Umu Moa (Sāmoan Hot-Stone Whole Chicken)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 7-quart Dutch oven or deep roasting pan with a tight lid
• •Kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Foil for sealing the leaf bundle

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the moa

   Pat the chicken dry, inside and out, then rub the salt and pepper all over the skin and inside the cavity. Work the seasoning into the joints and under the wings. Simple food asks you to do the simple part well.

   Salt the chicken the night before if you can. The meat seasons deeper and cooks up juicier, same bird, better patience.
2. 2

   Fill and tie

   Tuck the sliced onion and garlic, if using, into the cavity. Rub the outside with oil or butter, then tie the legs together so the bird cooks evenly. In the old stone oven, the leaf and the heat do most of the talking, so don't bury the chicken under too much seasoning.

3. 3

   Soften the leaves

   Pass the banana leaves briefly over a burner flame or lay them in a warm oven until they turn flexible and glossy. Trim the stiff center ribs. The leaf is the wrapper, the scent, and the memory of the umu all at once.

4. 4

   Wrap it tight

   Lay the leaves in a wide cross, set the chicken breast-side up in the middle, and fold the leaves around it snugly. If your leaves are torn, patch them with another piece. Wrap the bundle in foil for the home oven, because your kitchen doesn't have a pile of hot stones and banana leaves holding everything down.

   No banana leaf where you live? Use parchment under foil. Eat what you have. The leaf gives better scent, but the meal can still feed people.
5. 5

   Cook covered

   Heat the oven to 375F. Set the wrapped chicken in a heavy Dutch oven or roasting pan with the water or stock in the bottom, cover tight, and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes. Don't keep opening it. The job is moist heat, leaf scent, and time.

6. 6

   Brown the skin

   Open the foil and leaves carefully, folding them back so the top of the chicken is exposed. Return it to the oven uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the skin is golden and glossy and the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165F. The juices should run clear, not pink.

7. 7

   Rest and share

   Rest the chicken 15 minutes in the opened leaves so the juices settle back into the meat. Spoon over a little thick coconut cream if you want that modern table richness, or leave it plain with its salty pan juices. Carve it for the whole spread, with taro, breadfruit, rice, palusami, or whatever your table has that day.

Chef Tips

• •If you are cooking in a real Sāmoan umu, learn the build from Sāmoan people who carry that work. The stones, the order, the covering, and the serving all have meaning beyond a written recipe.
• •Use a sturdy chicken with some fat on it. A very lean bird can dry out before the leaf and heat finish their work.
• •Fresh coconut cream is beautiful here, but don't force it where it doesn't belong. For umu moa, salt, leaf, and heat are already enough. Coconut cream can sit beside it, not overtake it.
• •Leftovers are not second-class food. Pull the chicken into rice, tuck it beside sapasui, or make a plate lunch with cabbage and pan juices. We no waste good food.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt the chicken up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate uncovered or loosely covered so the skin dries a little.
• •Thaw frozen banana leaves overnight in the refrigerator, then wipe them clean and trim the ribs before cooking.
• •Cooked umu moa keeps 3 days in the refrigerator. Store the meat with its pan juices and rewarm gently, covered, so it stays moist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 245g)