Jerk Pork

[Dewesq55]

jhoskins - Yes, I will. Maybe a little later today.

[jhoskins]

Dewesq55 I know this thread is SUPER old, but can you share details on your curry goat and curry chicken recipes?? I love Jamaican food and am starting to pursue making more authentic jerk chicken (followed shortly by pork).

[_Keith]

I can't "like" comments or I totally would. My wife got me jerk slather for Christmas. I think it's a present for her as much as for me :-)

[Dewesq55]

I ordered pimento wood from them before the holidays but they were closed the week or 2 before New Year. I got a notice today that it had shipped.

DEW

[_Keith]

Oh, and don't sweat authenticity too much. My wife and I went on something of a jerk tour of Jamaica, and one thing we discovered was the wide variety of things that were called "jerk". I always thought the rub and sauce were essential to it, but we ate at one place that didn't use either! Just chicken on wood over charcoal. We were the only white people there, so I know it wasn't toned down for the tourists.

[_Keith]

Actually, jerk in Jamaica doesn't use direct heat; they use sticks of pimento wood to create a heat shield. Here's a couple pits, one outside of Montego Bay, the other in Boston Bay:




You can see how close the coals are in the second picture in particular. A number of street vendors use oil drum cookers, and a foot away with the coals would be impossible.

As for a source for pimento, if you're in the US, try these guys:

http://www.pimentowood.com/Pimento_Wood/Pimento_Wood.html

[Strat50]

Your jerk looks just fine. Mine looks like that too, and it is great! We're cooking food, not saving lives here, after all. Try looking at it this way: had you gone into a little hole in the wall eatery and were served what you made, for the price you paid, would you have sent it back? No? I thought so...lol

Dewesq55, your food, like any good food, has soul. Your soul. Embrace it as those around you are enjoying your passion.

[Dewesq55]

So, The Pros:
1) Grace Jerk seasoning was awesome good spice and flavor
2) The flavor and amount of smoke was spot on. The allspice berries did their job in giving an authentic flavor to the exterior.
3) The thicker, fattier pieces were delicious with good mouth feel.
4) There was a smoke ring! Might have been the allspice berries



The Cons:
1) I overcooked it (Oh demon alchohol). I was having terrible fluctuations in cooker temp which slowed everything down. Eventually, at about 175° or so, I wrapped them and brought them inside and put into a 350° oven. Problem is my better half came home just then wanting a cocktail so I made martinis (a Friday night tradition) and sort of forgot about the pork in the oven. By the time she said something, they were above 210°
2) The pork slices were uneven, resulting in the thinner areas being pretty dry.

There really were no other cons. There were no leftovers, so they must have been edible.

Pix:

[Dewesq55]

So they went on the smoker at about 4:35. Having a little trouble keeping the temp up on the electric today for some reason. I think I will tell it I want it at 250 and see if I can get it to stay in the 225-230 range.


DEW

[Dewesq55]

Jerk goat sounds great, by the way. I'll have to try that one of these days when I find another halal butcher (the last one near me closed.) All I can get now is frozen chunks of New Zealand goat, which I use for Jamaican curry and Indian/Pakistani bhuna.

[Dewesq55]

In our local ShopRite they always have lots of picnic shoulder. They always have them whole and usually cubed up and sometimes sliced. This one was 4 slices of which I am using only 2 for this cook. I often but the cubed which I put in the slow cooker with onions, serranos, cilantro and hot green salsa to make a green pork chili which I use for tacos, chili and enchiladas.

[Spinaker]

This is a great idea. I love Caribbean Jerk. I never even thought of making it though.
I had some phenomenal Jerk Cabrito (goat) down on Dominica about two months ago that was heavenly. We ate it all, I mean all they had. They ran out of goats that were kept in the back!!!
Do the Picnic shoulders usually come sliced in two or is that something you had to do yourself? I will be interested to see how tasty it looks after the smoke hits'em. Thanks for the post brother. Keep us posted!!

[Huskee]

I want to try this! Thanks for the idea. I will look for Walkerswood or Grace...

[Dewesq55]

I make a mean curry goat (which is our fave Jamaican dish). Also curry chicken and Brown Stew Chicken. Rice and Peas with all of them.

[Zman23]

Love me some jerk! I actually did a jerk pork loin on the rotissrrie today, will try to post pics later. I made my own rub with a fitali pepper and a ghost pepper grown by a friend. I saw your peas and rice recipe too and love that as well. I may have been a jamaican in a prvious life!