Hangi
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Hangi is a New Zealand Maori word for a method of cooking in an outdoor pit oven. It is done in New Zealand as an alternative to the Barbecue, but often saved for special occasions due to the large amount of time and preparatory work involved.
To "lay a hangi" or "put down a hangi" involves digging a pit in the ground, heating stones in the pit with a large fire, placing wire baskets of food on top of the stones, and covering everything with earth for several hours before uncovering (or lifting) the hangi. There are many variations and details that can be altered, but a hangi produces rich, succulent food with a flavour quite unlike anything else.
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Digging the Pit
A hangi pit doesn't need to be particularly big, but must have room for all the food that will be cooked, plus the stones that will be used to hold the heat. Wire baskets hold the food, and are used as a sizing guide for the pit.
The Stones
Choosing the Stones
Hangi stones must be able to withstand high heat without chipping or crumbling. For this reason, igneous (volcanic) rocks are better than metamorphic or sedimentary rocks (e.g. sandstone). If striking the stone with a hammer produces a ringing noise rather than a thud, then the stone is probably good to use in the hangi.
Large stones of brick size or bigger are better as they hold the heat needed. Bricks are sometimes used if no appropriate natural stone can be found.
Large, solid pieces of steel or iron are also used if there are not enough rocks, but this is discouraged as the metal tends to burn the contents of the hangi and gives up its heat too rapidly.
Heating the Stones
The stones are normally heated in a large wood fire. Building a lattice of strong wood beams that can support the stones until they fall in is important, as stones buried in ash (as compared to hot coals) are losing heat, not gaining it.
The total burn time depends on the size of the hangi being laid, but is usually between one and a half hours and two and a half hours.
The Food
Traditional hangi food is pork, mutton or lamb, and chicken, with generous portions of root vegetables such as kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin, carrot, potato, onions and cabbage.
With a hangi no special preparation of the food is needed besides peeling the root vegetables, but adding herbs such as rosemary, garlic, or stuffing the chicken can add exciting flavors. A Polynesian addition of taro leaves wrapped around some of the food gives it a peppery spice.
The food is placed in muslin lined wire baskets. If muslin is not available, clean white cotton bedsheets are fine. This cloth is soaked in water to prevent burning and provide water for steaming the food.
The wire baskets are there to not only hold the food but also protect the food from the weight of earth piled on top and beside them, creating space for steam to circulate.
Laying the Hangi
This whole step is done as quickly as possible to prevent heat loss from the stones.
When the fire has burned down the ash and coals must be removed or they dominate the flavour, but leaving a few coals gives a smoky flavour which some people prefer. Spraying the rocks very briefly with water produces a rush of steam that removes any loose ash.
Hessian cloth sacks, soaked in water overnight, are laid atop the stones to give extra protection to the food, and provide more water for steam. The food-filled baskets are then placed atop the hessian sacking, and covered with more wet hessian sacks to keep the dirt away. The whole arrangement is then rapidly covered with loose soil from the original pit to seal in heat and steam.
Once the hangi is buried, it is traditional to stand around drinking beer and watching for leaking steam. Any leaks must be quickly plugged with the application of more soil.
This process goes on for three to four hours, depending on the quantity of food being cooked and the quantity of beer on hand.
Lifting the Hangi
The story goes that if no steam comes out when the hangi is first uncovered, then put the dirt back and go buy fish and chips. Otherwise, it is very hard to overcook a hangi, and careful removal of the soil and unwrapping of the food is the last step before the huge feast.
See also
External links
- A good detailed how-to guide: [Shelford Feast (http://www.shelfordfeast.co.uk/hangi.html)]
- Another good how-to: [maorifood.com (http://www.maorifood.com/hangi.htm)]de:Hangi