Jamaican Classics
Homemade Jerk Seasoning
A fragrant homemade Jamaican jerk paste with onion, scallion, thyme, pimento and a touch of Scotch bonnet — the marinade used for the garden-party chicken and oxtail.
- Prep
- 25 minutes
- Cook
- 0 minutes
- Total
- 25 minutes
- Serves
- 1 large batch
Ingredients
- 5 white onions
- 1 red onion
- 3 pieces of fresh ginger
- About 20 garlic cloves
- 1 bundle scallion
- 1 bundle fresh thyme
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 whole lemon
- About ¼ can Red Stripe beer
- A tiny sprinkle of cinnamon
- Lots of pimento (allspice) seeds (2–3 packets)
- Browning sauce, until the paste has the desired colour
- A tiny piece of Scotch bonnet pepper (skin only)
Instructions
- 1
Peel and roughly chop the onions, ginger and garlic. Trim the scallion and pull the thyme leaves from any tough stems.
- 2
Add the onions, ginger, garlic, scallion and thyme to a blender or food processor.
- 3
Add the brown sugar, the juice of the whole lemon, the Red Stripe, cinnamon, pimento seeds and the Scotch bonnet skin.
- 4
Blend until you have a thick paste. Add a small splash more Red Stripe only if the blender needs help.
- 5
Stir in browning sauce a little at a time until the seasoning reaches the colour you like.
- 6
Use straight away to marinate meat, or store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator.
Notes & serving ideas
- Using only the skin of the Scotch bonnet gives fragrance without making the whole batch fiercely hot.
- In the garden-party video this homemade paste was also mixed with a little store-bought jerk sauce for the chicken breasts.