Sage-Tips

How do you make an imu pit?

To build an imu, a lua or round pit, about 2 feet to 4 feet deep with sloping sides, is dug into the earth. The diameter and depth of the lua will match the amount of food to be cooked. The pit must be large enough to contain not only the food, but the rocks and the vegetation. Keep the imu as compact as possible.

What is the name of the underground oven where the kalua pork is prepared?

imu
The completed underground oven is called an imu. If you attend a luau in Hawaii today, chances are you’ll have the opportunity to see an imu, where your evening’s kalua pig is being cooked. Most luaus have what is called an “imu ceremony” where they open the imu and remove the cooked pig.

How do you cook kalua pig in the ground?

A favorite lu’au dish is kalua (kah-loo-ah) pork, which literally means “pork baked underground.” According to Island custom, the preferred method to cook a pig is in an underground oven (called an imu [EE-moo]): A whole pig is placed over a fire in a pit lined with banana leaves and hot rocks, is covered with hot …

What is Hawaiian imu?

The imu is an underground oven and one of the simplest and most ancient cooking structures. Kālua, which means “to cook in an underground oven”, is a traditional Hawaiian cooking method that utilizes an imu. The word kālua may also be used to describe the food cooked in this manner, such as kālua pig or kālua turkey.

What does IMU mean in Hawaiian?

Definition of imu : a Hawaiian cooking pit in which hot stones bake the food.

How does an imu oven work?

Simply put, an imu is an oven created by digging a hole into the ground. While it may seem like an easy method of cooking, especially since it allows for large quantities of food to be slow-cooked at one time, there’s a reason why the imu is almost exclusively used for large ceremonies and parties.

What is served with kalua pork?

Kalua Pork is traditionally served with cooked cabbage (recipe below) and rice so I fill the containers with rice, pork, and cabbage and then put in a side of pineapple and call it good.

What are Lau Laus?

Lau lau is a Hawaiian dish made of pork and butterfish wrapped in lu’au leaves and ti leaves. Lau lau is steamed and eaten with rice and poi. It’s a real treat!

What is a Hawaiian imu?

What’s it called when you cook a pig in the ground?

The pit that you cook the pig in is called the imu, and the meat that it prepares — noted for its soft, moist consistency — is called kalua pork. The most important ingredient for cooking a pig in the ground? Plenty of aloha put into every step. (While the word is a greeting, is also means love and affection.)

How do you cook kalua pork?

Baking Kalua Pork with an Imu. According to Island custom, the preferred method to cook a pig is in an underground oven (called an imu [EE-moo]): A whole pig is placed over a fire in a pit lined with banana leaves and hot rocks, is covered with hot rocks, sand and dirt, bakes for a whole day and is removed at sunset for a community feast.

How did they get the meat from the Kalua pigs?

Two men would grab the hot chicken wire and lift the pigs out of the hot imu and place them on large tables. The chicken wire was then taken off and the kalua pig meat was picked. and placed in insulated boxes. The meat was then taken to a luau, at a different location, for consumption. Some of the meat was reserved for the workers meal.

How long to cook a whole pig in an IMU?

A large whole pig, in a good hot imu, may take from 6 to 8 hours of steaming time. This kind of cooking takes years of experience, there is no need for a meat thermometer here. When the cooking was done, the dirt was removed revealing the steaming burlap bags.

How to prepare food to go inside the IMU?

Now it is time to get to work on preparing the food to go inside the Imu. For all food there are a few key things to think about. All food should be very clean, all hands should be washed many times in the process, and all tables should be washed with bleach water.