Cooking Technologies and Processes: Pit Ovens and Steaming

Pit ovens were adjuncts to the hearth and were used extensively. Fairly large pits could service a group event; a small pit served one family. Small cooking pits were valuable to those traveling unencumbered by heavy or breakable pots. Some pit ovens were dug into clay-rich soil that underwent a kind of firing during the cooking, thereby sealing in flavor and moisture. Pits sometimes outnumbered hearths. Pits were used for steaming shellfish in permanent coastal Massachusetts sites.

Pit cooking was a low-temperature, slow-cooking, steaming process, sometimes requiring a full twelve hours, usually overnight. This method was ideal for special festival food and allowed travelers substantial morning meals without drawing on travel time. The gentle, moist heat worked well for vegetables, which were sometimes cooked in combination with game or fish. Traditional recipes expanded after contact to include meat from domesticated animals (chicken and pork) and imported root vegetables. The Wampanoag clambakes in coastal Massachusetts still use traditional clams, lobster, and corn as well as introduced sausage, onions, and potatoes. Similar evolutions are found at Rhode Island clambakes and with southern pit-roasted barbecue.