Kālua
To maintain even heating and to retain the meat's natural moisture, the meat is covered with more layers of vegetation such as ti and banana leaves, then covered with a layer of soil at least several inches deep ensuring that no steam escapes. The layers of vegetation covering the food must extend past the edges of the pit to ensure the food is not contaminated by the soil it is buried under. The meat is then left to cook in the pit for several hours. When the meat is fully cooked, it is removed from the imu and shredded. Modern adaptations to the traditional cooking method include the use of wet burlap material as a substitute for the vegetation or to reduce the amount of vegetation needed, and also the use of non-galvanized steel chicken wire or mesh wrapped around the food to aid in its removal when cooked. The characteristic flavor of kālua pig is imparted by the smoke from the hardwood but more importantly the use of ti leaves to wrap the meat. The flavor of the ti leaf is what differentiates kālua pig from other methods of cooking a whole hog slowly using a hardwood fire.
Kālua-3