The evolution of Jamaican jerk
Jamaica has the best jerk worldwide. However, has your mind ever wondered about the origins of Jamaican jerk as you sink your teeth into a flavorful, juicy cut of the chicken or pork?
In the early 17th century when the Spanish abandoned that part of Hispaniola known today as Haiti, the empty lands including the nearby island known as Tortuga, were now only occupied by abandoned pigs, horses, cows, and even dogs.
This attracted bands of French adventurers and eventually marooned sailors, runaway slaves, colonial deserters, and other misfits.
Finding feral animals to hunt and kill, they learned from the indigenous Taino Indians how to cook them. This was the beginning of the famed cooking style known today as jerk.
A taino-style for cooking meat
They dug a shallow pit and drove a stake into the ground on each corner, three feet above the ground on which they erected a grill from branches of hardwood.
This was known as a boucan on which strips of salted meat were slow-cooked over a fire of aromatic wood like pimento, stoked with fat, bones, and entrails from the slaughtered animal.
The benefit of this, particularly the smoking of the meat, preserved it for days.
Boucaniers popularized jerk
These men were known as “boucaniers", from the word boucan on which they cooked and cured their catch.
This foundation of the Jamaican jerk has evolved through the years as different culinary inventors added their own unique spices and flavoring to create jerk seasoning and sauces.
You can enjoy authentic Jamaican jerk dishes on just about every street and corner of the island, courtesy of the pan chefs.
If you desire a more formal dining experience, visit any of the popular jerk huts in the towns across the island, especially in the parish of Portland which is rumored to serve up the best jerk meals in Jamaica.
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