Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

“Traditional Jamaican Jerk Seasoning”

When one thinks of Jamaica a few things come to mind: white sandy beaches, Reggae music, and Jamaican Jerk. Jerk cooking is 100% Jamaican right down to its very core. Fragrant, savory, sweet, and tenaciously hot, jerk is truly a part of Jamaica’s history and can be traced back hundreds of years (at least since the middle of the seventeenth century) to the Maroons.

Traditional Jamaican Jerk is a method of cooking pork. Nowadays chicken, seafood, or beef can be seasoned in this manner as well. Jerk is a complex blend of seasonings including scallions, onions, scotch bonnet peppers, salt, thyme, allspice, black pepper, and many other spices. All of its ingredients grow on the island’s fertile green landscape.

Ask a Jamaican what the word “jerk” means they’ll tell you it refers to the motion in either turning the meat over burning coal or in chopping off the hunks of meat for customers. The explanation refers to the English form of a Spanish word of Indian origin that described a method of preparing pork. That method was then modified and then preserved by the Maroons.

How To Make Jerk Seasoning:

Alright already—enough of the food nerd stuff. Time to spill the beans! What’s in jerk seasoning? And please tell me how to make the best homemade jerk seasoning ever. Well, we thought you’d never ask! In a big bowl, gently combine:

Onion powder & garlic powder: this jerk dry rub is a perfect case for keeping these on-hand in your pantry (a case we’ve made before.)
Dried thyme.
Those baking spices: allspice, cloves, ginger, cinnamon
A little sweet: brown sugar
And a little heat: black pepper & cayenne pepper.

You Made a Whole Jar-Full of Dry Jerk Seasoning—Now What?
Now, you feast! We love to use jerk seasoning in:

Grilled jerk chicken kabobs.
Jamaican jerk chicken tacos.

P.S.Homemade jerk spice makes a really nice gift if you can manage not to use it all up before you gift it.

Jamaican Jerk is considered a national treasure. Many have attempted to imitate its unique flavor, but none can come even close to replicating it. Much like Reggae music, it is not only something that is distinctly Jamaican but also an expression of harmony, pride, and rich cultural history.