Dinner found THE Kalau family of Papakolea made sure to call the Fire Department before they started a fire yesterday morning -- an imu fire, that is.
under ground
Using imus to cook Thanksgiving
meals may become traditionBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.comBackyard fires to begin the process of roasting turkeys in the Polynesian way, in an underground oven, is apparently a growing Thanksgiving tradition in Hawaii, the Fire Department says.
"It's a family kind of thing when the ohana is getting together," said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo.
About 300 Oahu residents notified the Honolulu Fire Department that they would have imu fires either on Thanksgiving Day or the day before.
The number of reported imu fires prompted the department to issue a press release to encourage underground chefs to notify them first.
If people do not report an imu fire, the Fire Department may have to send a company to check on it, Soo said.
That way, any neighbors smelling smoke can be informed that an imu fire, and not a house, is burning. Cooking food is not subject to state air pollution laws.
"The problem is when we go out on a false alarm," said Capt. Herb Knudsen of the Wailupe station.
"It's not exactly a false alarm with an imu fire. If something more critical comes up, then it may take a little longer to respond.
"I got no problem with imu fires. I'm in favor of them. I always ask, 'What time does it come out?'" Knudsen said.
Soo emphasized taking safety precautions by having water available, making sure the fire is not near one's home, not having combustibles nearby, having adult supervision when children are around, and not leaving the imu unattended.
On occasion, house fires have started from imus, Soo said.
In Papakolea the cooking began early yesterday morning. The Kalaus burned a whole cord of kiawe wood to heat up rocks used to roast six turkeys, two hams, eight pork butts and several sweet potatoes.
John Kalau, 73, passed on the tradition of imu cooking to his only son, John III, who directed the operation, as well as three grandsons.
"He wanted to do it on his own, so all I do is just stand by and make sure everything is OK," John Sr. said. He said the tradition will fade if is not passed on to the younger generation.
"It's like the Hawaiian language," he said. "You don't pass it on, nobody would know Hawaiian."
His wife, Haleiwa Kalau, said it had been about 10 years since the family had imu-baked Thanksgiving turkeys, and liked it because it saves her time in the kitchen.
"For once, let the mothers rest and relax, and we do the work and keep the tradition alive," John III said.
At 1:30 p.m., Kalani Keinath, Kalau's brother-in-law, noted the mound of earth had sunk.
"When it's cooked, it drops down and you have the aroma," said Keinath, who lent his expertise and muscle.
Family, neighbors and friends watched hungrily as the men, using shovels, picks and hoes, unearthed their Thanksgiving dinner.
With their bare hands, the men pulled off layers of steaming banana and ti leaves to reveal the golden-brown turkeys and other roast meat and potatoes as the smoky aroma wafted up from the pit.
"Winna," John III said after tasting the turkey hot out of the imu.
"It's moist, juicier, tender, just falls off the bone," he said, compared with oven-roasted turkey.
"We can move on to bigger things now. This was like practice."