[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.] Sharine Taylor (
) explains the uniqueness of the “true flavor” of the Jamaican jerk cooking style. [Note that when Taylor discusses the origins of the work “jerk” from the indigenous root “charqui,” she is
not conflating “jerk” with “jerky.” Charqui (jerky) is still produced and eaten in many Latin American countries and has nothing to do with Jamaican jerk, which has its very special signature in the combination of spices used.] Taylor writes:
When I visit Jamaica, Friday nights are the most highly anticipated. At the beginning of the weekend, communities across the island are treated to a slough of vendors who set up their stations to serve jerked meats or seafoods along with an assortment of other foods. When I get the chance to visit my uncle in Portmore, a neighborhood just west of the island’s capital, Kingston, the wafting scent of jerk chicken lingers in the air after night falls. Everywhere, patrons flock to their favorite jerk pans—a set up that includes a repurposed steel oil drum as a cooking element paired alongside a cooler bountiful with a selection of drinks, a pot full of chef’s choice soup, and multiple desserts. I’m treated to my choice of jerk chicken leg and thigh or a breast, served over white bread topped with a messy mosaic of ketchup and wrapped up tight in foil binding.