Boodog: Marmot Barbecue

As with Khorkhog, Boodog is an example of Mongolian barbecue which also uses hot stones as a cooking method, but in this case the hot stones are not placed inside a pot but are actually inserted into the carcass itself. The dish is usually made with either a young goat or more often a marmot, which is stuffed with heated rocks and a variety of vegetables and spices. It is then simultaneously heated from the outside, either on a barbecue or with a blowtorch to ensure it is cooked through and to burn off the animal’s fur. The dish is another example of a more utilitarian nomadic lifestyle, in which cooking materials are not readily at hand and rocks and fire stand in for an oven. This dish can be experienced throughout Mongolia, although most Ulan Bator restaurants will often serve a more refined take on it. It is best experienced out on the steppe, where traditional cooking methods are preserved. The Terelj Lodge offers guests a chance to try Boodog in one of their Kazakh gers.