puttin' down a hangi

every culture has their own version...cooking a meal in the ground is probably one of the most effective, tastiest, and primitive methods of preparing food, particularly animal flesh.  here's a modernized rendition of a traditional Maori hangi

an old drum is filled with river stones.  the circumference, pohutukawa logs on end.  a fire is built in the center of an old wheel beneath to get it all goin

as the logs burn, the stones are heated until they are white hot

 

the stones are carefully shoveled into the bottom of a hole

 

brined pork, corned beef, chickens, leg of lamb, and veggies in wet muslin cloth (pumpkin, kumera and potatoes) on a bed of banana leaves await their sauna

 then gets covered with a wet old bed sheet

 wet burlap sacks and soil seal and insulate the top for a few hours