While visiting a dear friend years ago in Jamaica, I fell in love with the bold, spicy sauce known as Jamaican jerk that is used on meats, especially pork and chicken. Thanks to an authentic recipe, I've now mastered the jerk sauce. I also love the combination of sweet and hot, as in raspberry chipotle sauce. So, why not a raspberry jerk sauce? The result was fabulous! I prefer to use the pork shoulder, but you may use your favorite pork roast or try it on chicken.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Resting Time:: 30 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours, 20 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- One 6- to 7-pound pork shoulder roast
- .
- Raspberry Jerk Sauce:
- 3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (sugar-free is okay) or puree
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 to 4 Scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and cored (wear gloves!)
- 1/4 cup ground allspice (Yes, this is the correct amount!)
- 1/2 Tablespoon ground thyme or 1-1/2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bunch escallions (green onions)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Carefully remove the hard skin of the pork shoulder in one piece, leaving 1/4-inch of fat. (Reserve the skin.) Set aside.
Place raspberry jam or puree, garlic cloves, Scotch bonnet peppers, ground allspice, thyme, scallions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and soy sauce in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until smooth. Set aside.
Select a large, deep, oven-proof roaster or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Place over medium-high heat. When hot, quickly brown the pork shoulder on all sides. When browned, move the pork to a large platter or cutting board and discard any fat in the pan.
Smear the raspberry jerk sauce over the outside of the browned pork shoulder.
Place the reserved skin in the bottom of the roasting pan or Dutch oven with the hard side down and fatty side up. Place the sauced pork shoulder on top of the skin. (See Notes.) Cover tightly and place in the preheated oven. Roast for 3-1/2 to 4 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (not touching bone) reaches 170 F.
Remove from oven, place shoulder on a platter or cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 30 minutes before carving to serve.
Yield: 8 servings
Cook's Notes:
• Using the pork skin as a cushion for the shoulder keeps the meat from sticking to the bottom of the pan. However, due to the sugar in the sauce, the skin may very well stick to the pan. For easier clean-up, add 1 cup of water to the pan and bring to a boil. This should release the skin and loosen any baked on drippings.
• If you use another cut of pork roast with no skin, place the roast on a shallow rack inside the pan.
• Pork should has two bones running through the center (a ball and socket joint), so it is difficult to cut perfect slices. This is not a dish to get fancy with. Chunks are just as delicious, if not moreso, than slices, because there will be less surface area from which the juices can leak. Family-style is best.
• The Scotch bonnet peppers are essential to the flavor. The spicy heat of the chiles will dissipate much during the cooking process. You can reduce the amount of peppers, but do use at least 2.
Raspberry Jerk Pork Recipe Photo © 2012 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.
• Jerk in the Oven Recipe
• Apple Cider Pork Loin Recipe
• Cranberry Pepper Pork Loin Roast Recipe
• Garlic Ginger Pork Roast Recipe
• Pepper Jelly Pork Roast Recipe
• Spiced Pork Roast Recipe
• Vanilla Brine for Pork Recipe
Carefully remove the hard skin of the pork shoulder in one piece, leaving 1/4-inch of fat. (Reserve the skin.) Set aside.
Place raspberry jam or puree, garlic cloves, Scotch bonnet peppers, ground allspice, thyme, scallions, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and soy sauce in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until smooth. Set aside.
Select a large, deep, oven-proof roaster or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Place over medium-high heat. When hot, quickly brown the pork shoulder on all sides. When browned, move the pork to a large platter or cutting board and discard any fat in the pan.
Smear the raspberry jerk sauce over the outside of the browned pork shoulder.
Place the reserved skin in the bottom of the roasting pan or Dutch oven with the hard side down and fatty side up. Place the sauced pork shoulder on top of the skin. (See Notes.) Cover tightly and place in the preheated oven. Roast for 3-1/2 to 4 hours, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (not touching bone) reaches 170 F.
Remove from oven, place shoulder on a platter or cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 30 minutes before carving to serve.
Yield: 8 servings
Cook's Notes:
• Using the pork skin as a cushion for the shoulder keeps the meat from sticking to the bottom of the pan. However, due to the sugar in the sauce, the skin may very well stick to the pan. For easier clean-up, add 1 cup of water to the pan and bring to a boil. This should release the skin and loosen any baked on drippings.
• If you use another cut of pork roast with no skin, place the roast on a shallow rack inside the pan.
• Pork should has two bones running through the center (a ball and socket joint), so it is difficult to cut perfect slices. This is not a dish to get fancy with. Chunks are just as delicious, if not moreso, than slices, because there will be less surface area from which the juices can leak. Family-style is best.
• The Scotch bonnet peppers are essential to the flavor. The spicy heat of the chiles will dissipate much during the cooking process. You can reduce the amount of peppers, but do use at least 2.
Raspberry Jerk Pork Recipe Photo © 2012 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Suggested Related Recipes
• Jamaican Jerk Sauce Recipe• Jerk in the Oven Recipe
• Apple Cider Pork Loin Recipe
• Cranberry Pepper Pork Loin Roast Recipe
• Garlic Ginger Pork Roast Recipe
• Pepper Jelly Pork Roast Recipe
• Spiced Pork Roast Recipe
• Vanilla Brine for Pork Recipe
