Genghis Khan's favorite dish - "Meat on stones".
It's a pity that many of the original dishes that have accompanied humanity for millennia are fading into the past. We cook on stoves, in ovens, and in multicookers, eat bland food, and chew on lettuce leaves, occasionally going out into nature and considering shashlik to be the most "picnic-like" dish. But sometimes you crave something real, vibrant, hearty, and unusual at the same time.
So today we will be cooking… meat with stones.
The cuisine of nomads has never been diverse. Meat, most often dried or cured, dried sheep cheese (kurut), and minimal vegetables. But during the great campaigns of Genghis Khan, one of the cooks invented and prepared a dish that later became known as the favorite dish of the great commander.
This dish is called khorkhog in Mongolian. Traditionally, it is prepared in a sheep's skin, where meat, vegetables, and stones are placed in turn. Yes, it is the heated stones that give this dish its unique taste, aroma, and significantly reduce cooking time.
To prepare this dish, you will need 4-5 kg of lamb fillet, preferably from the shoulder part. It's better not to take the hind part of the carcass: the meat there is drier and tougher. You will also need 1 kg of medium-sized onions, 2-3 heads of garlic, salt, and pepper. And of course, stones — 15-50 flat river stones. In the modern version of the dish, potatoes (2-3 kg) are also used.
This dish is now prepared in modern conditions not in a sheep's skin, but in a cauldron with a tightly closing lid.
While the meat is being cut, the stones should be heated in the fire. The meat is cut into large pieces — 10 cm long and 2-3 cm thick. The onions are cut into four parts. In the cauldron, the meat and vegetables are alternately placed, interspersed with the heated stones. Important! The stones are placed directly from the fire. They will give the khorkhog its unique aroma and flavor.
The meat and vegetables are salted and peppered layer by layer, with the heads of garlic placed on the very top layer. Then the cauldron is closed, and the meat is stewed in its own juice for 35-45 minutes. Yes, it is the heated stones that allow the meat to cook so quickly.
Khorkhog is served layer by layer, just as it was placed in the cauldron. The hot stones are also given to guests during serving, right into their open palms. A person transfers the stone from one palm to the other, and this not only has a sacred but also a healing significance — the acupuncture points on the palms correspond to the well-being of the entire body.
And then, after setting the stones aside, you can start on the meat. The "hot stone" technique truly makes it tender — properly cooked, the meat separates from the bones, and when seasoned with vegetables, it can delight any gourmet.
Moreover, it is rightly considered a dish of strength — as this cooking method preserves all the nutrients and proteins (meat) and carbohydrates (vegetables). Just-cooked food, a campfire, fresh air, a river nearby (where did we get the stones from?) — what could be better? You hold a hot stone in your hands, inhale the unique meaty aroma, and truly feel like a descendant of the great Genghis Khan. And you say — shashlik! Khorkhog!
Kyrgyz Cuisine