A Storied Seasoning

Fire up the grill and explore the versatility of jerk, a smoky and spicy Caribbean staple.

- By Brigid Ransome Washington

WHEN IT COMES TO JAMAICAN CUISINE, jerk means many things. It is an ingredient (a seasoning dry rub or paste), a process (of barbecuing spiced meat over pimento wood), and a window into Jamaica’s past. Jerk was born from the traditions of Jamaica’s Indigenous Taino people, who gave the island its name: Jamaica is derived from the Taino term xaymaca, which translates to “land of wood and water.” According to some historians, in the early 16th century, the Taino evaded eradication by Spanish colonizers by fleeing into the mountainous interior of the island. During British occupation of the island, in the mid-17th century, descendants of surviving Taino passed on their methods for spicing and cooking meat to the Yenkunkun pikibo—who were once referred to as the Jamaican Maroons, enslaved Africans who escaped to freedom. They hunted wild pigs and other animals and cooked the meat in hot earthen pits to conceal their location. Ginger, thyme, scallions, allspice, and Scotch bonnet chiles were used to flavor the meat, which was cooked over the sweet wood of the pimento (allspice) tree. They remain indispensable anchor ingredients in jerk cooking today. In many contemporary recipes, you'll also find the salty-savory spike of soy sauce. It’s a distinct, complementary addition to jerk, one that nods to the robust culinary culture of the Chinese immigrants who arrived on the island in the 1850s to work as indentured laborers.