Jerk Chicken and Jerk Pork

The meat is beef usually but not limited to chicken or pork. The main ingredients of the spicy jerk marinade sauce are allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers. From the crispy-skinned thighs coated with the warm heat, only jerk seasoning can deliver, to the rice scented with coconut milk, this one-skillet meal is all about the how much flavor you can pack into a single pan.

The ingredients for jerk seasoning vary slightly from recipe to recipe. There are always two mainstays you should always expect to see: scotch bonnet peppers (think: one step up from habaneros in both heat and flavor) and allspice. These two ingredients are what make jerk chicken taste like jerk chicken.

Traditional Jerk Chicken recipe magic

This recipe calls for wet jerk seasoning (like Grace or Walkerswood), rather than a jerk dry rub, so the flavor sinks in beyond the surface and into the chicken thighs.

The prepared message is easy to find in any grocery store with a robust international foods section. Remember that a little goes a long way when using jerk seasoning. A spoonful will do; it brings heat and spice to this skillet without totally overwhelming the dish.

The History of Jerk Chicken

Jerk chicken is a spicy grilled-meat dish that is most associated with Jamaica but common throughout the Caribbean. Jerk refers to a style of cooking in which the primary ingredient often is chicken. It may also be beef, pork, goat, boar, seafood, or vegetables.

They are coated in spices and slow-cooked over a fire or grill traditionally composed of green pimento wood positioned over burning coals; the resulting smoke is key to the flavor of the dish.

The cuisine had its origins with the Taino, who developed the jerk method and later taught it to African slaves, who, in turn, adapted it in creating jerk chicken. The word jerk reportedly stems from the Spanish charqui, meaning dried strips of meat similar to the modern-day jerky.

In Jamaica, jerk chicken is famous for its pungent marinade, marked by allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers, which are similar to habanero chili peppers. (Poking holes into the meat enables the marinade to spread.) Familiar side dishes include rice, beans, plantains, sweet potatoes, and small cornbread fritters called festival.

Traditional Jamaican Pork

Traditional Jamaican jerk pork is made on the grill until it is tender and tasty. The star of the show is the ingredients that give the jerk flavor. The pork butt traps in the sweet and spicy marinated spices, and the fat content gives the jerk pork more feeling than naturally basted meat.

Long, slow cooking on low heat brings out the juices and makes for a tender, more delicious cut of meat.

Jerk Pork is spicy so we do not skimp on the zest.

Jerk is supposed to be spicy, so we do not skimp on the zest. The result is flavorful and juicy pork roast with a blackened crust. This rustic dish is not easy to cut pork from the bone inelegant, even strips. Instead, just cut the jerk pork into large chunks to serve.

This juicy, flavorful pork takes time a few hours to brine, overnight to marinate, and 7 or 8 hours to smoke. It’s mostly hands-off and well worth it. In Jamaica, this is street food that’s eaten with rice and peas, grilled corn, or fried cornbread called festival.

There are two ways to cook jerk. One way is a grill with pimento wood branches, which will get you closer to the authentic Jamaican jerk experience. The second method is in the oven. Since you won’t be getting any smoke in the oven method, toast the whole spices in a dry, heavy skillet until fragrant before adding them to the marinade they’ll lend the finished sauce an additional layer of complexity.