How to Barbecue Jamaican Style

Jerk is the best known Jamaican cooking style and certainly one of the most tasty. This fiery food is for those looking for spicy and plenty of it. We've had jerk so hot it burned our fingers with spice.

Just where jerk began is somewhat of a debate. Modern jerk originated in the 1930s along Boston Beach, east of Port Antonio. Here the first roadside (or wayside) stands first sprang up offering tasty jerk served in a super casual atmosphere. Today jerk stands are everywhere on the island but many aficionados still return to Boston Beach for the "real thing."

The practice of jerking meat dates back far before Boston Beach, however. We've run across many theories as to the origin of jerk:

*Jerk comes from the Spanish word charqui, jerked or dried meat.
*Jerk comes from a Spanish word that means preparing meat like the Quechua Indians of South America.
*Jerk came to Jamaica with the Caribs and the Arawaks and then was continued by the Maroons.
*Jerk was begun by the Maroons, who brought the cooking technique with them from Africa.

However it started, the practice of jerking meat was first recorded in 1698 by a French priest named Pere Labat. The practice possibly evolved from the Maroons, although the first report of cooking in this style is by a French priest named Pere Labat. He wrote of a jerk pit made with four forked sticks with crosspieces across these, then covered with a grill made of sticks. On the grill was placed a whole pig, stuffed with lime juice, salt and pimento. Those spices helped preserve the meat in the hot climate.

Today jerk is still cooked in a pit that contains a fire made of pimento wood. The meat, which is primarily pork but can also be chicken or fish, is marinated with jerk sauce. Every cook has his own favorite recipe but most include allspice (pimento) berries, cloves, garlic, onion, ginger, cinnamon, thyme, and peppers. Commercial jerk sauces are available for those who don't want to make their own (see Resources). Once the jerk is cooked to perfection, it is served up with side dishes such as breadfruit, rice and peas, and, usually, a delightful bread called festival.