Step 1: Dig a pit.
According to Wikipedia "
Kālua is a traditional Hawaiian cooking method that utilizes an imu, a type of underground oven. The word
kālua,
which literally means "to cook in an underground oven", may also be
used to describe the food cooked in this manner, such as kālua pig or
kālua turkey, which are commonly served at luau feasts."
Our yard is about to have an
underground oven!
Step 2: Acquire lava stone (City of Ivins gave permission to collect these stones for our luau)
Step 3: Place lava stone in pit and heat with wood.
Step 4: Remove wood when stones are hot.
Step 5: Move stone around to make it perfect for the meat.
Step 6: Place meat on fresh wood beams.
Step 7: Place planks on meat.
Step 8: Cover with leaves. In Hawaii they use whatever vegetation is in the area, like banana leaves. Banana leaves were used here. Did you know that those are available at the Mexican market?
Step 9: Cover hole with plywood.
Step 10: Cover plywood with dirt and watch for any escaping smoke..there must be nothing that escapes.
Step 11: Safety perimeter added.
About to pull the meat out which was cooked to perfection! You would think I would have taken a photo of the final product but I was enjoying it so much...I forgot! Thanks Sione Fa for showing us such an amazing tradition.
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