'Sweetwood Jerk Joint' Kingston Jamaica

Sometimes the best food is found in the places where you wouldn't normally even want to venture. I have said this before and I'm sure it will be true many times in the future.

We all know Jerk Chicken is the most famous of the Caribbean dishes. But have you ever tasted the real authentic thing? Because Jerk is not a seasoning or a dry rub or a sauce you dip into. Jerk is a method of BBQ'ing, that involves a marinade and a BBQ which has Sweetwood and Pimento Wood branches as major flavour and smoke components.

The branches lay accross the BBQ and the meat is placed on top. It takes 2-3 hours for a chicken to be cooked this way and obviously a lot longer for a whole side of pork. The smoky flavour that you get from cooking slowly over the wood branches cannot be replicated. In fact the meat doesn't just roast, it actually becomes smoked somewhat. After tasting it done this way once, there will be no comparison ever again.

The meat is served chopped up with a heavy cleaver. There is a Roasted Scotch Bonnet Pepper dressing condiment at the 'hole in the wall' window, where you pick up your food, that maybe too hot to handle for  some of us, but it is complex and delicious.

The meat is tender and juicy and smokey and spicy and heavy with aroma of Pimento and Thyme and Scotch Bonnet, and it is soooo good!

There must be several of these authentic Jerk Centres in Jamaica, each with their own secret recipe marinade, but I have discovered the 'Sweetwood Jerk Joint' in Kingston, a small outdoor eatery with a welcoming scent luring you in, friendly service and divine BBQ meats. Pork, Chicken, Lamb, Sausages and Fish served with the usual suspects of Rice & Peas, Festival, Roast Sweet Potato or simply Bread. They also do soup, which apparently is just called Broth, and I haven't figured out what's in it yet. Meat and vegetables they tell me, that is all. Another mystery to be solved yet I reckon.

The Sweetwood Jerk Joint is located at 78 Knutsford Blvd, by the Emancipation Park. They do not have a website, but you can 'like' them on Facebook

For my recipe of delicious Jerk Chicken check out this blog entry: Jerk Chicken

Kingston Jamaica and Jerk Chicken

A quote from Thumper in the animated Walt Disney Classic 'Bambi', "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."

A long time ago I went to a Jerk Master Class in Jamaica and learned how to make this typical Caribbean beauty first hand.

Back in Kingston now I am feeling the love and want to make it again. The method of Jerking originates in Jamaica and uses the typical Jamaican Pimento Berries as well as the Pimento tree for the BBQ process. You could put the entire contents of your spice cupboard into this marinade, but Pimento, Scotch Bonnet and Thyme are the most important.

Since my last recipe turned out better then my teachers ;-) I will use that same one again!

Ingredients for the Jerk wet marinade:

1 large Spring Onion

1/2 Onion

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 tbs All Spice (Pimento)

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp dried Thyme

2 tbs Soy Sauce

1 or 2 Scotch Bonnet Chillies (how hot do you like it?)

4 cloves of Garlic

1 inch of Ginger

a small bunch of fresh Thyme

1 tbs Peppercorns

2 tbs Oil

1 tbs Brown Sugar

1 Bay leaf

a splash of Pineapple Juice

Blend all Ingredients in a food processor until it is of a thick shake consistency.

Add a splash of Pineapple Juice to get it right.

This is my personal version of the Jerk marinade, everyone here makes it differently. My teacher added something called Old Bay,  a spice mixture I haven't ever used before. She also added Cloves, but I am leaving those out, as the All Spice is pungent enough.

Take a whole Chicken and cut out the backbone to butterfly.

Massage the whole Marinade into it, paying attention to getting it under the skin as well.

Leave to marinate for up to 2 days.

BBQ your Chicken on Pimento Tree Charcoal, or failing that roast in a 200C oven, turning a few times, until tender and juicy.