When you think of Jamaica, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
Besides beautiful beaches and vacation spots, Jamaica offers amazing
food and culture. One of their most popular imports is the method of
jerk, which can be applied to everything from seafood to meat. It
produces the most succulent and tender meat, not to mention hot and
spicy! You'll find jerk stands throughout the Caribbean—as it's
practically their form of fast food. That's the best part about
jerk—once you've made the rub and marinated the meat overnight, it's
ready for grilling. There couldn't be an easier dish for feeding a
ravenous crowd this upcoming Memorial day weekend.
Barbecuing is
synonymous with Memorial day as well as jerk. Traditionally it's either
smoked in open pits or barbecued in steel drum grills. Here in the
States, where jerk has been popular for many years, it's either
oven-roasted or grilled over charcoal or gas. What sets jerk apart from
any other type of barbecue is its particular blend of spices, including
the essential allspice, which is called pimento in Jamaica. There they
not only grind the dried berries for the jerk rub, but they also use the
pimento wood and leaves for smoking the meat. The next most important
ingredient is Scotch bonnet pepper. As you can imagine it provides a lot
of heat. Jerk wouldn't be jerk without some form of heat, making you
sweat and cool down in a hot Caribbean climate.