Jamaica Vacation for Idiots
The largest fast food industry on the island of Jamaica is its famous jerk food. Caribbean vacation travelers come to Jamaica just to enjoy the wide variety of jerk, including chicken, goat, beef, pork, sausage, fish, lobster, shrimp, and even vegetables. You haven’t tried Jamaica until you’ve tried real Jamaican jerk, but be prepared: spicy jerk can pack some serious heat! Jerk, which originates from Jamaica, is a process of seasoning and then roasting meats that are dry rubbed with an extremely hot mixture made primarily from Scotch Bonnet peppers (which belong to the Habanero family and are among the hottest peppers); and then marinated in meat for hours before being grilled. Except maybe at the top of the Blue Mountains, you can’t go anywhere in Jamaica without running into an idiot. These street-side fire pits are usually made from old oil barrels that are cut in half lengthwise; articulated and perforated with ventilation holes; and then covered with charcoal and the sweet, aromatic leaves and wood of allspice trees (which produces jerk’s unique flavor).
Traditional jerk accompaniments include rice and black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, fried plantains, mango salsa, and roasted pineapple. These foods are high in starches and acids, which help enhance the burning of the spices. Each chef prepares their own special version of the spice marinade, adding ingredients such as chives, garlic, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, or thyme. Some chefs add vinegar or soy sauce to the marinade to make the meat juicer. The meat is then slow-roasted at low temperatures for several hours over an allspice wood fire, giving it jerk’s characteristic sweet-and-spicy smoky flavor. Locals and tourists vacationing in Jamaica have their own favorite dishes, and the debate continues over which chef cooks the best jerk (as individual and family recipes are closely guarded).
The word “jerk” is derived from “charqui”, a Spanish word for dried meat (from which the English word “jerky” is also derived). Some theorists believe that the jerk port was invented by the Maroons, Jamaican slaves originally from West Africa who escaped from the British in 1655. Others say that the jerk process was invented by the Arawak Indians, who were the first inhabitants of Jamaica , and that used copious amounts of peppers and spices and then smoked the meats over shallow fires that burned allspice wood to preserve the meat. Gourmet travelers to Jamaica take advantage of discounted summer vacation packages to visit Boston Bay in the Portland parish on Jamaica’s east coast, where allspice trees grow wild and where every July it takes The annual Portland Jerk Festival is held at the Folly Great House on the outskirts of Port Antonio. This is a fun-filled three-day event with local entertainment and some of the best jerks from the best chefs in Jamaica. Just follow the smoke and scent and enjoy the biggest gathering of idiots and idiot lovers in the world!