Jamaican Jerk Sauce is a spicy sauce that can be used as a marinade or to spice up any dish. If you want to bring a taste of the islands to your dish, this recipe is a must try!
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Jamaican Jerk Sauce is a staple in Jamaican cuisine. It is spicy, with hints of sweet and salty. This unique mixture of scotch bonnet peppers, pimento, garlic cloves, peppers, soy sauce and onions is so authentically Jamaican it is often considered Jamaica in a bottle.
It’s more than just a marinade for chicken breast or your choice of meat. A spoonful of Jamaican Jerk Marinade can be used to add flavor to vegetables, tofu, quinoa, Jamaican rice, or even as a spread on sandwiches.
If you are a fan of spicy food and bold flavors, you cannot go wrong with making up a big bowl of this Jamaican Jerk Sauce recipe. Once your taste buds give these complex flavors a try, you’ll understand why it has become a favorite dish across the islands.
Recipe Origins
Jamaican Jerk Sauce comes from a combination of African and Taino flavors and customs.
The Taino were the indigenous people of the Caribbean. When the Spanish arrived on the island in the 15th century, the Taino moved to the mountains where settlers did not travel, but their population began to dwindle over time.
The British invaded the island in the 17th century and many of the slaves from the Spanish escaped to the mountains and became known as the Maroons or “mountaineers.” They discovered the small group of Taino who shared with them their cooking techniques and survival tactics, including jerk.
As with most culinary traditions, jerk has evolved over time. The term jerk actually refers to the process of seasoning and smoking meat. Traditionally tough meats were seasoned and then slowly smoked over pimento wood in an underground pit. This cooking style helped preserve meats and also evade potential captors.
The word jerk is believed to have come from the Spanish word charqui, which is translated to “Jerky” in English.
Today jerk is enjoyed daily on the islands. There are entire shops dedicated to this traditional cooking style and chefs who specialize in smoking meats, but jerk sauce has also made its way to the United States. It is widely known for the unique punch of island flavor that it brings to each dish.
Why Make This Recipe
- Explosion of Flavor: Jamaican food is deliciously pungent, flavorful and delightful, and this easy jerk sauce recipe makes it possible to add this spicy flavor to any dish!
- Add Some Spice: This sauce is traditionally used as a marinade, but it can be used as so much more! Any time you want to add a little spice to a dish, you can use this sauce.
- Taste of Jamaica: Authentic jerk sauce is tough to come by in a local grocery store but if you’re craving some of the flavor of the islands, this Jamaican jerk seasoning is sure to hit the spot!
What Do I Need To Make This Recipe?
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Fresh Thyme: If you need to substitute dried thyme, be sure to use a bit less than the recipe calls for
- Scotch Bonnet Pepper: I only used one but you can add more if you like extra spice. You could also use habanero peppers if you cannot find scotch bonnet peppers
- Onions: Use yellow onions but you can sub white if necessary. You will also need green onions.
- Allspice/Pimento Berries: This ingredient goes by different names in Jamaica vs the United States. In Jamaica, the key ingredient in jerk is referred to as pimento. However, if you are shopping in the US, you should buy “allspice”. They mean the same thing.
- Soy Sauce: This ingredient isn’t used by everyone that makes jerk sauce, though it can be common in Jamaican-American homes. Many Jamaicans will use an ingredient called “Browning” to achieve a similar effect.
Tools
- Food Processor: My sauce looks a little chunky because of the food processor I was using. If you can get your sauce smoother, that would be great.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Blend it up
Add all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor. Put the lid on the food processor and run to combine, until the marinade is smooth.
Working with Scotch Bonnet Peppers
Be careful when working with Scotch Bonnet peppers as they are very hot. Use proper care when cutting scotch bonnets. Wear gloves, as these spicy peppers may leave a burning feeling behind if they touch your skin. If you forget to wear gloves while working with your scotch bonnets, do not touch your eyes or face as they will burn for hours.
If you like a spicier jerk sauce, feel free to add as many scotch bonnet peppers as you want for heat. You might decide you want to use just one the first time and as more as you go to adjust the heat level.
Be careful when you are blending and when you open your food processor after processing the jerk sauce. Use gloves if touching your jerk sauce, and make sure not to touch your eyes. Opening my food processors after making the sauce made me cough quite a bit!
Adaptations
Not everyone makes their jerk sauce exactly the same. In fact, there are SO many ways that teach How to Make Jamaican Jerk Sauce. Check out these adaptations below. If your family does anything different, feel free to leave me a comment on this post so I can add it to the list!
- If you want a thicker sauce, reduce or omit the water. This texture is good for a marinade for jerk chicken, but reducing the water will make it more of a dry rub texture.
- The lime juice is optional.Some chefs like to add a little bit of orange juice or pineapple juice for a little extra island flavor. You could substitute the lime juice with either of these.
- The chicken seasoning added into the sauce is optional as well depending on what you are using the sauce for. If you are making jerk chicken, you can omit the seasoning from the sauce and instead sprinkle it directly on the chicken.
Expert Tips `
- Some recipes call for sauteing or simmering their jerk sauce. I do not do this, but feel free to try it out if you’d like!
- Use a high powered blender that will get your jerk blend very smooth.
- Fresh ingredients do make a difference! If possible, use fresh herbs and spices.
How to Use Jerk Sauce
Jerk Sauce can be used in so many different ways. The obvious Jerk Chicken is a must, but the options of how else to use this blend are endless. Try out any of these options:
- Jerk Chicken
- Marinade for other meats or vegetables
- Adding flavor to rice
- A spread on your sandwich
- Burgers
- Tacos
- Anything else you can think of!
FAQs
Yes, your Jerk sauce can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight jar or container for several days. The flavors of the sauce may become stronger if it has time to sit, even until the next day. If you don’t need to use it right away, let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Jerk Sauce and Jerk Seasoning have very similar flavor profiles, but they are used in different situations. Jerk Sauce is a wet marinade made using soy sauce, water, etc. This is great for if you need to soak meat or vegetables in a liquid marinade before cooking.
Jerk Seasoning is a dry rub blend that is made using dry spices. This is best for sprinkling on meat or vegetables before cooking.
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How To Make Jamaican Jerk Sauce
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper
- 2 small yellow onions
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp all purpose chicken seasoning
- ½ orange bell pepper
- 2 scallions
- 1 tbsp allspice, or pimento berries
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp lime juice, optional
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 inch ginger, piece of
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Add all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor. Put the lid on the food processor and run to combine, until the marinade is smooth.
Notes
- Fresh Thyme: If you need to substitute dried thyme, be sure to use a bit less than the recipe calls for
- Scotch Bonnet Pepper: I only used one but you can add more if you like extra spice. You could also use habanero peppers if you cannot find scotch bonnet peppers
- Onions: Use yellow onions but you can sub white if necessary. You will also need green onions.
- Allspice/Pimento Berries: This ingredient goes by different names in Jamaica vs the United States. In Jamaica, the key ingredient in jerk is referred to as pimento. However, if you are shopping in the US, you should buy “allspice”. They mean the same thing.
- Soy Sauce: This ingredient isn’t used by everyone that makes jerk sauce, though it can be common in Jamaican-American homes. Many Jamaicans will use an ingredient called “Browning” to achieve a similar effect.
- Some recipes call for sauteing or simmering their jerk sauce. I do not do this, but feel free to try it out if you’d like!
- Use a high powered blender that will get your jerk blend very smooth.
- Fresh ingredients do make a difference! If possible, use fresh herbs and spices.
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