Chanasan makh is the plainest and most quintessential rural Mongolian dish: large bone-in pieces of mutton boiled in lightly salted water until just tender. Served on the bone with the rich broth alongside, it lets the pure taste of fresh steppe meat speak with almost no seasoning.
Chanasan makh — boiled meat — is the most everyday preparation in rural Mongolia, large cuts simmered on the bone in salted water and eaten with a knife. Unadorned and generous, it is meat the way the steppe likes it.
The meat is meltingly tender and deeply meaty, tasting cleanly of mutton with just enough salt to lift it. Pulled straight off the bone and chased with a sip of the unctuous broth, it is honest, primal nourishment.
A gentle simmer rather than a hard boil keeps the muscle from toughening while collagen slowly melts into tenderness and the broth. Minimal seasoning and starting in cold water let the natural flavor of fresh meat dominate.
Variations
Goat or beef instead of mutton, addition of a few aromatics, or the leftover broth used to make bantan.
On the Palate
Where Chanasan Makh sits in the Mongolian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 110 min
Cut mutton into large bone-in chunks.
- 23 min
Place the meat in a big pot and cover with cold water.
- 38 min
Bring to a boil and skim off the rising foam.
Watch outSkim the grey foam off patiently as it rises — leaving it turns the broth cloudy and muddy-tasting; you want it clean.
- 42 min
Add a little salt and a few pieces of onion if desired.
- 580 min
Lower the heat and simmer gently until the meat is tender.
Watch outKeep it at a lazy simmer, barely bubbling — a hard boil seizes the mutton tough; low and slow lets it go fork-tender.
- 63 min
Skim excess fat from the surface, reserving some broth.
- 75 min
Lift the meat onto a platter and let it rest briefly.
- 83 min
Serve the meat on the bone with bowls of the hot broth alongside.
