Main · Ceremonial

Khorkhog / Boodog (Stone-Cooked Whole Sheep or Goat)

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

Cooked with rocks — literally.

Meat is sealed in a pot (or, for boodog, inside the animal's own skin) with fist-sized stones heated red-hot in an open fire. No oven, no stove — the rocks alone cook the meat through, and diners often pass the stones hand to hand afterward for warmth.

Why it's made this way: Minimal fuel and no fixed kitchens on the open steppe meant cooking had to travel with the herd — a method built entirely around fire, stone, and patience.