Poultry

All over rural Georgia, an enchanting scene occurs each evening at twilight. Chickens that range freely about the farmsteads stop clucking. As the sky grows dim, they fly up into the trees to roost, their wings whishing. The crepuscular sky and the sudden stillness of dozens of birds in tkemali trees create a strangely beautiful sight.

Since chickens in Georgia are not kept in coops, their meat tastes especially flavorful. Ducks, geese, and turkeys also roam at will, ever at risk for the evening meal. Some variety of domestic or wild fowl is a featured ingredient in several signature dishes of Georgian cuisine: tabaka, flattened grilled chicken with a pungent garlic or plum sauce; satsivi, turkey bathed in a lush nut sauce; or chakhokhbili, a savory stew with tomatoes and herbs.