They say that the way to man’s heart is through his stomach.
Ha.
They, whoever “they” are, have clearly never taken an anatomy class because there is no connection between the stomach and heart what.so.ever. None. I may have dropped out of college after a year, but I know that the stomach is not connected to the heart. They are wrong. They probably went to Devry Medical School.
But I’ve noticed something about men, with my love monkey and with my best friend (a boy), that there are two things, especially when they are combined, that get men whipped into a heated frenzy.
Fire.
Meat.
Okay, so fire and meat could get women pretty hot, too, but this is not that kind of blog.
Fire and meat together are like a screeching sirens’s love song that rips through every man’s flat-front Dockers and periwinkle pique polo, beckons the caveman that’s been domesticated under thousands of years of using the Mach 3 and releases the inner primordial pyromaniac. Must hunt meat. Must set on fire. Must eat meat. Never before was the powerful effect of fire and meat over men more neanderthalically obvious than at a dude party. Watching football. Drinking beer. Shooting (tequila). Circling around the grill outside in their loincloths made of cheetah pelts during the commercials. I don’t think there was a vegetable within a reasonable punting distance of the place. Except, of course, potato chips. Potatoes are vegetables.
Jerk Pork is a Jamaican’s girl’s siren’s song. Jerk pork is fatty mean grilled over a flame. I made jerk pork.
But he didn’t even tell me he loved me.
“They” were wrong.
You will need the following ingredients to prepare enough jerk pork for 6 people:
3 lb. of boneless pork loin
6 sliced scotch bonnet peppers (jalapenos may be used if scotch bonnet peppers are unavailable)
2 Tbsp. thyme
2 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 Bulb of garlic, finely chopped
3 Medium onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
Juice of one lime
1 cup orange juice
1 cup white vinegar
1 to 2 Tsp of the following (to taste)
Ground cinnamon
Nutmeg
Ginger
Preparation
Chop the onions, garlic and peppers. These do not need to be chopped too fine as they will be liquidized by the blender.
Blend all of the ingredients (excluding the pork) in a blender to make the jerk sauce.
Cut the pork up in to smaller pieces.
Use a fork to poke some holes in the pork pieces.
Rub the sauce in to the meat, saving some for basting and dipping later.
Leave the pork in the fridge to marinade overnight.
Cooking
Grill the meat slowly until cooked, turning regularly. Baste with some of the remaining marinade whilst cooking. For best results, cook over a charcoal barbeque (ideally over a rack of pimento wood).
History
Jerk pork is believed to have been conceived when the Maroons introduced African meat cooking techniques to Jamaica which were combined with native Jamaican ingredients and seasonings used by the Arawak. The method of smoking meat for a long period of time served two practical purposes, keeping insects away from the raw meat and preserving it for longer once it has been cooked. This process also introduces a strong smoky flavour to the meat.
There are two commonly held theories regarding how the name “Jerk” came to be used. One is that it originates from the Spanish word “Charqui”, used to describe dried meat. Over time this term evolved from “Charqui” to “Jerky” to “Jerk”. Another theory is that the name derives from the practice of jerking (poking) holes in the meat to fill with spices prior to cooking. Nowadays, the word “Jerk” is used as a noun to describe the seasoning applied to jerked food and as a verb to describe the process of cooking used.