Jamaican Jerk Sauce

By
Christine Morin
Christine Morin
Christine is a restaurant owner, chef, and caterer from Jamaica.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/21/24
Tested by
Danielle Centoni
Danielle Centoni
Tested by Danielle Centoni

Danielle is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon.

Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 15 mins
Servings: 10 to 12 servings
Yield: 2 cups

Jerk is an important part of Jamaican history, tracing back to the middle of the 17th century and possibly even earlier. The term "jerk" is thought to be from the Spanish word for dried meat, charqui, which has been transformed into the English "jerky." It is likely connected to the way the meat gets poked, prodded, and jerked around the grill as it cooks.

Although Jamaican chefs and cooks keep their recipes close to their chests, all of them can agree on a few jerk sauce ingredients. Key components like allspice, Scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, and garlic are necessary to get the right flavor. Other seasoning blends might include scallions, onions, salt, black pepper, and more. Jamaican jerk sauce should be challengingly spicy, so it's important not to skimp on the peppers. Keep in mind that the peppers tend to mellow a bit during the cooking process.

Paste-like Jamaican jerk sauce in a bowl with a spoon and on grilled chicken pieces

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
What You'll Need to Make This Jamaican Jerk Sauce Recipe
A Zippy Food Processor
A Sharp Paring Knife
A Nice Set of Measuring Spoons

"There are lots of ingredients in this marinade, but they all get thrown in the food processor, so it’s easy. I used this on chicken and cod fillets. Everything was delicious. Leave some chile pepper seeds in if you love heat. I was afraid the marinade used too much allspice, but it worked!" —Danielle Centoni

Jamaican jerk sauce tester image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup ground allspice

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

  • 2 bunches scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped

  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic

  • 4 to 6 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, seeded and cored; leave some seeds in for more heat

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme (or 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves)

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Jamaican jerk sauce recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  2. Add the allspice berries, brown sugar, scallions, garlic cloves, Scotch bonnet peppers, soy sauce, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to a food processor or a blender.

    Jerk sauce ingredients placed in food processor bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  3. Process until smooth.

    Jerk sauce ingredients blended to a thick smooth brown paste in the food processor

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  4. Use to marinate the meat of your choice.

    Jamaican jerk sauce being spooned over raw chicken pieces

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

How to Use

Although Jamaican jerk sauce has been traditionally used with pork, all types of meat are now seasoned this way. For example, cooks can rub this spicy jerk sauce on chicken, pork, beef, or fish.

  • For pork shoulder, you can score the fat and rub the sauce into the cuts.
  • For chicken, loosen the skin on the whole bird (or cut up the bird) before brushing the sauce underneath and into the cavity.
  • This preparation style can also be used deliciously on a firm-fleshed fish such as grouper.
  • It's important to marinate most meat for at least eight hours or overnight. When marinating fish, leave the sauce on for up to one hour and on steaks or fillets for no more than half an hour.
  • Meat or fish can be grilled slowly over a low fire, preferably charcoal, until it's done. The meat should look "pinkish" with dark skin.
  • For an added authentic flavor, cooks can find pimento wood (from the tree that yields the allspice berries), which is available online and at some specialty food stores.
  • For an authentic presentation, chop the meat into pieces and serve it island-style with fresh jerk sauce on the side, traditional hard dough bread, and plenty of cold Jamaican beer.

Tips

  • You can put whole allspice berries straight into the food processor or blender. If this process is used, be sure to use the equivalent of 1/2 cup ground.
  • Adjust the number of peppers according to your tolerance for heat.
  • Wear gloves when you work with Scotch bonnet or other hot peppers.
  • Store the jerk sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three months or freeze for up to a year.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
62 Calories
0g Fat
13g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 62
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 259mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 13g 5%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 5mg 23%
Calcium 60mg 5%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 129mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)