{{short description|Style of cooking native to Jamaica}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}} {{distinguish|Jerky}} {{Infobox prepared food | name = Jerk | image = File:BBQJerk Chicken.jpg | caption = Jamaican jerk chicken | country = Jamaica | creator = Indigenous Taínos | course = Main dish | type = | served = Hot | main_ingredient = Meat, pimento and Scotch bonnet pepper. }}
{{multiple image | direction = vertical | width = 200 | header = Key ingredients in jerk cooking: | image1 = Allspice.JPG | alt1 = allspice | caption1 = Allspice (dried unripe fruit of ''Pimenta dioica'') | image2 = Jamaican scotch bonnet peppers.jpg | alt2 = Scotch bonnet | caption2 = Scotch bonnet peppers native to Jamaica (cultivar of Capsicum chinense) }}
'''Jerk''' is a style of cooking native to Jamaica, in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet-marinated with a hot spice mixture called '''Jamaican jerk spice'''.
The technique of '''jerking''' (or cooking with ''jerk spice'') originated from Jamaica's indigenous peoples, the Arawak and Taíno tribes, and was adopted by the descendants of 17th-century Jamaican Maroons who intermingled with them.<ref>{{cite thesis|first=Michael|last=Siva|title=After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842|type=PhD|publisher=University of Southampton|year=2018|page=235}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Maroon Story: The Authentic and Original History of the Maroons in the History of Jamaica 1490-1880|first=Bev|last=Carey|publisher=Agouti Press|location=Kingston, Jamaica|year=1997|page=67-75|isbn=978-9766100285}}</ref>
The smoky taste of jerked meat is achieved by using various cooking methods, including modern wood-burning ovens. Chicken or pork is usually jerked, and the main ingredients of the spicy jerk marinade/sauce are allspice{{efn|name=allspice|A fragrant spice native to the Caribbean, the dried ground berry of a particular species of the flowering shrub ''Pimenta dioica''. The Jamaican name for allspice is "pimento", due to conflation of the words ''pimenta'' and ''pimento''. It is also called ''myrtle pepper''.}} and Scotch bonnet peppers, which are native to Jamaica and were cultivated by the Taínos.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/dining/jerk-jamaican-interpretation.html|title=Jerk, Authentically Jamaican and Unapologetically Hot|first=Rochelle|last=Oliver|work=The New York Times|date=20 July 2018|access-date=October 2, 2022|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=":sbp">{{Cite web |date=2017-08-16 |title= Jamaica: The Scotch bonnet's journey from the Orinoco River Valley to the jerk pit by Bill Esparza |url=https://explorepartsunknown.com/jamaica/the-scotch-bonnets-journey-from-the-orinoco-river-valley-to-the-jerk-pit/|access-date=2024-11-15|language=en}}</ref>
== Etymology == The word ''"jerk"'' is said to come from ''charqui'', a Spanish term of Quechua origin for jerked or dried meat, which eventually became the word "jerky" in English.<ref name="kitchenproject">{{cite web|url=http://kitchenproject.com/history/JerkChicken/|title=The History of Jamaican Jerk|website=kitchenproject.com|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref>
The term ''jerk spice'' (also known as ''Jamaican jerk spice'') refers to the spice rub. The word ''"jerk"'' refers to the spice rub, a wet marinade and mop sauce made from it, as well as the particular cooking technique.<ref name="JamaicaObserver">{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/Jerk--Charqui-and-the-Wonders-of-Walkerswood_18382222|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803040734/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/Jerk--Charqui-and-the-Wonders-of-Walkerswood_18382222|work=Jamaica Observer|title=Jerk, Charqui and the Wonders of Walkerswood|date=February 12, 2015|archive-date=August 3, 2015}}</ref>
== History == thumb|Taíno term ''barabicu'' or ''barbacoa'' means “framework of sticks”—a wide range of structures, including ''earth oven'' or ''cooking pit'' and a raised wooden grill for roasting and smoking foods. === Origin=== According to historical evidence, jerked meat was first cooked by the indigenous Taínos.{{sfn|Siva|2018|p=235}} In 1516, Spanish historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, documented how they prepared and preserved meats and fish on a ''barbacoa'', using native hot peppers (Scotch bonnet and cayenne pepper) and pimento for seasoning.<ref name="Oviedo">{{Cite journal |last=Carrillo |first=Jesús |date=2002 |title=The "Historia General y Natural de las Indias" by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo|journal=Huntington Library Quarterly|volume=65 |issue=3/4|jstor=3817978|issn=0018-7895}}</ref> Sometimes, meats were wrapped in papaya leaves to tenderize them before jerking.<ref name=":ja55">{{cite web|title= Culinary Heritage:Our Rich Food Heritage |url=https://jamaica55.gov.jm/culinary/culinary-heritage/|website=Jamaica55.gov.jm|date=7 June 2017}}</ref> Historically, local game (wild meats) were jerked, such as coney (hutia), iguana, wild hog (peccary), agouti, wild birds, waterfowl, turtle etc., while a variety of seafood included parrotfish, grouper, snapper, shark, lobster, conch and others.<ref name=":ja55"/>
In the early period of colonization, Spanish conquistadors also adopted Taíno culinary traditions in order to survive.<ref name="Oviedo"/><ref name="Rouse">{{cite book |last=Rouse |first=Irving |author-link=Irving Rouse |title=The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus |year=1992 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=0-300-05696-6}}</ref> They introduced livestock (pig, cattle and chicken) to the island in the 1500s,<ref name=":colex">{{cite web |last=Crosby |first=Alfred W.|title=The Columbian Exchange: Plants, Animals, and Disease between the Old and New Worlds |publisher=National Humanities Center |date=December 2001 |url=https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/columbianb.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Francis |editor-first=John Michael |editor1-link=J. Michael Francis |encyclopedia=Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History: a Multidisciplinary Encyclopedia |title=Columbian Exchange—Livestock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMNoS-g1h8cC&pg=PA303 |year=2006 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-421-9 |pages=303–308}}</ref> which were often cured by adopting the Taíno method of jerking meats over a ''barbacoa'', using pimento wood and berries for flavour and preservation.<ref name="jis bk">{{cite web|title=Traditional Food Preparation in Jamaica: Tools & Methods|year=2014 |url=https://jis.gov.jm/media/JA-Traditional-Utensils07-08-14.pdf|website= Jamaica Information Service (JIS)|access-date=2025-01-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Fernández Méndez |first=Eugenio|title=Arte y mitología de los indios taínos de las Antillas Mayores|publisher= Ediciones CEMI, San Juan, P.R. |year=1979}}</ref> During the invasion of Jamaica in 1655, the Spanish colonists freed the enslaved Africans who fled into the Jamaican countryside, becoming some of the first Jamaican Maroons.<ref name="JamaicaObserver"/> They intermingled with the remaining Taínos, learning and adapting aspects of their culture including the practice of jerking.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nlj.gov.jm/FeastingontheHeritage/africans1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104060526/http://www.nlj.gov.jm/FeastingontheHeritage/africans1.htm|work=National Library of Jamaica|title=THE AFRICANS|archive-date=January 4, 2013}}</ref><ref name=kitchenproject/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bostonjerkcenter.com/jerk-history/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121033557/http://bostonjerkcenter.com/jerk-history/|work=Boston Jerk Center|title=Jerk History {{!}} A BRIEF HISTORY OF JERK|archive-date=November 21, 2020}}</ref>
===Barbacoa technique=== The method of cooking in underground pits is speculated by some to have been used to avoid creating smoke which would have revealed their location.<ref>{{cite book|title=Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook|first=Melissa|last=Thompson|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|date=29 September 2022|isbn=978-1526644428}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001cp33|work=BBC iPlayer|title=Loose Ends|date=October 1, 2022|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref> However, this technique is a form of barbacoa which has been used by indigenous peoples across the Americas for centuries,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alvarado Tezozómoc |first1=Fernando |title=Cronica mexicana |date=1878 |publisher=Jose M. Gil |location=Mexico |page=252 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-MXAAAAYAAJ&dq=barbacoa&pg=PA252 |access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref> and is also found in other parts of the world—most notably in Hawaii, where it appears as kālua-style imu cooking, central to the luau.
Historians further concluded that the Taínos developed the cooking techniques and seasoning practices used throughout the region. The method of jerking meats on native pimento wood traces back to the Taíno term ''“barabicu”'' or ''barbacoa'', meaning “framework of sticks”, applied to a range of wooden structures, including a raised wooden grill for roasting and smoking foods,<ref name="jis bk"/> and earth ovens.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ezquerra |first1=Manuel Alvar |title=Vocabulario de Indigenismos en las Crónicas de Indias |date=1997 |publisher=Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas |location=Madrid |isbn=9788400076474 |pages=36, 37, 38, 39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYhxAQHUdCYC&dq=barbacoa+de+cabeza&pg=PA37 |access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref> This Taíno technique spread throughout the Americas, and many food historians agree that all forms of barbecue evolved from this original cooking style.<ref>{{Cite web| date=2022-04-22| title= What is Barbacoa?| url= https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/what-is-barbacoa|website= foodnetwork.com ]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Moss |first1=Robert F. |title=Barbecue: The History of an American Institution |date=2010 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |isbn=9780817317188 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nC9AwAAQBAJ&dq=barbecue+the+derivation+of+the+word&pg=PA6 |access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref>
===The preservation of traditional jerk=== In the 17th century, all racial groups hunted wild hogs in the Jamaican interior and used the practice of jerking to cook them. However, by the end of the 18th century, most groups had switched to imported pork products, while the Maroons largely continued the practice of hunting wild hogs and jerking pork.{{sfn|Siva|2018|p=235-6}} ''Jamaican jerk'' sauce believed to have been primarily developed by them, added flavour to wild hogs which were seasoned with herbs and allspice before slow-cooking over pimento wood.{{efn|A flowering shrub native to the Caribbean, ''Pimenta dioica'', also called ''myrtle pepper''; conflated from "pimenta" , another name also for the berry and spice known as allspice.)}}<ref name="NYT"/> The heat found in Caribbean jerk is largely attributed to the use of Scotch bonnet peppers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pepperscale.com/scotch-bonnet-pepper/|website=PepperScale.com|title=Scotch Bonnet Pepper Guide: Heat, Flavor, Uses|first=Matt|last=Bray|date=April 2, 2022|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref> Over time the basic recipe has been modified as various cultures added their influence.<ref name="TheGuardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/jul/12/how-to-cook-perfect-jerk-chicken|work=The Guardian|title=How to cook perfect jerk chicken|first=Felicity|last=Cloake|author-link=Felicity Cloake|date=July 11, 2012|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref> [[File:Jamaican jerk pork and chicken.jpg|thumb|Jerk pork and chicken served with hard dough bread, ''jerk sauce'', festival, fried pressed plantain and coleslaw, in Jamaica]]
==The globalization of jerk cuisine== Jerk cooking and seasoning have followed the Caribbean diaspora all over the world, and forms of jerk can now be found at restaurants almost anywhere a significant population of Caribbean descent exists, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/jamaica-diverse-beginning-diaspora-developed-world|work=Migration Policy Institute|title=Jamaica: From Diverse Beginning to Diaspora in the Developed World|first1=Alex|last1=Glennie|first2=Laura|last2=Chappell|author-link2=Laura Chappell|date=June 16, 2010|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref> coastal Panama,<ref>{{cite web|date=2021-02-22|title=Meet The Man Behind The First Afro-Panamanian Restaurant In Central America|url=https://travelnoire.com/man-behind-first-afro-panamanian-restaurant-central-america|access-date=2024-12-27}}</ref> Costa Rica,<ref>{{cite web|date=2023-12-29|title=The Heart of Costa Rica's Afro-Caribbean Heritage Lives in Jamaica Town|url=https://travelnoire.com/jamaica-town-costa-rica|access-date=2024-12-27}}</ref> Honduras, Nicaragua and San Andrés. As such, ''Jamaican jerk'' has developed a global following, most notably in American, Canadian and Western European cosmopolitan urban centres. ''Poulet boucané'' (smoked chicken), a dish found in French Caribbean countries such as Martinique and Guadeloupe, is quite similar to traditional ''Jamaican jerk'' chicken.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/136137_Cuisine-de-la-Martinique-et-Guadeloupe|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531014120/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/136137_Cuisine-de-la-Martinique-et-Guadeloupe|work=Jamaica Observer|title=Cuisine de la Martinique et Guadeloupe|archive-date=31 May 2016|date=May 29, 2008}}</ref>
== Techniques == [[File:Jerk chicken-1001.jpg|thumb|Jerk chicken cooking in Montego Bay]]
The cooking technique of jerking and the results it produces, have evolved over time, from using pit fires to grilling over coals in old metal barrel halves.<ref name="SunnyTours">{{cite web|url=http://sunnytoursjamaica.com/news/12/Jamaican-Jerk-Chicken.html|work=Sunny Tours Jamaica|title=Jamaican Jerk Chicken|date=October 20, 2014|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref> Around the 1960s, Caribbean entrepreneurs seeking an easier, more portable method of jerking, began cutting oil barrels lengthwise, adding holes for ventilation and hinged lids to capture the smoke.<ref name="SunnyTours" /> These barrels are fired with charcoal, and have become widely used across the island. Other jerking methods include wood-burning ovens.<ref name="TheGuardian"/>
[[File:Jerk_stands_along_Highway_A1_in_central_Jamaica.jpg|thumb|Jerk stands along Highway A1]] Street-side "jerk stands" or "jerk centres" are commonly found in Jamaica and the nearby Cayman Islands,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caymanairwaysmagazine.com/ready-to-eat/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103192811/http://www.caymanairwaysmagazine.com/ready-to-eat/|publisher=Cayman Airways|work=Skies|title=READY TO EAT|archive-date=3 January 2016|date=1 January 2016}}</ref> as well as, other places that experienced waves of Jamaican migration, like San Andrés. Jerked meat, usually chicken or pork, can be purchased along with hard dough bread, bammy (a native cassava flatbread), Jamaican fried dumplings (known as ''"Johnnycake"'' or ''journey cakes''), and festival, a variation of sweet flavoured fried dumplings, served as a side dish.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jamaica-no-problem.com/jamaican-festival-recipe.html|work=Jamaica No Problem|title=Jamaican Festival Recipe|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref> thumb|Jerk pork ==Ingredients and uses== Jerk seasoning principally consists of allspice{{efn|name=allspice}} and Scotch bonnet peppers. Other ingredients may include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/caribbean-jerk-chicken|work=Food & Wine|title=Recipes {{!}} Caribbean Jerk Chicken|access-date=October 2, 2022|archive-date=October 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007165332/https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/caribbean-jerk-chicken|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jerk-chicken-recipe0-1908640|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127024059/https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jerk-chicken-recipe0-1908640|work=Food Network|title=Jerk Chicken|first=Cheryl|last=Smith|archive-date=January 27, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jamaican-Chinese Chef Craig Wong Spices Up Chicken Chow Mein Caribbean Style |publisher=Goldthread |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSmy829uD1U |access-date=2022-01-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
Jerk seasoning was originally used on chicken and pork, however has now been expanded to other ingredients including fish, shrimp, lobster, conch, shellfish, beef, sausage, lamb, goat, tofu, and vegetables.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/dish-of-the-week-jamaican-jerk-chicken-8591098|work=Houston Press|title=Dish of the Week: Jamaican Jerk Chicken|first=Viggiano|last=Brooke|date=August 8, 2016|access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref> In Jamaica, jerk is also used in the preparation of pizzas, pastas, patties and burgers.
==Protection of ''"Jamaica Jerk"''== Due to the growing international popularity of ''Jamaican jerk'', a number of unauthentic jerk products are being sold outside of Jamaica. Consequently, the Jamaican government trademarked '''Jamaica Jerk''', as a geographical indication (GI), in September 2015<ref name=":gi">{{cite web |date=2015-11-30 |title=Not so fast! Government copyrights 'Jamaican Jerk' tag| url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20151130/not-so-fast-government-copyrights-jamaican-jerk-tag|newspaper= Jamaica Gleaner|access-date=2024-12-27}}</ref>, making Jamaica the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to register a GI.<ref>{{cite web|date=2016-04-18|title=Jamaica Jerk the Caribbean’s first geographical indication| url=https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2016/04/18/jamaica-jerk-the-caribbeans-first-geographical-indication/|newspaper=Jamaica Observer|access-date=2024-12-27}}</ref> The move is aimed at guarding against those who seek to capitalise on the Jamaican brand, and to protect the quality, characteristics and reputation of ''Jamaican jerk'' internationally from misrepresentation and imitation.<ref name=":gi"/><ref>{{cite web |date=2024-03-18 |title=Brand Jamaica Must Be Protected – Senator Hill| url= https://jis.gov.jm/brand-jamaica-must-be-protected-senator-hill/#:~:text=He%20informed%20that%20Jamaica%20jerk,of%20the%20products%20to%20customers.|website=Jamaica Information Service (JIS)|access-date=2024-12-27}}</ref>
== See also == {{portal|Food|Jamaica}}
* List of Jamaican dishes * List of chicken dishes * Jamaican cuisine * Barbacoa
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * Cook, Ian and Harrison, Michelle. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3804578 "Cross over Food: Re-Materializing Postcolonial Geographies"]. ''Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers'', New Series, Vol. 28, No. 3 (September 2003), pp. 296–317. Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) * {{cite web | last=Connelly | first=Michael Alan | title=20 Must-Try Street Foods Around the World | website=Fodor's | date=December 18, 2014 | url=http://www.fodors.com/news/photos/20-must-try-street-foods-around-the-world#!18-jerk-chicken | access-date=July 24, 2016}}
== External links == * {{commons category-inline}}
{{Herbs and spices}}
Category:Anguillian cuisine Category:Barbecue Category:Belizean cuisine Category:Caribbean cuisine Category:Caribbean meat dishes Jerk chicken Jerk spice Category:National dishes Category:Spices