A new branch of a famous local Caribbean joint just opened near where I work, and I think I’ll go there tomorrow for lunch.
I’ve heard that jerk chicken is delicious. The thing is, I can tolerate some heat, but I can’t tolerate incandescent heat.
So how hot is jerk chicken? Let’s picture a one-to-ten scale:
If
1 = no spicy heat whatsoever, and
10 = eating a raw Scotch bonnet chili, seeds and all
How would you rate it?
Unfortunately in my experience there’s a lot of variation. A place not too far from me warns me very time how hot it is but to me it’s not really bad at all, but then again I’ve had it at other places where it’s absolutely painful. I’d just go in and ask if they can make it medium.
It’s usually like Thai food. They’ll ask you how hot you want them to make it.
Everything I have ever seen called “Jamaican Jerk” has been some weird sweet nutmeg allspice thing.
How does the real stuff differ?
Yes, authentic jerk seasoning is going to be a combination of sweet and hot. Ironically, given the OP, the heat often comes from Scotch Bonnet peppers.
Yeah, there are a lot of variations on the basic theme.
Here is one that doesn’t use habaneros / scotch bonnets:
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces
Combine all the ingredients except chicken in a bowl.
Marinate chicken in the mixture overnight.
BBQ to chicken using marinade while grilling.
Eat
It’s all over the map. I rarely find super spicy jerk here, but it is supposed to be pretty spicy normally. The principle ingredients of jerk are Scotch bonnets (or habanero), allspice, and thyme (along with scallions and a bunch of other things.)
I have tried it dozens of times(usually pork tho),the scale ranges from 2-6 mebbe 7.It’s almost always delicious,give it a try.
Given your screen name, I have to ask, “Do you feel lucky?”
The only time I’ve had authentic-seeming jerk it was only around a 5. Spicy enough that I could definitely taste it but weak enough to leave me definitely wanting more. That said it was strong enough that I could taste the real scotch bonnet/habanero so it did have that going for it (I like the flavor of that pepper much more than other spicy peppers even aside from its hotness.)
Actually, jerk doesn’t have to have any sweet ingredients in it (unless you are classifying allspice under “sweet”), and a lot of jerk recipes do not have any sugar whatsoever. I happen to like a little bit of brown sugar and perhaps some orange or lime juice in my jerk paste, but jerk doesn’t have to have sweet at all.
The main flavors that say “jerk” are Scotch bonnet peppers and allspice (and to a lesser extent, thyme, as I mentioned.) Without those (or a similar pepper like habanero), you don’t have “jerk,” in my opinion. Substituting milder peppers like serrano or jalapeño changes the flavors too much. Now, I’ve heard of habaneros that have had a lot of their heat bred out of them–those might work.
Gagundathar’s recipe looks fine for what it is, but it’s only vaguely reminiscent of jerk. Allspice is a key component of the flavor; cinnamon doesn’t work as a straight replacement (although some jerk pastes may have cinnamon as a component.) The stuff is traditionally even grilled/smoked over pimento (allspice tree) wood. There’s plenty of variation on how people do it–there’s no single jerk recipe–but those ingredients pretty much define jerk for what it is.
99% of the jerk chicken I’ve had as appetizers in buffets, bars and restaurants has had almost no real heat. Possibly a place that specializes in authentic jerk chicken might change that, but mass market jerk chicken is not that spicy.
Yeah, it really depends on the clientele it is trying to attract. If it’s a Caribbean place targeted to the masses, you can bet on the jerk being pretty mild. There was a place here in Chicago called Calypso Cafe that got raves from a lot of people I knew for having good jerk chicken. I admit, what they served wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it was a pale shadow of the jerk you’d get by visiting some of the more ethnic neighborhoods that cater to the local tastes.
I grabbed a quarter of a Jamaican jerk chicken from a Hi Lo grocery here in Trinidad last night, IN FUCKING SANE! Not just on spicyness which was bad too but just the amount of the spice mix, so much it was overpowering stuffed into every cranny and under the skin.
A new branch of a famous local joint? It is going to be a medium heat maybe a bit more. No way are you going to get into the actual hot jerk.
Ask if they serve sea moss, or ask if they have any dishes with salt fish. If you get a puzzled look you’re not in a authentic Jamaican restaurant.
I’ve had jerk chicken at several places while in Jamaica and it was fantastic and while it had a nice bite I wouldn’t consider it hot.
Also had some catered from a local Carribean joint in the twin cities that claimed to be authentic but wasn’t that hot.
Oddly enough the hottest jerk chicken I’ve tried was from a Buffalo Wild Wings.
BW3’s [sub]That’s right, not Buffalo Wild Wings, I refuse to acknowledge that[/sub] Jerk sauce does have some real kick to it, but is not super spicy.
The only time I had home-made jerk chicken was a solid 7 on the heat scale.
BW3 has a ring to it, but from there it’s only a small step to “Bee Dub” which is an unholy abomination worthy of Cthulhu.
There’s so many variations on “jerk” that taste different, it’s hard to know what you’re going to get.
The only one I really like is Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning in a jar. It’s kind of a wet, weedy looking paste you smear on chicken, then grill. I use a lot of it.
It has the kind of heat that builds up to the point you go “Uh oh”, then subsides.