Jerk (cooking)

Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica, in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet-marinated with a hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice.
The technique of jerking (or cooking with jerk spice) originated from Jamaica's indigenous peoples, the Arawak and Taíno tribes, and was adopted by the descendants of 17th-century Jamaican Maroons who intermingled with them.
The smoky taste of jerked meat is achieved by using various cooking methods, including modern wood-burning ovens. Chicken or pork is usually jerked, and the main ingredients of the spicy jerk marinade / sauce are allspice and scotch bonnet peppers, which are native to Jamaica.
The word "jerk" is said to come from charqui, a Spanish term of Quechua origin for jerked or dried meat, which eventually became the word "jerky" in English.
The term jerk spice (also known as Jamaican jerk spice) refers to a spice rub. The word "jerk" refers to the spice rub, a wet marinade and mop sauce made from it, and to the particular cooking technique.
According to evidence from historians, jerked meat was first cooked by the indigenous Taínos. During the invasion of Jamaica in 1655, the Spanish colonists freed their enslaved Africans who fled into the Jamaican countryside, intermingling with the remaining Taínos, learning and adapting aspects of their culture— thus, becoming some of the first Jamaican Maroons. It appears that these runaway slaves learned this practice from the Taínos.
The method of cooking in underground pits is speculated by some, to have been used in order to avoid creating smoke which would have given away their location— though it is common throughout the world, and is best known in Hawaii, in the form of kālua-style imu cooking, central to the luau, as well as, barbacoa in Mesoamerica.
Historians believe that the Taínos developed the style of cooking and seasoning used across the region. The method of jerking meats on native pimento wood also came from the Taíno term “barabicu” or barbacoa, which means “framework of sticks”, applied to a range of wooden structures, including a raised wooden grill for roasting and smoking foods. This Taíno technique is applied throughout the Americas, and many food historians agree that all forms of barbecue in the Americas are descendants of this cooking style.
While all racial groups hunted wild hogs in the Jamaican interior, and used the practice of jerking to cook them in the 17th century, by the end of the 18th century most groups had switched to imported pork products. Mainly the Maroons continued the practice of hunting wild hogs and jerking pork. Jamaican jerk sauce primarily developed by these Maroons, added flavour to wild hogs which were seasoned with herbs and allspice, and then slow cooked over pimento wood. The use of scotch bonnet is largely responsible for the heat found in Caribbean jerks. Over time the basic recipe has been modified as various cultures added their influence.
Jerk cooking and seasoning have followed the Caribbean diaspora all over the world, and forms of jerk can now be found at restaurants almost anywhere a significant population of Caribbean descent exists— such as the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, coastal Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and San Andrés. As such, Jamaican jerk has developed a global following, most notably in American, Canadian and Western European cosmopolitan urban centres. Poulet boucané (or 'smoked chicken'), a dish found in French Caribbean countries such as Martinique and Guadeloupe, is quite similar to traditional Jamaican jerk chicken.
The cooking technique of jerking and the results it produces, have evolved over time— from using pit fires to grilling over coals in old metal barrel halves. Around the 1960s, Caribbean entrepreneurs seeking an easier, more portable method of jerking, began cutting oil barrels lengthwise, adding holes for ventilation and hinged lids to capture the smoke. These barrels are fired with charcoal, and have become widely used across the island. Other jerking methods include wood-burning ovens.
Street-side "jerk stands" or "jerk centres" are frequently found in Jamaica and the nearby Cayman Islands, as well as, other places that experienced waves of Jamaican migration— like San Andrés. Jerked meat, usually chicken or pork, can be purchased along with hard dough bread, bammy (a native cassava flatbread), Jamaican fried dumplings (known as "Johnnycake" or journey cakes), and festival, a variation of sweet flavoured fried dumplings, served as a side dish.
Jerk seasoning principally consists of allspice and scotch bonnet peppers. Other ingredients may include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, brown sugar, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt.
Jerk seasoning was originally used on chicken and pork, but in modern recipes it is used with other ingredients including fish, shrimp, lobster, conch, shellfish, beef, sausage, lamb, goat, tofu, and vegetables. In Jamaica, jerk is also used in the preparation of pizzas, patties and burgers.
Due to the growing international popularity of Jamaican jerk, a number of unauthentic jerk products are being sold outside of Jamaica. Consequently, the Jamaican government trademarked Jamaica Jerk, as a geographical indication (GI), in September 2015— making Jamaica, the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to register a GI. The move is aimed at guarding against those who seek to capitalise on the Jamaican brand, and to protect Jamaican jerk internationally from misrepresentation and imitation. The GI protects the quality, characteristics and reputation of Jamaican jerk, and prevents third parties from using the term for products that do not meet the standards set out in the GI's code of practice.