View Full Version : Hangi ovens
Could anyone tell me the best type of stones to use and also the ones to avoid.
bushwacker bob
21-04-2005, 23:50
Avoid flint and concrete and rocks collected from river beds.They're all potentially explosive :)
bombadil
22-04-2005, 00:40
Could anyone tell me the best type of stones to use and also the ones to avoid.
I notice that you live in Dorset. A lot of chalk and flint round there, neither of which are good for this sort of cooking. (Chalk crumbles and flint explodes) What's the ground like in your area?
And while I'm on this note, I'm going to the Azores in a few weeks, where I'm looking forward to trying my hand at making one of the local dishes, a stew cooked in a sack by burying it in hot volcanic soil! :D
bothyman
22-04-2005, 08:09
Don't use slate.
Once had someone make a fire on a piece of slate, no one realised what he had done till it started spitting shards of slate out .
I A lot of chalk and flint round there, neither of which are good for this sort of cooking. (Chalk crumbles and flint explodes) :D
See when flint explodes, does it make good useable flakes? or just mince.
I know that cooked(calcined?) flint is sometimes used for a kind of cement, but have no idea how it's done.
Cheers,
Toddy
Toddy, flint explodes into shards,basically due to expansion of water held within the flint, typically about 2.5%.
Chalk or shale is used to produce cement, never heard of flint being used.
Ideally you'd use volcanic rock but I'd imagine it is quite difficult to find over here.
One alternative I've heard of is to use cut-up lengths of railway track although you need to be careful as they get hotter and don't hold the heat as well.
If you decide to try for rocks anyway go for smooth, round river stones. Hit them with a hammer and listen to the sound they make. You want rocks that make a fairly high-pitched ringing sound.
Good luck.
Limestone, basalt, granite can all be used safely. Don't use any silica based rocks, as these tend to explode.
tenbears10
22-04-2005, 17:07
If you decide to try for rocks anyway go for smooth, round river stones.
Good luck.
Just don't get them out of the river, like Bushwacker bob said above, or they will have a bigger chance of exploding.
Thanks for that guys. Unfortunately living in dorset its mainly chalk with flint or sand :(
i have used granite stones heated in a fire for a sweat lodge with some success. the paving blocks from garden centres cost roughly 50p each and can be reused. i would steer clear of all river stones as i have seen go bang. scary stuff.
I read a book by Jean M Auel where flint is heated in a fire before knapping, changing the structure of the flint and making it better for knapping. She normally does a lot of research into her books, and her information is supposed to be spot on. Has anybody any experience of this?
Spamel
Kia Ora Mike,
Here is the NZ government's take on the hangi:
http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/foodborne-illnesses/hangi-guide/
There's a bit in here on how to select stones and also how to make sure your river stones are OK.
Have you decided what you'll cook yet? Some surprising things work very well - we used to get good results with steamed puddings for example. Remember to layer your food with the stuff needing the longest cooking at the bottom.
Cheers,
Huon
Thanks.
It is a great way to cook for lots of people. The food tastes amazingly good. Imagine a combination of steamed, smoked and baked.
Surprisingly until you think about it, many of the hangi experts back home tended to be teachers - hangis used to be popular at school fairs.
If you could get the OK from the people in charge of the space it would be worth trying at one of the gatherings. You need to watch nearby trees though as hangis for large numbers need a big fire to.
Cheers,
Huon
Thanks for the tips and the link.Looks like its the garden centre or a trip to chesel beach ( fairly near beach made up of boulders 100 to 300 mm)As for the food it will be roe or sika haunches.
Thanks for the tips and the link.Looks like its the garden centre or a trip to chesel beach ( fairly near beach made up of boulders 100 to 300 mm)As for the food it will be roe or sika haunches.
I know the beach - a friend lives a mile or two away in Abbotsbury. I can't remember what sort of stones are there (I thought you weren't supposed to take them :rolleyes:)
Don't forget the veg, particularly sweet potatoes. Nobody in NZ would make a hangi without kumeras!
Not allowed to take the stones from Chesel itself.Not sure if thats the law or local folk lore,but down at the Portland tail end its OK or at the other end near Little Sea.Never tried sweet potatoes must give them a try I have seen them in the shops.Just scrub and bake?
Hi Mike,
For a hangi scrub and bake will be fine. If non-hangi you can also chip, boil or mash them if you like.
Let me know how you get on.
Huon
zackerty
28-04-2005, 05:53
Nothing quite like a nibble on crayfish on the beach at Kaikoura, waiting for the kumura ( sweet potato), carrots etc, and pork hangi to be ready...Montieth's Black beer, and a little fire for light... :)
..I am feeling strangely peckish... :)
Motorbike Man
28-04-2005, 10:57
Not allowed to take the stones from Chesel itself.Not sure if thats the law or local folk lore,but down at the Portland tail end its OK or at the other end near Little Sea.Never tried sweet potatoes must give them a try I have seen them in the shops.Just scrub and bake?
Just for information, it's actually illegal to take stones or indeed sand as well off of any beach in England with out proper permissions and Chesil Beach in particular is extremely protected
Description - Surrounding the centre is the Chesil Bank and the Fleet Nature Reserve which is protected for both wildlife and geology. Both are rare habitats and have been selected as a Special Protected Area (SPA) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Fleet is protected internationally as a RAMSAR site. Chesil Bank consists of a 17 mile bank of pebbles stretching from West Bay to Portland and protects the Fleet which is the largest regularly tidal lagoon in Britain covering a surface area of 4.9 sq km. The Chesil Beach Centre is owned by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and The Illchester Estates, and manned by volunteers. The Reserve is managed by the Warden and volunteer staff.
from here (http://www.dorsetcc.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=16302) so if caught they will throw the book at you.
Nothing quite like a nibble on crayfish on the beach at Kaikoura, waiting for the kumura ( sweet potato), carrots etc, and pork hangi to be ready...Montieth's Black beer, and a little fire for light... :)
..I am feeling strangely peckish... :)
Hence the name Kaikoura which means something like meal of crayfish. I envy you, kumera is one the things from home I really miss living in London. As far as I'm concerned it is the best sweet potato in the world.
Crayfish is pretty good too :p
thanks for the input,have sourced the necessary stones (legally)
...and my wife has just located some kumeras in a local supermarket. No hangi but the chimenea got put to good use this evening :D