Jerk is a religion in Jamaica. The country has more churches per square foot than any other Caribbean nation and twice as many jerk joints. Historians agree jerk originated with the Tainos (Arawaks) as a means of preserving meats. After enslaved Africans (Maroons) escaped the plantations, they co-mingled with the Tainos and started cooking meats in the ground to avoid detection by the British in the dense Cockpit Country. The cooking method also served to preserve meats in the humid tropical climate.
Jerk is typical street food and locals form long lines to satisfy their hunger. The Guardian newspaper and Lonely Planet lauded jerk chicken as one the world’s best street foods. Jerk requires a laundry list of ingredients that must be followed to preserve authenticity. Just like an Italian grandmother’s marinara recipe, each jerk recipe is a bit different, and some feature closely guarded secret ingredients. Regardless of the secret family or pit master recipe, a jerk blend must include peppers, thyme, scallion, onion, garlic, ginger, and pimento seeds. Sweeter versions incorporate molasses, honey, and hints of nutmeg.
The Maroons were originally hunters of wild boar. They were a group of escaped slaves who lived in Cockpit Country and fought off the British for decades. They built escape routes from plantations across Jamaica and shuttled slaves to freedom. They also led numerous insurrections in their fight for freedom. English records dating back to 1672 remarked on the taste of Jamaican pork being superior to European pork. From this, we know jerking has been practiced for centuries.
Maroons traditionally use smaller, more flavorful bird peppers instead of scotch bonnets used in other jerk recipes. Smoke from sweet wood or pimento wood laid in a layer over smoldering coals in the ground is essential to the jerking process, which is long and cannot be rushed as the smoke also seasons the meat. Maroon jerk spice is an herby blend of French thyme, pepper elder leaves, and pimento leaves, along with garlic, onion, and pimento. The meat goes directly on the wood and is covered with the pepper elder leaves and leaves from the pimento tree. The smoke from the leaves and the wood trap moisture in the meat and make it juicy
In 1720, the Maroons controlled 500 acres of land across the Blue Mountains. The need to hide from British soldiers was gone, thanks to an agreement between the warring factions. Pork was now free to be held above the fire with pimento sticks, which later became a common way of jerking pork. The pork was slow cooked and, depending on the size of pig, could take six to nine hours.
There are a few hypothesis on the etymology of the word jerk. One is that it derived from the Peruvian word charqui, which describes strips of dried meat, now called jerky. Some say the word is derived from the process of jerking the meat by poking holes in the skin so the flavor from the spices and smoke are absorbed easily.
Jerk made its way down from the mountains to the beachside, and descendants of the Maroons sold jerk pork with roasted breadfruit in Boston Bay, the current Mecca for jerk in Jamaica. Here, most vendors build zinc huts over fires on the beach, and Jamaican food historians say commercial jerking originated in this sleepy fishing town in the 1940s.
The Charlestown Maroons in Portland still jerk in the traditional manner of their ancestors. The village is a two-hour drive from Kingston along winding roads with breaks of spectacular ocean views on Jamaica’s southeastern coast. Visiting Portland is like stepping back to a simpler time, and it’s easy to see why Hollywood stars like Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor fell in love with the parish’s stunning beauty.
The asafu yard at Charlestown is ceremonial ground. The wooden fences are painted in black with Maroon heroes and freedom fighters like Tacky, Nanny of the Maroons, and Cudjoe. Today, Maroon communities are self- sustaining and permission must be acquired from the colonel for visits.
When I arrive, I see wafting smoke from the jerk pit. Pablo, a Maroon, is tending to the pork and chicken in the pit. As he chops the meat on a green cutting board, I ask for a fork to taste.
“Our ancestors never had time for forks. This is strictly finger food,” colonel Marcia Douglas says.
The traditional Maroon jerk sauce isn’t as spicy as the popular scotch bonnet blend. The herbs permeate the meat with a lively, almost citrusy flavor.
Every Thursday without fail, Jerk pans line city and village streets. On Fridays and Saturdays, extra steel and oil drums pile up island-wide. Denizens queue in front of their favorite pan chicken or pork man. Patrons juggle the hot servings, served simply in foil paper with two pillowy slices of white, hard dough bread, switching palms. Jerk has evolved. There’s now coal inside the modified oil drums, and with the heat trapped, cooking time is sped up considerably. This pan barbecue method is still called jerk because of the seasonings used, not the technique of cooking the meat. And judging by these long lines, it’s in high demand.
Purists cry foul.
“If there is no smoke, then it’s not jerk. That is the entire culinary experience,” says Anna Chin, owner of Jo Jo’s Jerk Pit in Kingston.
Jerk does not have the same culinary recognition as Jamaica’s other popular export, Blue Mountain coffee. These days, international supermarket chains and celebrity chefs put the word jerk on innocuous food combinations (a la ‘Punchy Jerk Rice’) that are not traditional in Jamaica.
“Jerk foods defines us as a nation with a rich cultural heritage. The preservation and protection of such is of great significance. We must be diligent in archiving and certifying ingredients, locale, and techniques employed to create authentic Jamaican jerk. This ensures our culinary heritage is not lost in translation by the uninformed,” says chef and food consultant Gariel Ferguson.
Jerk cuisine has evolved from the Maroon cooking method and is served at jerk huts and restaurants across the globe. It is this realization that gives Jamaicans pride, as well as a fierce protectiveness over interpretations and culinary twists. True jerk is undiluted Jamaica.
