Grill · Roadside Skewers

Mtsvadi

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The first skewer off the fire is traditionally handed to the eldest guest — grilling mtsvadi outdoors is as much a ritual as it is cooking.

Mtsvadi is pork, or sometimes beef or lamb, cut into chunks, briefly marinated and skewered, then grilled over embers until charred outside and juicy within. Roadside stands and market grills across Georgia serve it hot with raw onion and lavash bread.

Why it's made this way: Georgia's wine regions produce huge amounts of pruned grapevine wood, and burning it down to embers for grilling meat is a practical byproduct of the country's winemaking tradition.