The Gentle Jerk™ explore page
the andersons adventure
1016 Chelwood Pk Blvd NE #A
Albuquerque, NM 87112
505-292-3795
210-509-4520
fax:
https://www.angelfire.com/ga/gralanlinae/
djand@earthlink.net
Welcome to the explore page for The Gentle Jerk™; an Anderson food adventure for family and friends. We are about developing and discovering food-fun and products, menus and ingredients. 08•›K Here's a beginning from other sources:
JERK RECIPES
One of the most popular forms of
Caribbean cooking is jerk food.
Jerk cuisine, like most cuisines
throughout the Caribbean is a
mixture of native cooking and foreign
influences such as Asian,
African, European and East Indian. The
process of cooking food
slowly in pits was brought to the
islands by the African slaves. In
the 1600's the Maroons (runaway slaves)
coated meat with spice
mixtures and cooked it in a pit as a way
of preserving it.
Jerk mixtures can be either wet pastes
or marinades or dry rubs.
They are spicy and delicious
combinations of ingredients such as
ginger, tamarind, nutmeg, thyme, green
onions, allspice berries
and Scotch bonnet chiles. Meat, poultry
and fish are coated with
the jerk seasoning and marinated for
several hours and up to two
days. The meat is then cooked in a pit,
smoker or barbecue grill.
The secret is to cook it very slowly.
JERK RUB
by Jay B. McCarthy, in Fine Cooking #3
The author suggests stuffing it under
the skin of a turkey breast,
or chicken, or on fish. Delicious on
pork.
30 scallions
5" piece fresh ginger, peeled
1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled
6 bay leaves
6 to 8 Habanero or Scotch bonnet chiles,
seeded, minced
2 t freshly ground nutmeg
2 t freshly ground cinnamon (approx. 1
stick)
1 T freshly ground allspice
2 T black peppercorns, ground
2 T whole coriander seeds, ground
1 T kosher salt
1 C fresh thyme leaves, chopped fine
Optional:
1/2 C oil (if using a blender)
1 t apricot jam or honey
Chop the scallions, ginger, garlic, bay
leaves, and chiles
separately until moderately fine. (by
hand). Combine these
ingredients and continue chopping until
fine. Place in a bowl and
add ground spices. Stir in the chopped
thyme and mix well. The
rub tastes best if allowed to sit for a
few hours for the flavors to
meld.
JERK MARINADE
by Dave DeWitt from The Habanero
Cookbook.
4 scotch bonnets or habaneros, seeds and
stems
removed, diced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
6 green onions, white part only, chopped
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 TBS dark rum
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS minced fresh thyme
1 TSP freshly ground black pepper
1/2 TSP ground cloves
1/2 TSP ground nutmeg
1/2 TSP ground allspice
1/4 TSP ground cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and
mix well, Let sit 1 hour to
blend the flavors.
BOSTON BEACH WET JERK RUB
1/2 cup fresh thyme leaves
2 bunches(about 13) green onions
4 tablespoons finely diced fresh ginger
3 Scotch bonnet or Habanero peppers,
stemmed
1/4 cup peanut oil
5 garlic cloves chopped
3 Bay leaves
2 teaspoons freshly ground allspice
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 table spoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground coriander
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
Juice of 1 lime(of course!)
Blend all ingredients in a food
processor until a thick, chunky
paste results. Makes 2 and 1/2 cups of
marinade, which can be
stored in a tightly sealed, refrigerated
container for several
months. Rub the meat thoroughly with
this paste. For larger cuts
such as pork roasts, slash the meat at
two-inch intervals and
force the jerk rub into the cavities.
Allow the meat to marinate
overnight before smoking over a slow
fire until well done. This
quantity of marinade is sufficient for
two to three chickens or ten
pounds of pork. For an extra spicy
taste, extra sauce can be
used for basting.
NORTH COAST JERK MARINADE
From Hot & Spicy Caribbean
by Dave DeWitt, Mary Jane Wilan, Melissa
T Stock
1/4 cup whole Jamaican pimento berries
or 1/8 cup ground
allspice
3 Scotch Bonnets or habs, stems & seeds
removed,
chopped
10 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 bay leaves, crushed
1 3-inch ginger, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup fresh thyme
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lime juice
water
Roast pimento berries in dry skillet
until aromatic, about 2
minutes. Remove and crush to a powder in
a mortar or spice mill.
Add pimento powder and all remaining
ingredients to a food
processor and blend with enough water to
make a paste or
sauce.
Store in fridge; keeps a month or more.
Yield: 2 - 3 cups
Heat: Hot
Chicken wings make great jerk
appetizers. Cut off tips and
marinate in jerk seasoning overnight.
Place on a rack and bake
for 30 to 40 minutes in a 350 degree
oven, basting frequently with
the marinade.
For a 3-4 lb. pork roast, rub with jerk
paste and marinate
overnight. Cook on smoker or grill or
bake in the oven.
Let roast come to room temperature.
Place in a 400 degree oven
and immediately reduce the heat to 325
degrees. Bake for 1 hr.
and 45 min. or to an internal
temperature of 180 degrees.
Salt-Free Jamaican-Style Jerk Seasonings
ala Pepperman
7 parts onion powder
5 parts garlic powder
3 parts habanero pepper powder
3 parts piquin pepper powder
2 parts ground thyme
2 parts ground allspice
1 part ground nutmeg
1 part ground cinnamon
1 part ground black pepper
I like to use "Parts" rather than the
usual tsp/tbls/cup measuring system. The
way I figure it, if you want to make a
lot, use cups. If you want just a
little, use pinches, tads, smidgens or
what have you.
It also translates well for the metric
crowd (of which I'm sure there are a
number on the list). There are 25 parts
total, so the yield is 25 times
whatever measure you chose to use
(brilliant reasoning isn't it?).
I had one suggestion that there was a
touch too much clove (none in my recipe,
though I suppose a small amount would
probably be alright) so you might want
to use a little less nutmeg.
One other person suggested that it needs
a touch of citrus. Maybe adding a
little powdered lime zest would help. Or
store the powder in a jar with some
dried lime or grapefruit rinds. Or just
do whatever you damn well feel like,
it's all the same to me.
Preparation: Simple! Throw all the stuff
together, then pop it into a blender
or spice grinder.
When it's nicely powdered, wait a few
minutes for the dust to settle. If you
don't cough or sneeze after opening, it
isn't done yet!
Soul Food, and some Island links to explore
We will be listing explorations we are doing in product development, vacuum-packed precooked foods, over-the-counter snacks, public-event food carts, jerk-peanuts and popcorn, and dinner packs(just add meat) with rice and peas, and more.
