Jerk Seasoning


 

K Kruger

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
There are LOTS of variations - even in Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean - so feel free to modify. However, no Caribbean cooks I know would dream of using bottled stuff. The problem with them is that they're not very well made in terms of results, i.e., their use doesn't result in the full breadth and depth of jerk flavors because too many key ingredients are left out. Besides, making you're own is very easy. Just throw the following in a blender or bullet, blend well, and you're good to go.

Jerk Seasoning
  • 1 large bunch scallions (about 8), white and green parts
  • 2 shallots, peeled and halved
  • 4 to 6 Scotch bonnet chili peppers, stems removed, or habaneros (or just a jalapeño if you're looking for mild)
  • 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • ¼ cup fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 2 tablespoons ground allspice, more for sprinkling
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg or heaping teaspoon freshly grated
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (or 1 tablespoon molasses)
  • 1 tablespoon salt, more for sprinkling
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup peanut oil (I prefer red palm oil here but up to you)
  • 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
  • Freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes
 
Last edited:
this sounds very good Kevin, Thank you!
by the looks of it, this'll make a decent amount...
do you prefer the dark brown sugar or the molasses? ....I like using molasses
 
Thank you so much for posting this and the words of encouragement for people to make their own ingredients. I so agree it is much better tasting and you know what is in it.

Would you mind posting the name of the recipe right over the recipe? (for us that like to copy and print out) lol Thanks!!!!!
 
Joan - Done.
Jim - I like molasses. But brown sugar, since it contains molasses, can definitely work, especially dark brown. But I’ve made it with monk fruit sugar (for keto) and that worked too. Molasses is my favorite. And red palm oil.
 
Thanks Kevin. I believe this is very similar (or perhaps the same as) a recipe I used several years back that I'm pretty sure you posted. It was delicious. Grocery run tomorrow, so I'll try to pick up the ingredients and cook some up this coming week.
 
It’s at the very least similar. I remember posting one years back but don’t remember which. They’re all thematically similar though. Enjoy.
 
Kevin - Thanks -copied, printed (and your picture also, curious, what is in the background?)
 
Ah...that’s Provincetown, Massachusetts. I was standing on the flydeck of a chartered yacht. The yacht was too big to dock at the marina so we had to take the tender in. This was my first time returning since NYE 1978/1979. Provincetown was where I got my start (in restaurants among many other things) in the early 70s {I remember Tony Bourdain with his frizzy, curly shoulder-length hair - mine was much longer!). Sorry if TMI but the question seems to have opened a nostalgia door... :)
 
Kevin - thanks for posting that recipe, I will give it a try for sure. Looks like the ingredients are pretty easy to find. When you put this on chicken, do you mix normally mix with anything else, or put it directly on the chicken? How long do you normally marinade and how would you characterize the "heat".
 
John, I do not mix it with anything else. No need though I suppose one could.
Joan, it was the 70s so...many chunks of time in that period I scarcely recall. I worked several restaurants in P'town from 72 to 77. Meanwhile, I did lighting and visuals for a rock band the last year or two of that period then decamped to San Francisco just after my 19th birthday in March of 77. Cooked at UC Berkeley in a sorority briefly, did a bunch of theater in various capacities (mostly lighting and/or management) and cooked here and there. Rescued a farm in western Mass at the end of 79; there for a year then ran a supper club in Florida for almost a year before retuning to SF. Lots more theater, less cooking (more "catering" sorts of stuff) then to Miami, arriving Halloween night, 1984. This and that for a bit then managed Sunset Cafe then Soren's Cafe then took over as exec chef at the Strand. Couple years there then exec chef/GM at the Tropics, consulted at the News Cafe, till I left restaurants entirely at the end of the summer in 1990. Learned how to drive a big rig at the same time I was developing a freelance private chef biz. Started a small trucking company a few years in for the tax advantages. Cooked all over the country for over 20 years - the Hamptons to Beverley Hills, Boston to Miami, Seattle to San Diego, San Antonio to Chicago, and dozens of places in between - until moving to Las Vegas to cook exclusively for a top cash poker player in 2011. With him for a couple years till he sold his place here; with the head of a multinational hair company for several months; traded stocks for a living after that until a bit over a couple years ago. Since then I've been cooking for a different family. There's the nutshell version!
 
WOW!!!!!! You have had some life.

When I was younger, I used to go to Miami a lot, but I don't think I ever ate at any of the restaurants you mentioned. Where was the supper club?
 
Made this a few days ago and put some thighs into it for 48 hours and some boneless, skinless breasts in for about 8 hours. Very good! I chickened out and just used two jalapeños (I recalled it being too hot the last time I did it w/ the habaneros). We have a vacation coming up in a few weeks and I was going to do this or Huli-Huli for one meal. The family unanimously chose this. I'm going to up the heat for the next round. But I was wondering if this could be made ahead and frozen. I'd just thaw it out, then give the chicken a soak in it. I think it'd be OK. Any thoughts?

A few shots from the recent cook. I made some jasmine rice, tossed with cilantro and scallions; topped with black beans. Simply did some fresh mango slices on the side too. I think some fried plantain would be a good side as well.

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John, I do not mix it with anything else. No need though I suppose one could.
Joan, it was the 70s so...many chunks of time in that period I scarcely recall. I worked several restaurants in P'town from 72 to 77. Meanwhile, I did lighting and visuals for a rock band the last year or two of that period then decamped to San Francisco just after my 19th birthday in March of 77. Cooked at UC Berkeley in a sorority briefly, did a bunch of theater in various capacities (mostly lighting and/or management) and cooked here and there. Rescued a farm in western Mass at the end of 79; there for a year then ran a supper club in Florida for almost a year before retuning to SF. Lots more theater, less cooking (more "catering" sorts of stuff) then to Miami, arriving Halloween night, 1984. This and that for a bit then managed Sunset Cafe then Soren's Cafe then took over as exec chef at the Strand. Couple years there then exec chef/GM at the Tropics, consulted at the News Cafe, till I left restaurants entirely at the end of the summer in 1990. Learned how to drive a big rig at the same time I was developing a freelance private chef biz. Started a small trucking company a few years in for the tax advantages. Cooked all over the country for over 20 years - the Hamptons to Beverley Hills, Boston to Miami, Seattle to San Diego, San Antonio to Chicago, and dozens of places in between - until moving to Las Vegas to cook exclusively for a top cash poker player in 2011. With him for a couple years till he sold his place here; with the head of a multinational hair company for several months; traded stocks for a living after that until a bit over a couple years ago. Since then I've been cooking for a different family. There's the nutshell version!

Kevin,

I've been scarce around on the board... The WSM has been relegated to the shed for YEARS !!!...Decided to pull it out and dust it off !!! I have a hankering for ribs, but I never had much success in keeping the temps down, in my WSM...too much air ??? Even had Bryan S. come to my house in MD, and try to help control the temps...gonna try again !!! I now live back in my home state, Florida...I see new ideas about red silicone gaskets around the air leaks...I experimented with foil collars around the base, but didn't help much..

I stopped in, to check here...looking for any updates to Steve's No. 5 recipe, and a rib rub...

I was always intrigued by your posts, and recipes !!! I have several in my "keeper" file !!! When you stopped posting regularly, I kinda lost interest, too...so it's GREAT to see you're back, and posting !!!

Your post re: your life was AWESOME !!! Always wondered about a Guy who was a chef, AND a truck driver !!! NOW I know !!!

PLEASE keep posting here on the Board !!! Your recipes aren't always the easiest, but they're the best !!!

Dean...
 
Made this again for a crowd while we were at the beach last week. I made it ahead of time, adding the seasoning and chicken together into Foodsaver bags and immediately freezing. Took it out to thaw about a day and a half before we ate, which seemed to provide a good marinating time. Grilled it up over gas (gasp!), and served with Caribbean rice, black beans and a mango salsa. It was a hit with kids and adults alike - I toned down the heat and used jalapeños. Really good stuff. Thanks again, Kevin.

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I'm guessing this makes a paste similar to walkerswood, would it keep in a jar in the fridge for a week or two, or could I freeze the leftovers?

I made a double batch before we went to the beach. Had about a 3/4 batch extra after rubbing and sealing the chicken I was bringing on the trip. I froze the leftover and found it in the freezer yesterday. Thawed it and used it on some chicken overnight. It turned out just as good as the 'first' batch. Just had it for dinner tonight.
 
JimK - Now THAT looks terrific!

Joan - The supper club was on the north causeway to New Smyrna Beach from the mainland. It was called Susie's Saloon.

Dean - Thank you for your kind words. As for ribs and temps, I don't worry about keeping temps down, especially when I was in Florida smoking in the summer. I just do them at high heat. As for posting here I come and go - gone much more than I am present. This is my first post since the above. That one I posted from Vegas while prepping our RV for a 3-week trip through Utah, Idaho, Montana and the PNW, seeing friends and cooking (paella twice!). Then it was back to Vegas for a few days to regroup before heading out for a 2-week journey to NYC. Now the RV is parked in Jersey awaiting our return and I am in our Greenwich Village space figuring out what I need for dinner for the client later. (I'm making carnitas I just decided.) Perhaps when we return to Vegas and resettle (we are looking to leave the valley for a somewhere with more land outside of it) I will be in a position to post a bit more. Meanwhile, if you (or anyone else reading this) wishes to contact me for absolutely anything from food or cooking questions to literally anything else, my email address is in my profile. Feel free.
 
I was going to copy and paste Kevin's Jerk Seasoning recipe on my Eat Your Spice Rack thread (GINGER) but after reading all the posts here, I decided to bump up this whole thread for others to read. Maybe if we all holler real loud together "KEVIN, COME BACK", maybe he might hear us and COME BACK!!!!!
 
This recipe looks really great. I’m used to using the jarred walkerswood original because it actually contains real scotch bonnets. Most commercial jerk sauces do not.

Where are you all picking up your scotch bonnet peppers?
 
There are LOTS of variations - even in Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean - so feel free to modify. However, no Caribbean cooks I know would dream of using bottled stuff. The problem with them is that they're not very well made in terms of results, i.e., their use doesn't result in the full breadth and depth of jerk flavors because too many key ingredients are left out. Besides, making you're own is very easy. Just throw the following in a blender or bullet, blend well, and you're good to go.

Jerk Seasoning
  • 1 large bunch scallions (about 8), white and green parts
  • 2 shallots, peeled and halved
  • 4 to 6 Scotch bonnet chili peppers, stems removed, or habaneros (or just a jalapeño if you're looking for mild)
  • 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • ¼ cup fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 2 tablespoons ground allspice, more for sprinkling
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg or heaping teaspoon freshly grated
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (or 1 tablespoon molasses)
  • 1 tablespoon salt, more for sprinkling
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup peanut oil (I prefer red palm oil here but up to you)
  • 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
  • Freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes
This is what I'm making again for fathers day - Haven't heard from K Kruger in a while - still love this recipe.
 

 

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