Meat
Mongolian Yak
B tier
Mongolian yak are kept in the Altai and other high western and northern Mongolian ranges, less ubiquitous than the national sheep-horse-cattle mix but important where altitude and cold favour them. Meat enters regional diets alongside mutton and beef. Flavour is robust lean red meat suited to Mongolian boiled and grilled traditions. Winter slaughter and freezing outdoors historically preserved large animals. Numbers are smaller than Tibetan plateau herds but culturally significant.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Mongol highland communities maintained yak at the margins of the steppe empire.
Collectivised herding included yak in suitable aimags.
Private herding revived diverse yak ownership in mountain zones.
Specialty exports of Mongolian yak fibre overshadowed but did not erase meat use.