C4.2.4 New Zealand: Laying A Hangi p1
Description
This article is from the New Zealand FAQ, by Phil Stuart-Jones and Lin Nah with numerous contributions by others.
C4.2.4 New Zealand: Laying A Hangi p1
The following are Hangi instructions were kindly supplied by Ken Moselen
with additions by Robert Burling-Claridge[] and Lyndon Watson<>. This was
a nightmare to splice together, so if it doesn't read well, I'll replace it
with the original posts. Let me know.
-----
Well, the one's I've been involved in (2-3 baskets) have been generally the
slightly mangled versions involving everything in one hole (slightly non
traditional), so here goes...
The food preparation is fun. It helps to do this before starting the hole,
so you know how big to dig it.
[ Even better to get a big bunch of folk together and share the load.
Remember the quality of the final hangi is directly related to the number
of people involved and (most importantly) the quantity and quality of the
beer provided!!! ]
Find your wire baskets, and line them with tinfoil,
[ Actually, I'm not sure I like these new hangis using the foil, it tends
to stop the juices getting through to the stones and I reckon the hangi kai
is drier to the palate. ]
put down a thin layer of cabbage leaves,
[ Any old cabbage-like vegetable leaf will do: cauli, brocoli, etc. ]
and throw all the food on top (side of pork, lamb, chicken, etc), and
surround them all with potatoes, cabbage, kumara, etc.,
[ Note, depending on what you want, remember gravity works inside the hangi
as well. If you want tastier potatoes, kumera, pumpkin, etc., stick them
under the meat, else over the meat. For the first couple why not some in
both places, then you can decide. Generally, put 'drier' meats under those
producing more juices. As rule of thumb I usually put beef and venison low
and pork and mutton high. Pays to wrap venison and beef unless very large
(about the size of a mutton hind leg) as cooking time still related to
size, and you can't open the hangi to get out the beef that's cooked before
the rest... ]
and a liberal dose of salt.
[ Remember, there are a lot of potatoes in there! Too much salt is
difficult to manage! The more you add, the juicier the food will be as
well (personal experience, no explanation). As a rule of thumb, for a
50-person hangi (1-2 baskets) you might use 1-2 cups of salt. ]
Cover with some teatowels, and liberally pour some water on it. Hopefully
it won't leak too much.
[ Now, I _REALLY_ advise DO NOT USE TEATOWELS unless they're brand new! I
have had one really bad experience with a teatowel that mis-flavoured the
whole basket. Try for clean, non-coloured cloth of nearly anything at all.
Preferably natural, rather than synthetic (taste of burnt plastic will
usually put people off... ]
- Dig Hole (a slope on one side helps a bit later on) :-)
[ Best ground to make a hangi is one that's easy to dig!! Other than that,
almost anything is possible to use. Clay, sand... Stoney ground (eg. old
riverbed) will need at least some sand/soil to line the hole, otherwise the
heat is lost quite quickly. This is offset to some extent by burning
longer, in the cooking hole, and digging a bit deeper (making a more
enclosed HOT hole (remember the soil dumped on top is relatively cold).
Hole needs to be big enough that when the baskets are stacked, however you
want to stack them, not much more than half the height is above the normal
ground level. Don't forget to allow for the room taken by the
stones/steel, but its not particularly critical.
IMPORTANT: **NEVER** use treated timber!! You might be lucky, and all the
nasty copper gunk, etc. will burn away before the irons (stones, etc.) cool
off sufficiently for it to stick to them. However if you luck out you
could have a lot of _very_ sick people on your hands (anyone remember the
Wanganui Xmas hangi of around 1976, Kowhai gardens?) ]
- Place paper, kindling, and lots of wood on top (enough to burn really hot
for about 2 hours (at least))
- Place enough Railway Irons, Ploughshears, and any other large, heavy,
solid pieces of iron or steel on top of the firewood (these don't tend
to explode like stones do if there's any dampness in them) to hold the heat
from the fire for a long time (the more the better - within reason).
- Light fire and watch for a couple of hours, have a few drinks, etc. etc.
< If you use stones (a sort that doesn't explode when heated and cooled -
say granite), you would want to fire them for longer than iron, say three
to four hours. I still use stones for their good heat retention. >
(Traditionally, the fire and the hole are separate, you just drag the
really hot stones from the fire to the pit, and forget all the mucking
about with the ashes etc., but this takes lots more room, and you can't do
it properly in the backyard, so I've described all the mucking around we
normally do; it doesn't take too long though, only about 15min from
starting the lifting of the irons, to burying the food, with three of you)
[ Well, tradition varies. If the ground is damp/wet, you will get a
considerably better hangi if you burn in the cooking hole. A lot of heat
will be lost to warm the surrounding ground otherwise. ]
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