Caribbean Jerk Recipe

I love Caribbean food, but it’s hard to find a good restaurant in the suburbs. I was fortunate to work with a lot of people from various Caribbean islands. I would constantly ask them to make me food and give them money when I needed a fix, so a few of my peers decided to share some of their recipes with me instead. I've tweaked a couple here and there, but for the most part, this is as authentic as you get.

So today’s recipe is my version of a Caribbean jerk sauce. It is spicy, yet sweet and is able to be used in so many ways. The scotch bonnet pepper is traditionally what this sauce is made from, but it is a not joke type of pepper. You can adjust the heat by adding or removing the amount of peppers, or you can substitute for a less spicy pepper if you’re intimidated but this pepper.

This sauce is perfect for Caribbean style meatballs and slow cooker jerk chicken wing bags that I will be posting later this week.

Caribbean Jerk Sauce

1 tsp. allspice

1/2 c brown sugar

2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves (1 Tbsp. dried thyme)

1 bunch scallion bottom removed

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg)

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. pepper

1 inch knob fresh ginger

6-8 whole garlic cloves

4-6 scotch bonnet peppers

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. ketchup

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 1 orange

1/2 c pineapple juice

Put all of the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Be very careful when working with the scotch bonnet pepper, I recommend using gloves and thoroughly wash your hands immediately after. The oils from this pepper are extremely potent. This will keep in the fridge for up to 1 month and will freeze pretty much forever.

Be sure to thaw completely before using. I take it out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator to thaw overnight. Use a glaze for barbecue chicken or in my slow cooker bag jerk chicken wing recipe.