Jerk Seasoning: Allspice, Scotch Bonnet and the Jamaican Way of Cooking Meat

For jerk to count as authentic in Jamaica, the meat has to be smoked over pimento wood.¹ Jerk is a whole way of seasoning, smoking and grilling meat, not just a spice mix. Pimento is another name for allspice, and along with thyme and fiery Scotch bonnet chile it’s the heart of jerk seasoning. You’ll find it as a wet paste built on fresh chiles and scallions or as a dry rub, and there’s no single recipe.

At a glance

What jerk is

Smithsonian Magazine defines jerk as the way meat is seasoned, smoked and grilled, not just a spice mix. The article reports that for jerk to count as authentic, the meat has to be smoked over pimento wood.¹ Pimento is another name for allspice, the dried berry of Pimenta dioica, a tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Walkerswood, which makes its seasonings with Jamaican Scotch bonnets, describes jerk as a traditional Jamaican style of barbecuing meats, seafood and vegetables.³

In Jamaica, roadside “jerk pan men” cook over converted metal oil drums used as smokers and grills, Smithsonian reports.

Where jerk came from

Smithsonian’s history, drawing on scholar Carolyn Cooper, calls jerk one of the enduring legacies of the fusion of African and Taíno cultures. Africans who escaped slavery on the island’s plantations formed Maroon communities in the mountains and shared cooking traditions with surviving Indigenous people. They traditionally hunted wild boar, the original jerk meat. Today chicken, sausage and pork are the most common jerk meats on the island.¹

Some histories say European settlers added thyme and garlic, or that Arawak labor was first used on coffee and sugar plantations. We couldn’t find either point documented in the sources we checked.

The word. The English verb jerk, to preserve meat by cutting it into long thin strips and drying it in the sun, dates from 1707 in American English. It comes from American Spanish via charqui, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, and jerky comes from the same charqui, from Quechua ch’arki, “dried flesh.”⁵ The dictionary doesn’t discuss the Jamaican cooking term, though, so it can’t tell us whether jerk the dish takes its name from the same word. PepperScale says the name is believed to come from the Quechua charqui, but doesn’t say who holds that view.⁴ So the link is likely, not proven.

What goes into jerk seasoning

Here’s what four named sources list, side by side:

How to read this:

• Allspice, thyme and chile are in all four. Smithsonian quotes Cooper calling pimento berries and Scotch bonnet pepper the essential ingredients of the seasoning.¹
• The USDA list is a minimum. The federal specification says jerk seasoning should include, but isn’t limited to, these ingredients. It describes the seasoning as a brown powder with red and white specks and pieces of green leaf.⁶
• Wet and dry differ. Walkerswood’s seasoning is built on fresh Scotch bonnets and escallion,³ while the dry blends use red pepper and dehydrated onion.⁶⁷

Flavor

Allspice gives jerk its clove-like warmth. PROSEA puts eugenol at 50 to 80% of allspice berry oil.² Thyme adds a herbal note, and Scotch bonnet brings a fruity, intense heat. Gernot Katzer notes that the extreme heat of Capsicum chinense chiles, the group that includes Scotch bonnet, matters in Caribbean cooking, and that jerk paste uses these chiles.⁸

How hot a jar is depends on the chile and how much goes in. Walkerswood sells both a Hot & Spicy and a Mild jerk seasoning. PepperScale says jerk seasoning is supposed to be hot, names Scotch bonnets as the chile of choice, and credits them with a tropical sweetness as well as heat. It gives them 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville heat units, a standard range for the pepper, not a reading from any seasoning.⁴ We didn’t find a Scoville figure for jerk seasoning itself.

How it is used

• Paste. Rub it into chicken pieces or pork, ideally ahead of time, then grill over moderate heat with the lid on. Toss soaked allspice berries or pimento wood chips on the fire for smoke.
• Dry rub. McCormick suggests rubbing the dry blend on chicken, ribs or seafood.⁷ PepperScale notes that jerk seasoning can be a wet paste of fresh ingredients or just the dry spices, and that it’s traditionally used on pork and chicken.
• Beyond meat. Walkerswood names vegetables and seafood as well as meats. Cooks also use jerk seasoning on fish, shrimp, tofu, mushrooms and roasted sweet potatoes.

Pimento-wood smoke is part of the traditional method, and it’s hard to find outside the Caribbean. Allspice berries on the coals are a common stand-in. See allspice and Jamaican spices.

Buying and quality

• Wet or dry. A wet seasoning that lists Scotch bonnet and scallion first is hotter and fresher-tasting than most dry rubs.
• Read the label. Dry blends list salt and sugar near the top. A salt-free blend lets you season to taste.
• Smell it. Good jerk seasoning smells strongly of allspice. If the clove-like smell is faint, the blend has faded.

Storage

Keep dry jerk seasoning airtight, dark and cool. For wet seasonings and pastes, follow the label. We didn’t find a shelf-life figure from a regulator or standards body.

Nutrition and health

You use so little that the blend supplies hardly any vitamins or minerals, and salt and sugar are on all three ingredient lists above. You’ll see claims that jerk seasoning prevents food poisoning or osteoporosis, or treats respiratory problems. None of the sources we reviewed supports them, and we’re not claiming it treats or prevents any disease.

Safety

• Heat. Scotch bonnet pastes are very hot.⁸ Wear gloves when you handle fresh Scotch bonnets, and keep paste away from your eyes.
• Mycotoxins (EU). EU law sets maximum levels of ochratoxin A and aflatoxins for dried Capsicum spices such as chilli powder and cayenne,⁹ the chile in dry jerk blends.

Substitutes and comparisons

• Jerk seasoning substitutes
• The key spice: allspice (and too much allspice)
• Jamaican and Caribbean cooking: Jamaican spices, Caribbean spices, Jamaican curry powder
• The other ingredients: thyme, cayenne pepper, habanero powder, ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, nutmeg