Khorkhog

[1][2] To make khorkhog, Mongolians take lamb (goat meat can be substituted) and cut it into pieces of an appropriate size while leaving the bones attached.

Metal milk jugs are a traditional and typical choice, although any container sturdy enough to hold the hot rocks will suffice.

The jug remains covered while the cook listens to and smells the meal to judge when it is ready.

The dish is said to be a relatively modern, 20th-century invention, dating back to the time of the Soviet Union's military presence in Mongolia, when Mongolians began cooking with cast-off Red Army water jugs.

It is a variation of boodog, an older Mongolian dish made with hot stones in which the meat is cooked inside an animal skin.

Khorkhog meal. Note the metal milk jug, the black stone, and the piece of boiled meat; the metal milk jug is where the cooking takes place.
Khorkhog meal. Served in a restaurant in Ulaanbaatar