Tabaka

Kakhetian·Medium·42 min active + 18 min resting

Whole chicken split, weighted, and pan-fried under a brick until skin is mahogany-crisp — Georgia's most photogenic chicken dish.

Tabaka (sometimes called tapaka) takes its name from the tapa, the heavy lidded pan it is fried in — a Cornish-game-hen-sized chicken is butterflied flat, weighted with a brick wrapped in foil, and slow-fried in a heavy pan with garlic butter. The skin becomes crackling-dark, the meat stays juicy. A Kakhetian winter Sunday dish served with white wine and a sharp tkemali sauce.

A chicken half pressed flat under a brick, skin gold-and-crackling, garlic-and-butter pooled on the plate. Tear with the hands; squeeze lemon; eat with the same hands.

Pressing flat increases skin-to-pan contact dramatically, so the entire surface crisps simultaneously — no chasing one hot spot. The weight of the brick also pushes fat down into the pan, where it crackles back into the skin.

Variations

Imeretian tabaka stays plain — only salt and butter; Kakhetian versions add an adjika or tkemali plum sauce at the table — west subtle, east loud.

On the Palate

Where Tabaka sits in the Georgian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 4

How it's made

5 steps · 42 min active + 18 min waiting

1
12 min
Butterfly a 1.2 kg chicken by removing the backbone with shears. Flatten by pressing down on the breastbone.
2
12 min
Rub with 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, ½ tsp paprika. Let sit 30 min.
3
12 min
Heat 4 tbsp butter + 2 tbsp oil in a large cast-iron pan over medium heat.
4
12 min
Place chicken skin-side down. Cover with a sheet of foil and weight with a brick or heavy pot. Cook 20 minutes — the skin will be crisping under pressure.
Watch out
Lay the chicken skin-down and weight it hard under foil and a brick — the pressure presses the whole skin flat onto the pan so it all crisps at once and renders fat back into itself.
5
12 min
Flip chicken; replace weight; cook 12-15 minutes more. Brush with reserved garlic butter. Rest 5 min, then carve. Serve with tkemali sauce.
Watch out
Flip and re-weight until the second side is golden and the juices run clear at the thigh — brush the reserved garlic butter on right at the end so it doesn't burn.

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Cast-Iron Skillet

A heavy, single-piece cast iron pan, 25-30 cm across, weighing 1.5-2.5 kg. Once preheated, the thick mass holds 230°C+ even when a cold steak hits the surface — that's the secret to a deep crust. A well-seasoned skillet (multiple thin layers of polymerized oil baked into the iron) is essentially nonstick, gets better with use, and lasts a century. Lodge skillets from Tennessee have been in continuous production since 1896.

Techniques

Sauteing