Māori hāngī lamb

Lamb cooked in a hāngī is part of a meal prepared in a Māori earth oven. Tourism New Zealand lists lamb among the meats included today, alongside vegetables such as potato, pumpkin, cabbage and kūmara. Food is held above hot stones in a pit, covered with wet cloth and soil to retain heat.^[1]

Te Ara describes the cooking as steaming, with meat below the vegetable layer. Leaves, flax matting or cloth can cover the food before the pit is closed. Hāngī is especially suited to feeding groups, and remains part of special occasions and large gatherings. In Rotorua, geothermal steam also provides a means of cooking it.^[2]