Trippa said:
Just throwing this out there does anyone have an authentic recipe for jerk seasoning and or pimento cheese??? I made jerk last year and it was great but I want to make sure it was close to authentic at least.
As for pimento cheese I had never heard of it or tasted it before ... However I looked it up after it was referred to in a book and it sounds like something good to dish up with snack food at parties.
Cheers
Hi Trippa, funny you should ask... I just made up some Jerk seasoning yesterday. There's 2 ways you can go with it... wet or dry. This is a classic wet recipe if you're in a hurry, meaning that the marinade is made the same day or the night before. It's also been "tarted up" with the addition of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar and vegetable oil...
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/29843-jerk-seasoning-recipe/#entry604175
If you want a more basic recipe, and time to let the ingredients get better acquainted beforehand, here's a Boston Beach recipe...
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
half a cup of finely chopped scallions, including the green parts
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice berries (Jamaican is preferred)
a quarter tsp ground nutmeg
half a tsp ground cinnamon
4 to 6 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero chiles, minced fine
1 tsp ground black pepper
Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, combine all ingredients and grind to a paste. Store leftover paste in the refrigerator in a tightly closed jar. The paste will keep for up to a month or can be frozen.
This paste is the base for a jerk marinade. To make the marinade add together...
half a cup of the base
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero chile, minced or 2 tbsp hot pepper sauce (optional)
leaves from a fresh thyme sprig, finely minced
2 scallions, including green parts, finely chopped
3 to 3 and a half pounds of meat cut into serving pieces.
Mix well, and rub the meat well all over with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours. Set up your grill for indirect grilling and use a combination of charcoal and pemiento wood. If you don't have pimiento wood (and who outside of Jamaica does?), then substitute Apple or Hickory wood. If using a gas grill, preheat to 225 to 250 degrees f. place meat on the grill and cook, covered for 1 to 1 and a half hours, turning every 10 minutes or so until the meat takes on a very dark color and the internal temperature has reached safe levels.
I've never made Pimento cheese spread, but this one looks like a good one from the cooking columnist for the Dallas News...
http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/columnists/kitchen-scoop/20130618-make-your-own-pimento-cheese-spread.ece
Hope this helps...