A Brief History of Jamaican Jerk

[rightwinger]

It‘s McDonalds for crying out loud

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Last month, McDonald’s franchises in the United Kingdom launched a jerk chicken sandwich as part of its 2020 festive menu. Though the fast food company clearly hoped to capitalize on jerk’s significance to Jamaican diaspora, especially at Christmastime, this dish certainly wasn’t made for the nation’s 800,000 Jamaicans.


In the same way that Jamaicans across the world digitally joined forces in 2018 to address Jamie Oliver’s ignominious Punchy Jerk Rice, they refused to let this culinary insult pass. The otherwise well-regarded plucky British chef unveiled a new microwave-able ready-to-serve package of flavored rice with garlic, ginger and hot peppers; the result was far from anything resembling what Jamaicans knew as “jerk.” Their disdain was shared through Twitter rants, op-eds and appearances on morning television. The British newspaper the Sun referred to the outraged diaspora as “snowflakes,” and numerous white people on social media lamented that jerk was “just a sandwich.” But the fact is, for Jamaicans, jerk is much more than “just” anything.

As Carolyn Cooper, notable Jamaican literary scholar, explains, jerk is “one of the enduring legacies of the fusion of African and Taíno cultures in Jamaica.” The Taíno, an Arawak people, were members of the Caribbean’s Indigenous population. They were the first to call the island Xaymaca, meaning “land of wood and water,” and first came into contact with Europeans when Columbus arrived in 1494. Spanish colonialists formally arrived 15 years later, but their settlement was small and relatively under-funded compared to other Caribbean colonies. The Spanish did however bring enslaved labor to the island, which served mostly as a trading post

War between England and Spain reached the shores of Jamaica in the middle of the 17th century, leading to a British invasion and the Spanish abandoned the island for their more established settlement in Cuba. Those who had been enslaved fled to the island’s mountains and became known as the Maroons—derived from the Spanish word cimarrones, meaning mountaineers. But by the time the Maroons encountered the island’s original inhabitants, who had also sheltered in the difficult-to-traverse ranges, 90 percent of the Taíno population had become extinct. The British, meanwhile, rapidly expanded their presence on Jamaica, shipping enslaved labor from Africa that would become the engine of the booming sugar industry. Over the years, the Maroons would grow in population as enslaved people would escape the plantations for the mountains.

A Brief History of Jamaican Jerk

It's more than just a seasoning or a flavor. Jerk is a whole culture worthy of celebrating, especially at Christmastime

www.smithsonianmag.com

There is a recipe in the link.

LOVE Jerk chicken!!!!
Although most people cant eat the Jerk I make. Have to make two batches for the most part.
One for the pussies and one for me.

I probably couldn't eat the Jerk you make.

My sauce usually contains six Habs unless I can get scotch bonnets which are pretty much the same thing.
The marinade has 4 diced up.

Yep. I can't do 6.

I love my Jerk HOT!!!!
You'd be fine with the Wife version.

If you want a real Jamaican jerk marinade and dont want to make it yourself I highly recommend Spur Tree.
It's won a shitload of awards in Jamaica. We buy the stuff by the gallon and freeze it in pint containers. Thats enough to make 5lbs of chicken and enough sauce for it.
Use the Spur Tree to marinate the chicken. Make sure you put it under the skin and let it sit overnight.
Take the rest of the pint and ad however many scotch bonnets you can stand along with some ketchup,brown sugar or honey and some smashed garlic.
We do have the recipe from 3 Dives in Negril but this is every bit as good so we dont bother making it from scratch.

This stuff is actually made in Jamaica and it kicks ass!!!!

Our Products

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Last month, McDonald’s franchises in the United Kingdom launched a jerk chicken sandwich as part of its 2020 festive menu. Though the fast food company clearly hoped to capitalize on jerk’s significance to Jamaican diaspora, especially at Christmastime, this dish certainly wasn’t made for the nation’s 800,000 Jamaicans.


In the same way that Jamaicans across the world digitally joined forces in 2018 to address Jamie Oliver’s ignominious Punchy Jerk Rice, they refused to let this culinary insult pass. The otherwise well-regarded plucky British chef unveiled a new microwave-able ready-to-serve package of flavored rice with garlic, ginger and hot peppers; the result was far from anything resembling what Jamaicans knew as “jerk.” Their disdain was shared through Twitter rants, op-eds and appearances on morning television. The British newspaper the Sun referred to the outraged diaspora as “snowflakes,” and numerous white people on social media lamented that jerk was “just a sandwich.” But the fact is, for Jamaicans, jerk is much more than “just” anything.

As Carolyn Cooper, notable Jamaican literary scholar, explains, jerk is “one of the enduring legacies of the fusion of African and Taíno cultures in Jamaica.” The Taíno, an Arawak people, were members of the Caribbean’s Indigenous population. They were the first to call the island Xaymaca, meaning “land of wood and water,” and first came into contact with Europeans when Columbus arrived in 1494. Spanish colonialists formally arrived 15 years later, but their settlement was small and relatively under-funded compared to other Caribbean colonies. The Spanish did however bring enslaved labor to the island, which served mostly as a trading post

War between England and Spain reached the shores of Jamaica in the middle of the 17th century, leading to a British invasion and the Spanish abandoned the island for their more established settlement in Cuba. Those who had been enslaved fled to the island’s mountains and became known as the Maroons—derived from the Spanish word cimarrones, meaning mountaineers. But by the time the Maroons encountered the island’s original inhabitants, who had also sheltered in the difficult-to-traverse ranges, 90 percent of the Taíno population had become extinct. The British, meanwhile, rapidly expanded their presence on Jamaica, shipping enslaved labor from Africa that would become the engine of the booming sugar industry. Over the years, the Maroons would grow in population as enslaved people would escape the plantations for the mountains.

A Brief History of Jamaican Jerk

It's more than just a seasoning or a flavor. Jerk is a whole culture worthy of celebrating, especially at Christmastime

www.smithsonianmag.com

There is a recipe in the link.

LOVE Jerk chicken!!!!
Although most people cant eat the Jerk I make. Have to make two batches for the most part.
One for the pussies and one for me.

I probably couldn't eat the Jerk you make.

My sauce usually contains six Habs unless I can get scotch bonnets which are pretty much the same thing.
The marinade has 4 diced up.

Yep. I can't do 6.

I love my Jerk HOT!!!!
You'd be fine with the Wife version.

If you want a real Jamaican jerk marinade and dont want to make it yourself I highly recommend Spur Tree.
It's won a shitload of awards in Jamaica. We buy the stuff by the gallon and freeze it in pint containers. Thats enough to make 5lbs of chicken and enough sauce for it.
Use the Spur Tree to marinate the chicken. Make sure you put it under the skin and let it sit overnight.
Take the rest of the pint and ad however many scotch bonnets you can stand along with some ketchup,brown sugar or honey and some smashed garlic.
We do have the recipe from 3 Dives in Negril but this is every bit as good so we dont bother making it from scratch.

This stuff is actually made in Jamaica and it kicks ass!!!!

Our Products

Oh ...after looking we get the 4.25 kilogram bottle.

 

[Disir]

Oh ...after looking we get the 4.25 kilogram bottle.

I don't want to get the Jerk marinade. I really want to check out their Reggae sauce and the pepper jelly.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Oh ...after looking we get the 4.25 kilogram bottle.

I don't want to get the Jerk marinade. I really want to check out their Reggae sauce and the pepper jelly.

The pepper jelly is pretty good,it's much like the jalapeno jelly from Texas.
Wouldnt recommend the Reggae sauce myself.

 

[Pogo]

Food snobs are kinda silly.

Are you saying Jerk is for snobs?

Only if the snobs are also jerks.

It's hard to be a snob and eat real jerk.
Unless of course you're willing to put up with some serious heat to support your snobbish attitude.
Haven't found anyone yet.