Categorized | Bits and Bites, Chicken, Fish, Pork
A Classic Jamaican Jerk Marinade.
Posted on 14 January 2011
I just love the variety of exciting and scrumptious dishes you can find as you work your way up and down the islands that make up the Caribbean. To date I’ve not been to Jamaica, even though my friends who hails from there have extended several invitations the past few years. Hopefully I can make the trip down the next time they plan a vacation and finally get to see “jerk” done the traditional way. Until then, I’ll keep making my homemade marinade/sauce and hopefully you’ll give it a try. Beware! You won’t go back to the bottled stuff you get in the grocery store once you do though. You won’t believe how simple this is.
You’ll Need…
5 scallions (green onions)
5 sprigs of fresh thyme (about 1 tablespoon chopped)
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 scotch bonnet peppers
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 onion
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
Notes: If you’re using dried thyme, use about 1/2 table spoon. This makes about 3 cups of marinade and it can be stored in the fridge for about 1 month.
Basically all you’ll be doing is making a puree with all the ingredients I mentioned above. So you’ll need a blender or food processor.
Rough chop the scallions, peppers, garlic, onion and thyme and place in the food processor to make it easier to puree. Remember when working with these hot peppers to wear gloves (the natural oil is deadly). Also note that most of the heat is within the seeds and the membrane that surround the seeds. So to control the heat, discard those. However, for that true authentic Jamaican feel.. keep the entire peppers.
Now add all the other ingredients and pulse to start. Then run the puree speed for about 2-3 minutes until everything breaks down to a smooth consistency.
For best results use this sauce immediately, but marinate your pork, chicken or fish (haven’t tried beef yet) for at least 2 hours before grilling or roasting in the oven. The next recipe I post I’ll show you how simple it is to use this marinade/sauce to make the Ultimate Oven Jerk Chicken. Stay tuned.
In the coming months I’ll also show you a secret ingredient I use to give this a Canadian twist.. I can’t right now as I’m sending off a challenge to Bobby Flay (he’s taking entries for a new show he’s working on). Wish me luck.
Don’t forget to join us on Facebook and check out the cooking videos – see on the upper right side of the page for links to those. And before you go, do leave me your comments below – it’s appreciated.
BTW, as we “Trinis” do… you can always add our signature to this by adding a couple shots of rum (I would use a dark rum), a little shado beni and how could we forget a drop or two of Angostura bitters.
51 Responses to “A Classic Jamaican Jerk Marinade.”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
-
[...] time that I make this I will use the recipe on Carribean Pot. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to make everything from scratch like they did, but next [...]
Leave a Reply
- Tags
- Popular
- Latest
- Comments
- Subscribe
- snake: Chris i always try your recipes think that they ar...
- Lois Lawrence: Hi let me put your mind at ease you can bake witho...
- Lennox: Shado beni or Bhandania is also named Thai Parsley...
- Valerie: shrimp one of my favs & along with the spinach...
- brian: chicken wings curry tonight Caribbeanpot style. ...
-
bbq chicken
Beef
caribbean cooking
caribbean dessert
caribbean recipe
Caribbean recipes.
caribbean soup
caribbean vegetarian recipe
chris de la rosa
curry shrimp
fish recipe
hot sauce
how to cook pumpkin
how to grill chicken
jamaican callaloo
Jamaican hot sauce
jamaican oxtail recipe
jamaican recipe
jamaican recipes
jamaican soup
jerk
Jerk Chicken
jerk marinade
jerk pork
oxtail recipe
pepper sauce
recipe
recipes from trinidad
soup
spinach recipe
the wicked chef
trini cooking
trinidad recipe
trinidad recipes
trinidad soup recipe
trini food
trini pepper sauce
trini pumpkin recipe
trini recipe
trini recipes
trini soup
vegetarian recipe
vegetarian recipes
vegetarian soup
yam
Stay up to date
- Subscribe to the RSS Feed
- Subscribe to the feed via email
Very similar to my recipe but I use a lot more scotch bonnets =0
his name is bobby flay eh plz don't go callin d man bobby flaw keep up th great recipes btw!!!!!!
Jum ah thought ,pimento is the secret ,according to the youtube vid .
Can hardly wait to see your Ultimate Oven Jerk Chicken Recipe – please post it SOON!!!!!
Ha ha. I have just served this up to my daughter and she devoured it and wants seconds. She said "No offence dad but it tastes nothing like the Jerk that we buy in our favourite takeaway but it is still delicious" I will work on it and tweak until I come to the taste that suits me.
FYI You should of taken of skinned ur chicken!
man i am so grreatful for this recipe. what is in the supermarket has msg. i prefer the local touch. Thanks fior the recipe .
I am definately going to try this recipe for the Jerk Marinade and when I do I will get back to you . Smile
Yum looks good!
I will try out some of your ideas and recipes…stay tuned! "One Dish One Love" Las Vegas!
Do you use the stalks of the fresh thyme? My marinade is coming out heaps bitter…
Ah! I thinks it's the scallions! Don't blend the scallions — they bitter the marinade right up… just chop them and fold them into the other blended ingredients…
HOW COME HERE THE MARINADE LOOKS BROWN AND ON THE OTHE RPAGE ITS BRIGHT RED THE FUCK. THE COLOR IS THE ONLY THING THAT BROUGHT ME HERE SO…
Lovely use of language ms. The final color you see is after it's been in the oven. Take a look at the ingredients of this and/or any jerk marinade and tell me where the 'red" would come from. That's the natural color after roasting in the oven..
WOW!!! Angela! What's with the hatin'? What's with the language?
Is your vocabulary so poor that you have to use such language?
This recipe is terrific, I love it. Thanks so much. I told my brother about this recipe and he can’t get enough either. Thanks again.
Gracias Christ, tu eres el mejor!!!!!!
ate this last night and it was amazing, so moreish. I completely forgot to add the orange juice to the marinade, but then just squeezed some over the chicken just before putting it in the oven and it still came out great. definate standby recipe.
Um, does anyone know how to print a recipe?
mine came out brownish yellow (kinda like curry)??
Did you forget or measure short on the soy sauce?_
If you add a little bit of Browning liquid to the marinade you'll get it darker. If you've not seen this before a lot of stores that stock Caribbean ingredients will have it as it is used quite a bit for getting meat that dark colour; it's flavourless and works just like food colouring. Beware though as a little of this stuff goes a long way. Add too much and your marinade will come out almost black (but it'll still be super tasty!)
I’m going to try this with beef. I’ll keep you posted.I cant wait
YUM YUM!!
Great recipes!!! Whenever I cook, I alwz look at ur recipes first. They’re gr8! Especially wit that trini flavor combination. Keep up d good work! I depend on u wen I cook!
Hi Chris,
I must say that Ms Angela is an idiot and have no manners whatsoever. She should be very grateful for the wonderful recipes that you're giving us. I came here to get that recipe today because I'm going to make Jerk Chicken, Bajan Rice and Peas and a lovely Cole Slaw. Thanks again for all your great recipes Chris, God bless!
Hi Chris,
I must let you know that the Jerk Chicken I made this evening came out perfect. I also made the Bajan Rice and Peas and a Cole Slaw to go with it. My Dinner couldn't be any better! Thanks again for the recipes.
I returned to my fave inn in Jamaica after ~10 years and they no longer barbecue authentic jerk–they use a canned sauce and add it afterward to the chicken, and no more pork. So I told my boyfriend I'd look it up and make it right at home. Your recipe worked great!!! Thanks!
they dont have scotch bonnet peppers at my local fry's can I use Habanero?
oh yes; that is what I used. There was a "pepper" guide at the grocers that said scotch bonnets were comparable to habaneros.
Asain supermarkets usually carry scotch bonnet peppers – they have a very distinct taste that isn't found in any other hot pepper. They are a must for real jerk flavour!
Thanks for the recipe; however, my years in Jamaica and being married to a Jamaican I don’t remember the jerk seasoning quite so liquidy. Nor as sweet as yours…usually is a bit thicker and much more peppery. This is a nice variation from the traditional one though. Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe was absolutely the BOMB! Terrific; I made it for a huge gathering of people (toned down the hot; put it had a KICK!); they loved it and I made a hotter batch for myself as well as passing your site on to both my sisters. I'll look out for more recipes.
I just tried this today for the first time . I ‘m sensitive to salt so I find the soy sauce a little overpowering. Has anyone tried this without the soy sauce? Was it good?
Why not just try low sodium soy sauce? Just an idea, hope it helps.
This recipe looks so yummy! I've never had jerk chicken so I'm quite anxious to try it. I think I'll use the full marinade recipe (3 cups) on two whole chickens (cut up). Hope it works out well
This was absolutely delicious!! The entire family loved it…they loved the flavors so much that now they want me to make jerk chicken wontons!!! lol…..gonna make them tonight
im going to give this a whirl tomoz
My husband asked me to make "something Caribbean" this week, and I stumbled upon your site. You have so many awesome recipes! I decided to try something 'safe' like jerk pork for the first time trying Caribbean cooking and this absolutely did not disappoint! My husband and I devoured it and our exchange student from China thought it was amazing! Then, my twin 22 month olds BOTH ate it AND asked for seconds! This never happens! so thanks for a great meal that the entire family loved!
thanks for the recipe i am wondering how long this marinade will stay in the fridge before developing a distasteful taste? I have it made and will be waiting to thaw out my chicken then apply the marinade this evening to sit for 6 hours … does that sound ok? or should i use it within the next 12 hours? thanks so much
this marinade is AWESOME!!!! I've tried it and my Husband loved it and my 2 girls 8 and 3, thanks for sharing I love your food and will be back to this site often.
Gorgeous! I now live in New Zealand, where they don’t have jerk marinades or scotch bonnets! so had to use Thai hot chiles instead…. But it was still delicious! My kiwi husband had never had anything like a jerk sauce…. I used it on a pork loin and some grilled pineapple for a salad. Thank you so much for the recipe. I’ve added it to my favorites.
hey Christo ,how come it took so long to put this up, this is the ducks nuts!!! unreal
This marinated looks like the ingredients of any decent jerk marinated. great if you simply want to make jerk chicken. Once in a while, you have some jerk chicken in Jamaica, grand Cayman’s Boden town, or S. FL. all made by real jamaicans and they taste unbelievable and traditional & authentic. you realize that their recepie is different and that they are also using something different (maybe tamarind or some other unique ingredient; i have no idea). But this receipe isn’t it. For the right taste, ingredients are everything. For example, Chinese Jamaicans use soy sauce, but i can gurantee that they are not using Kikkoman regular or lite soy sauce. most Jamaica do not even use soy sauce in authentic jerk. If u feel your marinade is to salty, add some now sugar or vinegar. either way, I wish I could find a truly famous authentic jerk receipe.. ps, i believe fresh pigment seed and great young pimento leaves and yellow (little pumpkin looking) scotch bonnets (and green scotch connects) are an absolute MUST). I hope someone can add something vauluable. Your hopeless Jerk, David : )
Very good recipie. I've been making jerk chicken for years & I've had several variations. I use mango nectar & rum. When I'm too lazy to make my own Marinade I.cheat & buy Walkerswood Jerk Marinade. Its the next best thing. Thanks so much for sharing, delicious.
This recipe is the bomb!! Last night, I had some extra marinade left over so I put it on some fish…it was delish!!!! Chris, you're truly a cookin genius.
I love Island food and this jerk chicken recipe was the BOMB……….I will be back for more recipes and THANKS…….
GOOD LUCK … WITH THE CHALLENGE….. HAVENT TRY THE JERK CHICKEN YET.. PRETTY SURE IS FANTASTIC…… I WILL MAKE IT SOME TIME NEXT WEEK…. I WILL LET YOU KNOW …. LOVE MARGARITA JIMENEZ FROM DAVIE . FLORIDA…..
Great recipe info! I've never made Jerk chicken before (just didn't feel confident enough about the recipes I had seen prior to this one) but NOW, I'm gonna dive in and make it next weekend! Thanks so much for sharing!
) Greetings from Chicago!