How to Make an Imu

Enhance your Hawaiian wedding or luau with this traditional and delicious kalua pig dish, which is cooked underground for the entire day.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Kalua Pigs
• Shovels
• Banana Leaves
• Shovels

1. Select an existing pit to use or dig your own. The hole should be up to 5 feet deep to hold a 125-lb. pig.

2. Fill the bottom of the pit with dry, rounded rocks.

3. Start a fire in the pit with kiawe wood and other kindling.

4. Watch for the rocks to turn white.

5. Remove the larger pieces of wood so they don't continue to burn and scorch the pig.

6. Form a bed of rocks that will support the pig at the bottom of the pit.

7. Lay banana stalks over the hot rocks to cover them. They'll serve as a liner between the pig and the rocks.

8. Prepare the kalua pig on a table (or on planks) by sticking hot rocks in its armpits.

9. Tie the pig with chicken wire so the rocks stay put.

10. Move the pig carefully and place it into the pit. You'll need several people to carry the weight.

11. Set moist banana leaves on top of the pig to seal in the heat.

12. Wet a heavy tarp and lay it over the hole to trap the heat and steam inside.

13. Shovel 6 inches of sand on top of the mound to close it off completely.

14. Allow approximately 9 hours or more for the pig to roast.

Tips & Warnings

• Set out a long table with other luau foods that represent a broad range of cultures. Include Hawaiian poi, which is a pounded starch made from cooked taro root; lomi-lomi salmon, which can be traced back to whalers of the Pacific Northwest; coconut milk custard; and the banana leaves that were used to cook the pig.
• Make sure you put only dry rocks in the pit. If there's any moisture in the rocks, they can shoot out of the pit and cause serious injury.