Māori earth oven: meat and vegetables on heated rocks, covered with earth for four hours. The smoke and earth flavour that comes from the pit is something no oven can reproduce.
About Hangi
New Zealand's most ancient feast — a Māori earth oven in which meat (pork, chicken, lamb), root vegetables (kumara, potato, pumpkin) and stuffing-filled pork are wrapped in tin foil and wet cloth, lowered onto heated rocks in a lined pit and covered for three to four hours; the steam-cooking imparts a smoky, earthy flavour that no conventional oven can replicate; prepared for every marae gathering and tangi.
New Zealand's most ancient feast: a Māori earth oven in which pork, chicken, lamb, kumara (sweet potato), potato and pumpkin are wrapped in tin foil and wet cloth, lowered onto heated rocks in a lined pit and covered with earth for three to four hours. The steam-cooking imparts a smoky, earthy flavour that no conventional oven can replicate. Prepared for every marae gathering and tangi.
“The steam-cooking imparts a smoky, earthy flavour that no conventional oven can replicate.”
The hangi is dug, fired and sealed in the morning. The reveal — when the earth is removed and the steam rises — happens in the afternoon. The smell that escapes when the pit is opened is unmistakable.
What to Expect
The hangi is opened in a cloud of steam and earth-smoke. The meat inside is tender beyond what any roasting method produces. The vegetables have absorbed the fat and the earth flavour. Everything smells of the fire that was burning six hours ago.
Why Try It
Hangi is New Zealand's most direct connection to Māori culture through food — a technique unchanged in its fundamentals for a thousand years.
Insider Tips
- Ask at marae community centres or Te Papa museum in Wellington about public hangi events.
- The smoked flavour is the point — if you want un-smoked food, the hangi is the wrong choice.
- The kumara (sweet potato) absorbs the meat fat and is the best vegetable component.
