A hāngī is cooked in the ground. Stones are heated in a fire until they glow, lowered into a pit, and baskets of food are set on top, meat underneath and vegetables above, wrapped in leaves or cloth, covered with wet sacks and buried under earth for several hours. The steam and heat do the rest, and when the earth is lifted away the food comes out tender, juicy and gently smoky. Hāngī are part of most large Māori gatherings and feed whole communities at once, and preparing one is a shared effort that starts hours before anyone eats.

Nobody pretends an oven can match an earth oven, any more than a simulator matches a lap of the real circuit. What it can do is borrow the principles: food packed tightly in layers, the meat at the bottom, plenty of moisture, a tight seal and a long, gentle cook. The result is a generous one pan feast of soft pork, falling apart chicken, sweet kūmara and pumpkin, potatoes that have soaked up all the juices, and a parcel of herby stuffing to soak up the juices.

It is made for a crowd, which makes it ideal for a race weekend gathering. Load the oven before qualifying winds down and it will be ready to share as the cars line up on the grid.

The meat

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) boneless pork shoulder
• 8 bone in, skin on chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon fine salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Method

1. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme in a small bowl. Pat the pork and chicken dry with paper towels, put them in the large bowl and rub the seasoning all over every piece.

Stuffing parcel

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (60 g) butter
• 1 large onion
• 6 cups (about 10 oz, 280 g) day old white bread
• 2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs or sage
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) chicken stock or water
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in the small frying pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often.
2. Put the torn bread in the medium bowl, add the onion and all the butter from the pan, the herbs, salt and pepper, and toss. Add the egg and stock and mix with your hands until it holds together when squeezed.
3. Tear off a large sheet of foil, about 18 inches (45 cm) long, and pile the stuffing in the middle in a rough log. Fold the foil over the top and pinch the ends closed, leaving it loosely wrapped so steam can get in through the ends.

Vegetables and layering

Ingredients

• 1 small green cabbage
• 2 lb (900 g) kūmara or sweet potatoes
• 2 lb (900 g) floury potatoes such as russet
• 2 lb (900 g) pumpkin or butternut squash
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil

Method

1. Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line the roasting pan with two long overlapping sheets of heavy duty foil, leaving at least 8 inches (20 cm) hanging over each side so you can wrap it over the top later. Lay half the cabbage leaves over the base and up the sides of the pan.
2. Arrange the pork pieces on the cabbage, then the chicken thighs skin side up around and on top of them, packed closely together. Pour the water into the corner of the pan.
3. Toss the kūmara, potatoes and pumpkin with the oil and a good pinch of salt. Pile them on top of the meat, with the pumpkin on the very top because it cooks fastest. Tuck the stuffing parcel in among the vegetables.
4. Lay the rest of the cabbage leaves over the top like a blanket. Fold the overhanging foil up and over everything and crimp the edges together tightly. Cover the whole pan with another sheet of foil and crimp it around the rim.
5. Carefully lift the pan into the oven and cook for 3 1/2 hours without opening it. Then take it out, open one corner with oven mitts, standing back from the steam, and test the pork and a piece of kūmara with a knife.
6. Lift off and discard the top cabbage leaves. Use tongs to move the meat and vegetables onto warm platters, unwrap the stuffing and break it into pieces, and spoon over some of the juices from the bottom of the pan.

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