I threw my lovely readers in the deep end with my début Jamaican jerk seasoning mix with fries and now it’s time to up the ante by introducing these tasty Jamaican jerk burgers. Now I’m sure almost everyone is familiar with jerk chicken or even pork after all they are very popular dishes.
I won’t repeat myself by speaking about the origins of jerk, if you click on this recipe here you’ll find a brief explanation pertaining to the definition of jerk and where it derives from. I do think it’s important to acknowledge it’s culinary history, as with most worldwide cultural cuisines, there is always an interesting learning curb behind it.
Now I have to be candid with you all, it wasn’t my intention to include any type of jerk recipe on my blog. You maybe be wondering why since a large portion of my blog is dedicated to Caribbean cuisines HOWEVER….In order to create a true Jamaican jerk recipe with meat, you need pimento wood, leaves and of course the berries (known as allspice).
While is it somewhat easy to obtain the pimento berries, the leaves and pimento wood which is used to cook the meat and impart that smoky flavour can be quite difficult to get hold for non commercial use and/or very expensive. I can quite confidently teach you how to make these contemporary jerk burgers, though the omission of the pimento leaves and wood will omit that traditional smoky flavour, so this is an inauthentic version of my Jamaican inspired jerk beef burgers.
With that disclaimer said let’s discuss the recipe to hand, first of all I highly recommend using grass fed meat. You want meat that is good quality and organic, albeit more expensive but worth it in taste. I used 500g in total which is the equivalent to a small tray and makes around 6-9 patties depending on the size. I shaped the burgers using only my hands, no binder is necessary, the beef is quite firm and shouldn’t collapse while forming the patties.
Ingredients wise, you will need the following – 1/2 scotch bonnet, scallion, garlic, thyme, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, himalayan pink salt, black pepper, ginger, lime, coconut nectar and coconut aminos (in place of soya).
All of these ingredients are widely available on Amazon, some are probably already in your pantry/fridge and others like the allspice can be purchase from the Caribbean grocery stores, so nothing too difficult to source.
In terms of cooking the burgers, you can cook them on a charcoal grill or in the oven if you’re like me and do not own an outdoor grill (yes shock horror) I’m human just like you and don’t possess to own all culinary equipment *smiles*. Just be mindful that cooking them in the oven won’t impart a smoky taste.
- 500g of ground beef (grass fed)washed and drained
- 2 tsp allspice (pimento)
- 1 scotch bonnet, seeds/membrane removed
- 1 cup of scallion, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp of thyme
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 3 tsp of coconut nectar
- 1 tsp himalayan pink salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp ginger (fresh, minced)
- 4 tsp coconut aminos
- juice of 1 lime
- Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/gas mark 5 (skip this step if using an outdoor grill)
- Add the ground beef to a large bowl and set aside.
- In the meantime fix a food processor with an s blade, add all of the ingredients listed and pulse into a coarse puree.
- Once the wet jerk seasoning is done work, use your hands to work the seasoning into the meat until it is fully incorporated and shape/flatten into large burgers .
- For the oven version – carefully place the patties on a baking tray and wrap the burgers. This will allow them to cook without fear of them burning and to retain the meat juice. Cook in the oven for a total of 15-20 minutes.
- If using an outdoor bbq grill prepare the gas/charcoal grill accordingly – oil the grates on the grill. Cook the meat over direct heat approximately 5 minutes on each side
- Serve accordingly.
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