Jerk (cooking)
Jamaican jerk chicken | |
| Course | Main dish |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Jamaica |
| Created by | Indigenous Taínos |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Meat, pimento and scotch bonnet pepper. |
Key ingredients in jerk cooking:
Allspice (dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica)
Scotch bonnet peppers native to Jamaica (cultivar of Capsicum chinense).
Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica, in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet-marinated with a hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice.
The technique of jerking (or cooking with jerk spice) originated from Jamaica's indigenous peoples, the Arawak and Taíno tribes, and was adopted by the descendants of 17th-century Jamaican Maroons who intermingled with them.
The smoky taste of jerked meat is achieved by using various cooking methods, including modern wood-burning ovens. Chicken or pork is usually jerked, and the main ingredients of the spicy jerk marinade / sauce are allspice and scotch bonnet peppers, which are native to Jamaica.