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What is Jerk?
A little history:
The term jerk is said to come from the word charqui, a Spanish
term for jerked or dried meat, which eventually became jerky in
English. Another origin is linked to the jerking or poking of the
meat with a sharp object, producing holes which were then filled
with the spice mixture. Like most Caribbean islands, Jamaican foods
are derivative of many different settlement cultures, including
British, Dutch, French, Spanish, East Indian, West African, Portuguese,
and Chinese. The origins of jerk pork can be traced back
to the pre-slavery days of the Cormantee hunters of West Africa
through the Maroons, who were Jamaican slaves that escaped from
the British during the invasion of 1655.
What is Jamaican jerk?
Jerk is the process of spicing and grilling meats, poultry,
and even vegetables, although the most popular are jerk pork
and jerk chicken. The resulting food yields a spicy-sweet
flavor and a tender texture. Jerk is also used as a noun when describing
the dry or wet seasoning mix used to jerk a particular food.
The ingredients can vary, depending on the cook, but Jamaican jerk
blend is generally a combination of chilies, thyme, spices (such
as cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cloves), garlic and onions. Jerk
seasoning can be either rubbed directly onto meat, or blended with
a liquid to create a MARINADE.
Be forewarned, if you cannot handle spicy-hot foods, jerk
may not be for you. Deletion of the chili pepper vastly changes
the end product, and it's just not jerk without the heat!
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