part with thin streaks of fat.
Spices. The use of spices is purely a matter of taste. There are a lot of supporters of the recipe, in which, in addition to salt and black ground pepper no other seasonings are used. I believe that a moderate amount of spices will only emphasize the wonderful natural taste of meat, and I choose a less ascetic version - using, in addition to salt and pepper, a small amount of dried herbs, bay leaves and paprika.
Onions - red, white, hot onion or more delicate red, salad - an indispensable component, without which it is impossible to imagine a marinade for Georgian or any other barbecue.
Vinegar or wine. The component that causes, perhaps, the most heated debate among connoisseurs of the "real and correct" Georgian barbecue. It is added in small amounts or not used at all. There is no absolutely right or wrong option here, Georgian barbecue is always a delicacy and pleasure, and it is different for everyone. But what all connoisseurs and experts agree on is that if you use wine in the marinade, then only high-quality dry red wine, and if vinegar - then only wine and best of all homemade.
Vegetable oil may or may not be used. Adding a small amount of vegetable oil to the marinade is a kind of culinary trick, which is used by both professionals and amateur cooks around the world in order to get a more beautiful golden brown when frying and preserve the maximum natural juiciness of the meat.
We figured out the components - let's start cooking.
Finely chop the onion.
Combine the onion with a little salt and ground black pepper and knead thoroughly with your hands so that the onion releases its juice.
Cut the meat into small rectangular pieces weighing about 40-45 grams.
Combine meat and onion. Add seasonings and spices to taste, wine or vinegar, vegetable oil and mix thoroughly. Cover and leave to marinate room temperature from 15 minutes to 2 hours.
Thread the marinated meat onto skewers, leaving a small space between the pieces. If desired, pieces of pork can be alternated with pieces of vegetables or onion rings.
Fry the kebab over hot coals, turning every 1.5 minutes, 15-20 minutes, until tender.
The quality of the coal over which the barbecue is fried is also worth paying attention to. V ideal conditions for a fire, you need to use a dry vine, or at least dry wood from fruit trees. Put out the emerging flames by sprinkling with dry red wine.
Georgian pork shashlik is ready! Serve kebab with lots of fresh herbs, vegetables and savory sauces.
Being the birthplace of barbecue, Caucasian cuisine is famous for its centuries-old traditions of cooking this dish. For this reason, no nation can cook barbecue the way the Caucasian peoples do.
The main element of a real Georgian pork kebab is properly selected meat and marinade sauce for it. Usually kebabs in Georgia are also prepared from beef and lamb, but mtsvadi is made only from pork meat. In order for the kebab to be baked from the inside, it must be cooked at the right temperature. The crust should be crispy so that the pulp retains its juices. This is how a real Georgian barbecue should be prepared.
Choice of Ingredients
- Meat for Georgian barbecue should be juicy and cut into not too small pieces so that this very juice does not leak out.
- Choose only the freshest. It should be chilled, but never frozen. Such meat will lose a lot of taste after it thaws.
“The quality characteristics of pork vary greatly depending on the age of the slaughtered animal. If you have such an opportunity, pay your attention, first of all, to this.
Traditionally, mtsvadi uses pork pulp. The most delicious are from the back and neck of the animal, they are the most meaty. When cutting pieces of pork, leave a little fat on each of them: when frying, it will melt and the barbecue will be more juicy and tender.
Marinating in Georgian cuisine
According to old traditions, there is no marinade in Georgian kebabs. Instead, fresh cut pieces of raw pork are placed in a bowl, covered with salt, ground pepper and various seasonings and spices, and then rumpled with hands. Movements in such a process must be made with the application of great force. The principle of operation is similar to a chop, only the pulp should not be beaten with a hammer, but softened with your hands. You can see exactly how this is done in the video.
However, time does not stand still, so the Georgians decided to resort to various culinary experiments and diversify your barbecue recipe with marinating. And not in vain, because the meat soaked in the marinade is great for cooking at the stake.
Recipes for barbecue marinades
wine marinade
Chop the onion into rings, then add the following spices: black pepper and salt (to taste), paprika and coriander (2 grams per kilogram of pork), thyme (half a teaspoon).
After that, pour 1 glass of dry red wine on top and mix everything thoroughly. Marinate for 2 hours at normal room temperature.
Georgian yoghurt marinade
Good for pork. Pour 4-5 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1-1.5 cups of yogurt (preferably not too sweet) over the meat pieces, then sprinkle with pepper and salt and rub thoroughly with your hands.
"If the meat is not too soft or young, you can add a little mineral water. Bubbles of gas will help soften the pulp "
Georgian pork barbecue recipes
This mtsvadi recipe is the most traditional, old and simple. It does not require rare ingredients and additional preparation. Soaking the meat in the marinade for 8-10 hours is also not necessary.
cooking meat
Method 1 (without marinade):
We take a cup and cut the onion into half rings into it, then pepper and salt it. We knead the onion with our hands and leave it for a while so that the onion releases its juice. We clean the pork, wash it under cold water and chop into pieces of about 50-60 grams each.
We put the chopped pieces of meat in a cup with onions and add spices to your taste on top (you can add any, the main thing is not to overdo it). Add bay leaves to it.
Carefully knead and mix the contents of the bowl with your hands. The stronger - the softer the meat will be, but do not overdo it, otherwise you will squeeze all the juice out of it. If you are not sure how it is done, watch the video.
This process will also allow the spices and onion juice to better absorb into the meat.
After the meat and other ingredients are well mixed, cover the cup with a lid and let stand for 2 to 3 hours at normal temperature.
- We put the meat in a pre-prepared marinade and carefully knead with our hands
- Cover with a lid and leave it to stand at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
"Meat will need to rest longer if left in the fridge"
Kindle the fire
The quality of firewood is very important in the preparation of any barbecue. Ideally, these should be fruit trees or even vine branches. They burn and smolder well, and their smoke gives the meat a great flavor. You are unlikely to find such ones in the city, however, it is still recommended to take the selection of firewood seriously.
“You can’t fry kebabs on coniferous wood. The resin that is released by them in the process of burning will spoil all the meat.
We put the marinated meat on skewers in turn, along with different vegetables, like tomatoes, eggplant, etc.
Barbecue over smoldering coals. It is important that it is not yet a burning fire. From it, the kebab will dry out and will not be able to thoroughly fry.
When flipping kebabs, splash wine or lemon juice and a little vegetable oil for the crust. Thanks to this, the meat will not dry out, and its taste will become more interesting.
How to serve barbecue in Georgian
Mtsvadi kebab is usually served on a large tray. Cover its bottom with lettuce leaves or pita bread. Cooked meat is laid out in the center, and chopped fresh vegetables are laid out on the sides. The meat is sprinkled with parsley, cilantro and green onions. Traditional dishes are served in separate cups. Georgian sauces like tkemali. Red drinks are best dry wine, cognac and chacha.
If you strictly follow this recipe, you will get, if not quite real, then certainly very close to the original Georgian kebab. The main thing to pick up good ingredients and cook your meal with love.
There are legends about Georgian barbecue, it is sung in songs and whole odes are composed in honor of the dish that conquered the world. Yes, it is the world. Those who are not yet a fan simply haven't tried real Georgian kebab.
What's in it? How is Georgian barbecue different from that cooked in any other country? What ingredients do mountaineers use? Why is barbecue from Tbilisi sometimes compared to a drug, without which life is not sweet?
A few words about the art of creating barbecue masterpieces
The unique, unforgettable and very bright taste of Georgian barbecue is achieved due to the fact that various flavoring additives are not so massively used in a mountainous country. Here you will hardly find “plastic” food, milk that has not gone sour for years, bread that has not gone stale for months, and butter that does not melt even at +30 Celsius. Most Georgian products are natural, they are just real, just like our grandmothers remember them. There is almost no food in Tbilisi, which even ants are afraid to touch, is unlikely to be found here instant coffee or tea. Maximum naturalness - this is the motto of Georgian food culture.
Barbecue for Georgians is quite an ordinary dish. They themselves do not seek out special marinades or secret ingredients for meat, but simply cook. They cook the way their father cooked, they cut it the way grandfather did, they choose such pieces that great-grandfather would be proud of.
The tandem of natural products and ease of preparation is the only secret of real, such juicy and soft Georgian meat on a skewer.
Delicious details
Mtsvadi (barbecue) Georgians do not marinate. No vinegar, kefir or mayonnaise - nothing! The main ingredient is fresh meat: the freshest pork, beef and sometimes lamb. And that's it. The time spent on cooking is minimal. Only about 20 minutes and a hot kebab is already steaming in a plate, generously sprinkled with onion rings, from which emanates such a fragrance that uuuuh! The meat is served with the legendary satsebeli sauce and lavash. Of course, not without a glass of Georgian wine.
It is believed that the most delicious barbecue has Kakhetian roots. After all, it is in Kakheti that it is prepared on a flaming vine, giving the subtlest notes of a sweetish aroma to spicy and juicy meat.
A special art is the correct cutting. Georgian men insist that the tastiest morsels come from meat cut into long, narrow rectangles, which are then strung flat on a flat skewer. So they do not scroll when frying, and are completely baked inside due to the heat given off by the metal.
The main existing myth is that only spicy barbecue is served in Georgia. But, this is far from the case. In most regions, including Kakheti, they put a very minimum of spices and a little salt. But in Western Georgia, where Mingrelians live, they prefer well-salted and really spicy kebabs, which they bake in a clay oven (tandoor).
To fully appreciate the taste, you need to try mtsvadi in several regions, and only then choose the very one, alluring and fragrant barbecue, for which it is worth visiting Georgia, and more than once!
Hello dear readers. Do you like to relax in nature in good company and treat yourself to a barbecue? Then this article will be not only interesting for you, but, perhaps, in it you will find something new for yourself.
Today we will cook a delicious Georgian pork kebab without marinade, the recipe of which you can see in this section.
A feature of this product is that you do not need much time to prepare it. In addition, preliminary preparation is not needed: it is prepared without marinade. And roasted on the coals of the vine.
How to cook delicious mtsavadi shish kebab?
Ingredients:
1. Pork - 3 kg.
2. Pepper - to taste
3. Salt - to taste
4. Parsley greens - a bunch
5. Onion - one, two heads of medium size
Step by step recipe
1. To prepare this barbecue, we need a vine, which I first collected from the garden after the winter.
2. We burn the vine to make coals. It is the coals of the vine during the cooking process that give the product a unique rich aroma, which is also reflected in the taste.
3. We take fresh pork meat - the neck part (as a rule, this part is most often used for cooking barbecue). I, as a lover of outdoor recreation, recommend buying pork at the market.
The product purchased on the market is fresher and as a result, the finished kebab is much juicier and tastier.
4. Cut it against the fibers, and then cut into small portions (so that you can eat it once or twice).
5. We string them on skewers. The meat must be fresh. The taste and quality of the finished product will directly depend on this.
6. This is what the finished coals look like, and the heat from them is simply incomparable.
7. When the coals are ready, put the skewers on the grill. The distance between the coals and the meat should not be large.
8. Fry for 15-20 minutes. When you see that the meat is browned, it must be turned over. At this time, salt and pepper to taste.
This is one of the important and enjoyable moments of cooking barbecue. Is not it? We must constantly monitor the readiness, regularly twist the skewers.
9. The readiness of the barbecue is visible to the eye, but for reliability, you can make an incision with a sharp knife on the meat and check whether it is baked.
Important. The meat should look like a beautiful golden color with a crust.
10. Wash the greens. We clean the onion, cut it into rings.
Ready? Then you can lay out the skewers on a plate, sprinkle on top with chopped onions, and put parsley.
On hot meat, onions immediately give their unique pleasant aroma. This meat is very juicy and soft. In my opinion, pork is the most delicious kebab.
Wish you Bon appetit and good mood in the circle of relatives and friends. After all, a delicious barbecue is one that is seasoned with a good company.
Video recipe:
Additional Information:
If for some reason you do not like pork, or it is simply not available at the moment, then the barbecue can be prepared from lamb, beef or chicken. It depends on what kind of meat you prefer.
In addition, if you didn’t manage to go to the dacha or just go out into nature, don’t be discouraged. This dish can be cooked in a pan.
The difference is certainly noticeable, but, nevertheless, you will have a barbecue. A good alternative in such a case is the preparation of the main dish on the grill.
If the trip to nature nevertheless took place, but there is no barbecue and skewers, then this problem is easily solved. All of us in childhood really liked to fry bread on skewers made of wood on a fire. Is not it?
So, this is a great opportunity to return those happy moments and do the same with your children. You can fry barbecue and, as in childhood, bread. Most importantly, you need to do it with love and good mood. Then everything will definitely work out for you.
All the best to you. See you.
A real Georgian barbecue has long been prepared from lamb and beef. Over time, the recipes for Georgian barbecue have changed.
Now shish kebab in Georgia is cooked more often from pork meat and this dish is called “mtsvadi”.
Even in Georgia, it is customary to cook barbecue on a fire from old grape branches. The vine not only burns well and gives a strong heat, but also gives the meat a flavor. For the preparation of barbecue, sometimes not skewers are used, but planed grape rods.
This is a delicious Georgian style pork kebab. For cooking you will need pork neck. The secret of cooking in the Georgian pork kebab recipe is that the meat is not marinated, but kneaded with your hands until it becomes sticky.
Spices are added to the meat during frying. It turns out 4 servings, calorie content - 1100 kcal. It will take 50 minutes to cook such a barbecue.
Ingredients:
- 1.3 kg. meat;
- ground pepper, salt;
- Bulb variety Yalta (flat).
Cooking:
- Cut the meat into small pieces and knead it with your hands for 20 minutes until the meat sticks to your hands.
- Thread the pieces onto skewers and grill over hot coals for 20 minutes.
- Salt and pepper.
- Cut the onion into half rings and sprinkle the prepared hot shish kebab.
Each side of the meat should be well fried to a ruddy color, so do not get carried away with turning over. Raw kebab can be greased vegetable oil.
Georgian beef shish kebab
This is a flavorful beef skewers Georgian recipe. It will take 1 hour to cook. The meat is marinated for 1-2 days. From the barbecue, 3 servings are obtained, with a calorie content of 650 kcal.
