The island of Jamaica is well known for its interesting cuisine. Popular Jamaican dishes include curried goat, rice and peas (which is actually rice cooked with legumes such as kidney beans), and of course the national dish of saltfish (salted cod) and ackee (a type of fruit). However, for non-Jamaicans, perhaps those most famous of dishes from the island are jerk dishes, especially since the Jamaican emigrants have introduced these dishes to other countries such as the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, where jerk has become quite popular.
In Jamaica itself, the jerk style of cooking is traditionally used for preparing goat or pork, however it can also be used for other meats such as chicken, for fish, or even tofu. In other countries, probably the most popular jerk dish is jerk chicken.
All jerk dishes are prepared by rubbing or marinading the meat with Jamaican jerk spice before cooking. The jerk spice is actually a mixture of spices and has a fiery flavor. The principle ingredients in the spice are Jamaican pimento (also known as "Jamaican allspice") and Scotch bonnet peppers, however a variety of other spices are also commonly added to the mixture including nutmeg, cloves, cinnamin, thyme and garlic.
Historically jerk dishes were prepared by slowly smoking strips of meat over an open fire. Indeed, this fact explains the origin of the word "jerk" (and for that matter of "jerky") - it comes from a native American word, "charqui", which means "dried meat". However, nowadays, jerk dishes are instead prepared by cooking on a barbecue-style grill, or even a kitchen oven. For the most authentic flavor, you should try using a charcoal grill, and if possible adding some pimento wood or berries on top of the hot coals.
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