Jerk marinade in a jar surrounded by ingredients

Sizzling Jamaican Jerk Marinade Recipe.

June 2, 2025February 18, 2025Leave a Comment

The original Jamaican Jerk Marinade was shared in 2011. After many requests, I then shared the Mild version for those of you who love the flavors of Jamaican Jerk with the heat. This is a more updated and refined version (arguably, there’s no need for it) of that original recipe I shared when I did the Smoked Jerk Turkey a few years back.

You’ll Need…

6 scallions (roughly chopped)
10-14 sprigs thyme (remove woody stems)
2 scotch bonnet peppers
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Pimento (allspice) powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 lime (juice)
1 lemon (juice)
4-5 thick slices of ginger
8 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
2 medium onions (roughly chopped)

Notes! If making this Jerk marinade gluten-free, please use a gluten-free soy sauce or Tamari, but please read the label. When handling Scotch Bonnet peppers, wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately afterward. Yes, Habanero peppers will work nicely if you cannot source Scotch Bonnet peppers. May I recommend that you follow along with the video below, as much more about the recipe is discussed there?

Preparing this Jamaican Jerk Marinade involves three steps: Wash and prep everything that needs attention.

Everything is placed in a blender or food processor (step 2).

I like using a food processor because I have more control over the consistency of the finished marinade. If you are using a blender and you want it with a bit of texture, I recommend that you pulse it rather than have it go continuously.

Once you’re happy with the consistency (step 3), marinate your chicken, pork, or fish with it or place it in a plastic container in the fridge for later use.

It will keep in the fridge for at least a month.

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry Seafood

Mild Jamaican Jerk Marinade.

May 27, 2025September 24, 20243 Comments

Over the years dad’s tolerance for anything spicy has diminished considerably, and it’s to the point where he can’t handle any ‘spicy’ heat. Sadly it means no more of his fav Jerk Pork and Jerk Chicken. With that in mind and with a new crop of Pimento (seasoning) Peppers in the garden, I knew I had a solution.

You’ll Need…

1 large onion (chopped)
6-8 pimento peppers
6 scallions (chopped)
15-20 sprigs thyme (no woody stems)
4 thick slices of ginger
8 cloves garlic
3/4 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoon Pimento (allspice) berries
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
3/4 tablespoon black pepper
3 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 cup rice vinegar (any plain vinegar will work)
1 cup veg oil
6 bay leaves
2 tablespoon mushroom flav soy sauce

Notes. If making this marinade gluten free, use Tamari instead of soy sauce. May I suggest that you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is discussed there. Especially why you’ll get better results from crushing the pimento berries vs using already ground allspice. Likewise for grating the nutmeg fresh vs using nutmeg powder. Using the pimento peppers will give you the scent, flavors and oils of a scotch bonnet without the heat.

Give the necessary ingredients a good wash with cool water, drain and rough chop. Be mindful that if you use thyme with woody stems it will not break down and become a potential choking hazard later on when you use the jerk marinade.

Crush the pimento (allspice) berries (seeds).

As explained in the video I prefer using a food processor instead of a blender as I like the finished jerk marinade to have a bit of texture. However, if you want a more smooth paste, the choice is all yours.

Place everything in the food processor and go at it for a couple minutes. Why I included bay leaves in the marinade is explained in the video.

I didn’t add the thyme to the mixture at first as I didn’t have room in the food processor.

Should you want to use honey or maple syrup instead of the brown sugar, it’s all up to you.

If you can source the pimento peppers (try West Indian and Asian supermarkets), you’ll understand what I mean about the fragrance once you cut into them. Disclaimer! Typically there’s no heat in pimento peppers, however the odd time (depending how close they’re planted to spicy peppers) they can be spicy. Nibble on a piece to confirm before you go all in.

If you don’t have a lemon, you may add the juice of a couple limes. In the past I’ve used orange, clementine and mandarin juices with great success.

After a minute or two, you may scrape down the sides of the food processor and add the thyme. Continue until you get the consistency you desire.

Store in glass jars in your fridge for up to 6 months. Be sure to stir well before you season and marinate your meats and seafood, for that wicked Jamaican jerk kick!

Yes, no scotch bonnet peppers, but you’ll be very happy with the pimento pepper replacement. Especially if you’re like my dad and heat is your enemy!

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate Jerk Burger.

October 25, 2016July 21, 20165 Comments

Last weekend I was asked “what’s your specialty?” in reference to what I cook and without hesitation I said it’s not so much a dish or category of food, but technique. As we continue July’s Month Of Grilling, I’m sure you can tell that I quite enjoy working with the raw heat of the grill. The essence of the fire changes the overall dish in such a manner that’s almost impossible to duplicate on a stove or oven. While we’re not using pimento wood to give the burgers that unique “Jamaican Jerk” depth, I assure you that you’ll be amazed by what a simple jerk marinade can do to basic ground beef.

If you follow me on twitter, the ‘I just had the best burger” tweet was this!

You’ll Need…

1 lb ground beef
3 small scallions
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 lemon (juice + zest)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/3 teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/5 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 Pineapple sliced.

NOTE: If doing these jerk burgers gluten free, do pay close attention to the list of ingredients… especially the Soy Sauce to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Grate the ginger and finely chop the thyme, scallions and scotch bonnet pepper. Be mindful that you can use less of that scotch bonnet pepper if you’re concerned about the raw heat. While jerk is supposed to be spicy, you can also remove the seeds and white membrane surrounding the seeds to help control that heat. BE sure to wash your hands with soap and water after handling such hot peppers.

Add all the ingredients in a bowl (except the ground beef) and give it a good mix to combine. You may wonder if you can puree this in a blender or food processor, but I prefer to have it chopped instead, so you gets hits of flavor with each bite.

Reserve a 1/4 of the marinade and pour the rest over the ground beef and mix well. Allow this to marinate for about 15 minutes before making the individual beef patties (makes 4 burgers). Form the burgers and place in the fridge to firm up a bit so they don’t fall apart on the grill. I do NOT use eggs or bread crumbs in my burgers.

As they firm up in the fridge, peel and slice your pineapple and marinate with the marinade we reserved.

All you have to do now is brush your HOT grill with veg oil (so the burgers don’t stick) and grill as you’d normally grill your burgers. I placed them over direct heat and had the pineapple slices gently warm through away from the direct heat. BTW, in the image below you’ll notice that I poured the marinade from the pineapple slices over the burgers so it wouldn’t waste.

I grilled the burgers for about 10-15 minutes, flipping them occasionally. After I moved the burgers, I placed the pineapple slices over the direct heat for about -3-5 minutes to help get the sugars out.

That natural smoke from the charcoal fire added some of the elements the pimento wood would bring to the jerk game, but you can certainly grill these on a propane grill with much success. The same cane be said for cooking these off indoors in a frying pan or indoor grill plate. The bold flavors from the spices and herbs will be enough to elevate these burgers no matter where or how they are cooked.

Back to what’s my specialty.. I don’t specialize in BBQ or grilling, but it brings me the most joy. BUT.. I hate that smoke (and sort of greasy feeling) on my face though!

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Gluten Free Jerk Marinade (for Chicken, Pork, Shrimp and Fish)

May 27, 2025July 28, 2015Leave a Comment

Over the years I’ve shared countless recipes for making jerk marinades, sauces, how to make finger-licking Jamaican jerk in the oven and classic jerk on your grill and bbq. As we continue our annual July Month Of Grilling I thought I’d shift focus and share a gluten friendly version of a classic Jamaican jerk marinade for our friends who deal with gluten intolerance. A jerk marinade which goes well with fish, shrimp, pork and in this case, some chicken legs which we’ll marinate before slowly cooking them over a moderate coals-fire in the back yard.

You’ll Need…

8 lbs chicken legs.

For the gluten free jerk marinade…

4 scallions
1 orange (juice)
1 lime (juice)
1/2 cup vinegar (white)
8-10 sprigs thyme
2 scotch bonnet peppers
4 slices ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8-12 pimento berries (allspice)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic

NOTE: It’s important that you go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs – especially the Soy Sauce.

You’ll need a food processor or blender for making this marinade… or some knife skills as you’ll need to finely chop everything. Remember when handling scotch bonnet peppers to wear gloves and to wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. The “raw” heat will be in the seeds and white membrane surrounding the seeds, so trim and discard that area if your worried about such heat. Give everything a rough chop and place it in the food processor (or blender).

Here you have two options, you can puree until smooth, or do as I like – pulse so you get a sort of chunky consistency. You can now pour this over your desired protein or store it in a the fridge until you’re ready to use it. It will remain good for up to a week. The vinegar will act as a natural preservative.

In my case I was doing chicken legs with it, so I trimmed off all the fat and excess skin. You can remove the skin, but I like leaving the skin as it adds flavor as it cook and renders and it also helps to form a protective barrier as the chicken cooks so it does not go dry. I also like piercing the thick parts of the chicken so the marinade gets into the meat and really infuse it with maximum niceness. Pour in the marinade and massage the chicken pieces. Allow to marinate for at least 2 hrs in the fridge – overnight would be ideal. Then get ready to grill as you would normally.

I had a relatively hot fire going, so I placed the chicken pieces away from the direct heat (indirect grilling), lid on and allowed it to go until it was cooked to my likeness (about 50 mins to 1 hr). I used the remaining marinade in the bowl to baste it the first 30 minutes or so – remember raw chicken was in the bowl, so try to cook off the marinade. Flip the chicken pieces every 10 minutes or so and rotate around the grilling surface so you grill them evenly.

The final 5 minutes is when you can place the chicken pieces over the direct heat to allow for that sort of caramelized color you want to achieve – that comes from the heat and cooked sugars in the marinade. Remember if you put the chicken pieces too early over the direct heat, those same sugars will char or burn the outside of the chicken and the inside will be raw.

If you want, you can double the marinade recipe and reserve 1/2. That remaining 1/2 add a bit of honey, orange juice or apple and cook/reduce for a wicked sauce to serve with the cooked pieces of jerk chicken.

I like squeezing on some fresh lime juice as soon as I take it off the grill for that little blast of citrus, which I think awakens the jerk chicken even more. just my take though!

Meat & Poultry Seafood

A Classic Jamaican Jerk Marinade.

May 27, 2025January 14, 2011155 Comments

jamaican jerk chicken

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.

jamaican jerk marinade

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.

jamaican jerk marinade (2)

jamaican jerk marinade (3)

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.

jamaican jerk marinade (4)

jamaican jerk marinade (5)

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.

jamaican jerk marinade

Sizzling Jamaican Jerk Marinade Recipe.

Recipe Card

Sizzling Jamaican Jerk Marinade

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

Mild Jamaican Jerk Marinade.

The Ultimate Jerk Burger.

Gluten Free Jerk Marinade (for Chicken, Pork, Shrimp and Fish)

A Classic Jamaican Jerk Marinade.

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