Khorkhog; a Cultural Education

This word is not a word with regular English sounds.  You almost need to "hear" it to really know how to say it.  But, let me try to explain, at least from how I hear it!  In the Mongolian language, there is the letter that looks like "X" which is a "hay".  It makes the English "hkh" sound.  And it's usually spelled with English letters as "kh".  For a truly English accent, you can just call it "horhog", but that's not quite how the Mongolian language pronounces it.

Now, onto what I found on the internet--
A recipe for Khorkhog so you can make it in your own backyard!

Ingredients:


• 1 Lamb (cut into small pieces still on the bone)


The lamb who became our meat minutes later!


• 1 basket of Onions (chopped coarsely)

• Salt (to taste)

• Pepper (to taste)

• Water
How to make Khorkhog:

• Heat lots of stones on fire until they are thoroughly hot, say for about an hour.

• Combine the lamb pieces and onions together.

• Season them with salt and pepper.

• Fill a large cooking container, alternating layers of lamb mixture and hot stones.

• Add sufficient water to fill the container.

• Cover the container with a lid and place it on the stove.  The lid can be tightened down sometimes as a pressure cooker is.

• Let the mixture cook for several hours.

• Remove the lid and check whether the meat is done or not.

• Remove the stones and scoop out the meat mixture.

• Serve hot.
Suggestions:

Serve khorkhog with rice and steamed vegetables.



Our Khorkhog--Note the black, smooth stones which were part of the heating/cooking process.


Pam's note: make sure your guests (especially the men) are served a hot rock, which they toss back and forth between their hands to give healthy properties to their bodies. Kevin did this and had very red hands afterwards...almost a bit too hot....just shy of getting a blister.

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And now, a word from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Khorkhog (Mongolian language: Xopxoг) is a traditional Mongolian barbecue dish, and an authentic example of Mongolian cuisine. Khorkhog is made by cooking pieces of meat inside a container which also contains hot stones and water, and is often also heated from the outside.
To make khorkhog, Mongolians take lamb (goat meat can be substituted) and cut it into pieces of convenient size, leaving the bone. Then the cook puts ten to twenty fist-sized rocks in a fire. When the rocks are hot enough, the rocks and the meat are placed in the chosen cooking container. Metal milk jugs are a traditional choice, although any container sturdy enough to hold the hot rocks will serve.
The cook adds other ingredients as desired (carrots, cabbage, potatoes) to make a stew, then adds salt and other spices. The ingredients should be layered, with the vegetables on top.  Finally the cook pours in a sufficient quantity of water to create a steam bubble inside the jug, which he then closes with a lid.
The heat of the stones and the steam will cook the meat inside the jug. The cook can also put the jug on a fire or the stove if the stones are not hot enough. The stones will turn black from the heat and the fat they absorb from the lamb. The jug should remain covered while the cook listens to and smells the meal to judge when it is ready. The stones can take up to an hour and a half to cook the meat sufficiently. When finished, the barbecued khorkhog is ready to eat.

(Pam's note: Don't let the word "barbecue" fool you!  There is nothing in this dish which even slightly resembles what I know as BBQ sauce.  No sauce at all.  Plain, salt and peppered lamb meat with veggies.  This is NOT Famous Dave's BBQ!)



Odsaiken proudly holds the large container of all the "innards" which were
cooked separately.  This includes the liver, other organs, and "blood sausage" which is the
blood of the sheep poured into the sheep intestine and boiled.  Okay, I just lost my appetite!

 The cook hands out portions of meat along with the now cooled (Pam's note: well, cooler than originally!) stones, which are said to have beneficial properties.  Diners usually eat khorkhog with their fingers, although one can use a knife to slice the meat off the bone.

Khorkhog is a popular dish in the Mongolian countryside, but usually is not served in restaurants.

And, now, back to Pam....

And, yes, we were in the Mongolian countryside.  We drove for an hour to get out away from the smog, horn honking, and regular "real" roads of the city, and enjoy the beautiful countryside with mountains, rocks, and, of course, khorkhog!  It was a chilly day, but not uncomfortable.  As you can see from these pictures, we had a wonderful walk up the nearby mountain/hill and enjoyed the ger camp immensely!




Note the two children climbing the rock.  This gives you a sense of how large this rock formation is!




Isn't the sky just beautiful?!  We hiked up this hill and could see for miles.  How refreshing to look out on God's creation!

 Warning: if you have a strong stomach, you may want to read the post below which includes the actual death sentence and butchering of the sheep.  If blood and death of an animal bothers you, please don't read through and look at the pictures!  I was squeamish as I watched the whole process, but made myself watch this Mongolian tradition, knowing I might not ever get to see it again.  Even looking at the pictures makes me have those feelings come back all over again!  I will post this warning again at the beginning of the next post to alert readers.