Jamaican Jerk Marinade for Pork | Wild Boar
The cuisine of Jamaica shows its eclectic history through the spicy, complex flavors used to season the local ingredients. These distinctive flavors and recipes establish new flavor combinations that yield incredible results. This seasoning has been further refined to use different beer styles to accentuate different flavors of pork | wild boar in this version of a Jerk marinade. This recipe is different than the Jamaican Jerk Basic Marinade as this recipe is further refined for a specific protein being from pork | wild boar, to further enhance the flavors from the beer style and bring in other complementary sensory elements.
Makes: about 8 ounces of marinade
Adapted from BeerAdvocate Magazine: Cuisine à la Bière | Aug 2008 | Issue #19
Servings | Prep Time |
8 people | 5 minute |
Passive Time |
24 hour |
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This recipe creates a unique flavor of the Caribbean Islands, in a Jamaican Jerk Marinade for Pork | Wild Boar and also used to season other dishes.
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- 2 each oranges, Valencia or Navel, zested and juiced
- 5 each sage leaves
- 4 each garlic, cloves peeled
- 2 each onions, green, washed
- 1 each onion, Spanish, large, peeled and chopped
- 1 - 3 each chilies, Scotch Bonnets or Habanero, depending on your heat | spice tolerance
- 1 each shallot peeled and chopped
- 1/2 bunch thyme, fresh stems and leaves
- 1 tablespoon allspice, whole, Jamaican from Savory Spice Co.
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, Ceylon, organic, ground from Savory Spice Co.
- 2 teaspoon paprika, sweet from Savory Spice Co.
- 1 teaspoon mace, ground from Savory Spice Co.
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated from Savory Spice Co.
- 1 teaspoon salt, sea
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns, black freshly cracked
- 2 tablespoon Russian Imperial Stout, such as Russian Imperial Stout
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce | tamari | liquid aminos
- Pimento wood available Here
- In the pitcher of a blender or bowl of a food processor, add citrus zest and juice, sage, garlic, green onions, Spanish onion, chili peppers (depending on your heat level, the seeds and ribs of the chilies can be removed to drop the heat and retain the flavor of the chilies | peppers), shallot, thyme, allspice, cinnamon, paprika, mace, nutmeg, salt, pepper, Russian Imperial Stout, molasses and soy sauce | tamari | liquid aminos. Pulse the mixture a few times, breaking up the ingredients, scraping the sides down with a spatula. Then purée until mixture is smooth, creating a thick paste. Add more 1 - 2 more tablespoons of beer if the mixture is too dry and not mixing well. Taste the jerk before using, as the Scotch bonnet pepper is one of the hottest peppers (not the hottest) around and will make a spicy marinade.
- To use, coat your pork | wild boar liberally, rubbing the marinade into each nook and cranny. Give the meat at least 4 hours and up to 48 hours of contact time with the marinade for optimum flavor, deep into the protein. This marinade will last for two weeks refrigerated in a sealed container.
- Traditionally jerk was cooked over Pimento wood, imparting its unique flavor to the main course. Since this type of tree isn’t in everyone’s backyard, experiment with different woods. I like using peach, cherry or apple wood with pork | wild boar.
- Start a small amount of coals, adding some peach, cherry or apple wood wood chunks (or chips soaked in water or beer for 30 minutes prior to use) atop, giving different flavors to the protein. Cook the pork | wild boar indirectly at first, letting the flavor of the wood envelop the meat for 30 - 45 minutes. Finish by placing the meat over the direct heat to sear the outside and form a crust.
- If using a larger piece of meat, such as whole or half hog, low and slow will help the cooking and infuse a lot of flavor. Use restraint when adding peach, cherry or apple wood chunks, as the main flavorings should come from the jerk, not just the wood. Cook at 250°F | 121°C - 300°F | 149°C for 6 - 10 hours, depending on the size and thickness of the pig.
- Traditionally this is the way jerk is cooked. Using several cinder blocks, create a pit 3 feet high, 3 to 4 feet wide and in length fire pit. Make your fire, using some charcoal and hard wood (peach, cherry or apple wood), covering the “pit” with either rebar or a heavy gauge wire to act like a grill. Cook as you would a grill, about an hour or longer for larger size | cuts of pig.
- Preheat oven to 375˚F | 191°C - 400°F | 204°C. Place pork | wild boar on top third of the oven and cook for 20 - 35 minutes to sear the meat. Lower temp to 325°F | 163°C and finish until desired cooking temperature and doneness is reached. Pork needs an internal temperature of at least 150°F | 66°C to be safe to eat.
Beer Pairing Tips for Jamaican Cuisine:
With the strong and aggressive flavors from the curry and Jerk, try stronger beers that will stand up to the spices and chilies. Think IPA's, Double Reds, American Double | Imperial IPA or even unusual Herb | Spiced Beers. These will stand up to the intensity of the food, rather than be muted by it. Hops will add a nice bitterness that isn’t found in this style of food, adding more complexity to the pairing.
Beers that pair | cook well with swine are: Belgian Strong Dark, Whiskey Barrel Aged Barleywine and Imperial Stouts.
Other Jamaican Recipes to Compliment this Recipes: