Name: Homemade Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 5 Oz Red Bell Peppers ((about 1 Red Bell Pepper), Seeded); 5 Oz Green Bell Peppers ((about 1 Green Bell Pepper), Seeded); 1 Oz Scotch Bonnet (Alternative: Habanero Pepper (about 3 Habanero Pepper OR 3 Scotch Bonnets)); 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper; 1 Tsp Red Crushed Pepper; 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika; 1 Tbsp Curry Powder; 5 Oz Scallions; 3 Oz Onion; 1 Oz Garlic Cloves (Diced); 1 Tbsp Allspice Berries; 1 Tsp Ground Cloves; 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon; 1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg; 2 Tbsp Olive Oil; 2 Tbsp Browning; 3 Tsp Salt; 8 Whole Thyme Sprigs (Alternative: 2 Tsp Dry Thyme)

Jump to Recipe

Making recipes from cultures outside my own is such a satisfying experience. So let us make this homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning recipe.

You’re A Jerk

Can we take the time to acknowledge the title of this paragraph’s header? I want to say it is creative, but at the same time, it is a little cringy.

I would be in denial if I said that it was not cringy. Additionally, the title of this header is kind of showing my age.

What is not cringy is creating a phenomenal homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning recipe.

When I made this recipe, I had to do a little digging before this was ready for the consumption of the public.

As a child, I did not grow up with Jamaican food. In fact, back then I have not even tasted any Caribbean food.

I did not meet anybody with a Caribbean background until I moved out of East Texas.

As you can imagine, being isolated in a small town can leave you clueless about other cultures outside your own.

Thank goodness, I am an open-minded person because, without that open-mindedness, I would not be able to enjoy all the good things different cultures have to offer.

Furthermore, one of those cultures derives from the Caribbean. Caribbean culture is awesome, but the food is to die for. Of course, I do not mean that literally, so do not take it as that.

The point I am trying to make is that Caribbean food is delicious, and it should not come as a surprise that I made this homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning recipe.

The Research

Before making the homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning recipe, I had to do some research. The first thing I did was go to multiple Jamaican joints so that I can have an idea of what jerk food tastes like.

Moreover, I can vouch that the worst the customer service is, the better the food.

Jamaican joints are the only places that you can go, and the worse the customer service is, the higher the chances that you will come back.

The next step in my research was to look up as many jerk recipes as I could via Google and YouTube. Interestingly enough, the recipes were wildly different from each other.

One of the few similarities the recipes had with each other is that they all use allspice berries.

Furthermore, they would either use scotch bonnet peppers or habanero peppers, and they would use browning or anything else that will give the jerk that luscious brown color.

Creating this homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning recipe, I can honestly say it took me multiple attempts to get this recipe right.

What Is Jerk Seasoning

This is a Caribbean seasoning that is used for your food just like any other seasoning.

Is Jerk Seasoning Spicy?

It is not uncommon to come across spicy jerk seasoning. Fortunately, for those who like their food to be more on the mild side, then you are in luck.

Jerk seasoning comes as both mild and spicy.

What Is In Jerk Seasoning

The ingredients in jerk seasoning usually vary depending on who made the recipe.

On the contrary, with different homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning recipes, there are still about three ingredients that you will see in the recipe.

So, now the million-dollar question is what are the three main ingredients in jerk? Those three ingredients would consist of scotch bonnet peppers, allspice berries, and thyme.

To be honest, the scotch bonnet peppers and the allspice berries are more essential to a good jerk seasoning recipe than thyme is. They’re all important nonetheless.

Also, it is difficult to get your hands on some scotch bonnet peppers, so a good substitute for that is habanero peppers.

How Spicy Is Jerk Sauce?

I have been calling this a seasoning throughout this blog, but this is more like a sauce. You can call this jerk seasoning or jerk sauce, it will be delicious regardless.

Now, how spicy the jerk sauce will depend on the ingredients used for the recipe. Also, the level of spiciness will depend on the volume of spicy ingredients used.

Making The Homemade Jamaican Jerk Seasoning Recipe

Makes about: 20 oz of jerk seasoning. Use 1/4 cup of jerk seasoning for about 2 lbs of chicken.

Ingredients

5 oz Red Bell Peppers (about 1 Red Bell Pepper), Seeded
5 oz Green Bell Peppers (about 1 Green Bell Pepper), Seeded
1 oz Habanero Pepper OR Scotch Bonnet (about 3 Habanero Pepper OR 3 Scotch Bonnets)
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tbsp Curry Powder
5 oz Scallions
3 oz Onion
1 oz Fresh Garlic, Diced
1 tbsp All Spice Berries
1 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Gravy Browning
3 tsp Salt
8 Fresh Thyme Sprigs OR 2 tsp Thyme

Equipment

Food Processor
Cutting Board
Knife

How To Make Jerk Seasoning

Dice up your vegetables, then place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend it up.

The jerk is now ready to be used. I recommend letting your food marinate in the jerk. Trust me, you will thank me later for this tip.