These Jamaican Jerk Pork Ribs are a fantastic alternative to the average BBQ ribs and just need to be rubbed the night before which allows the flavors to penetrate the meat for maximum flavor. These do not disappoint.
Beware this is hot stuff, not for the faint of heart with weak tastebuds! Lot’s of flavor in these, but you can always cut the amount of peppers to suit your tastes. I would try this and scale back if need be.
Wanting something different on the grill I decided to do a little research on Jamaican Jerk. The seasoning has three main ingredients: chile pepper, allspice berry, and thyme. In reading different blogs and recipes it appeared that the Allspice berries and Scotch Bonnet peppers were key. Beware this is hot stuff, not for the faint of heart and tastebuds! After several renditions, here is my favorite version. I like to serve this alongside a refreshing Watermelon and Jicama Salad dressed with orange honey, lime and mint.
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone wrote a great description of what Jamaican “jerk” is in About.com’s cooking section, “Jerk is the process of spicing and grilling meats, poultry, and even vegetables, although the most popular are jerk pork and jerk chicken. The resulting food yields a spicy-sweet flavor and a tender texture.”
She wrote that the history of the term jerk is said to come from the word charqui, a Spanish term for jerked or dried meat, which eventually became jerky in English. Like most Caribbean islands, Jamaican foods are derivative of many different settlement cultures, including British, Dutch, French, Spanish, East Indian, West African, Portuguese, and Chinese. The origins of jerk pork can be traced back to the pre-slavery days of the Cormantee hunters of West Africa through the Maroons, who were Jamaican slaves that escaped from the British during the invasion of 1655.
Using gloves, cut the tops off the Scotch bonnet peppers and put in a food processor. Do not handle without gloves. Place all other ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Scrape inside of processor to get all of the rub mix and pour into a small bowl.
Clean the ribs up by removing the back membrane then with gloves, rub jerk sauce all over ribs. Wrap the ribs back up in the butcher’s paper (it has a great wax interior side to keep juices from dripping out), and seal with aluminum foil. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Soak the wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat grill to 350°. Brush the cooking grates clean with a wire brush. Add the soaked wood chips to the smoker box of your gas grill and close the lid.
When the wood begins to smoke, unwrap the ribs and place on a sheet of aluminum foil bone side down. Put the ribs and aluminum foil on the grill. Close the lid, adjust the temperature to 250°F and cook for 1 1/2 hours, depending on thickness of ribs.
- 2 tbsp allspice
- 4 Scotch bonnet peppers
- 1 tbsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 6 garlic cloves
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3-4 lbs of pork baby back or loin ribs
- Using gloves, cut the tops off the Scotch bonnet peppers and put in a food processor. Do not handle without gloves. Place all other ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Scrape inside of processor to get all of the rub mix and pour into a small bowl.
- Clean the ribs up by removing the back membrane then with gloves, rub jerk sauce all over ribs. Wrap the ribs back up in the butcher's paper (it has a great wax interior side to keep juices from dripping out), and seal with aluminum foil. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Soak the wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat grill to 350°F.
- Brush the cooking grates clean with a wire brush. Add the soaked wood chips to the smoker box of your gas grill and close the lid.
- When the wood begins to smoke, unwrap the ribs and place on a sheet of aluminum foil bone side down. Put the ribs and aluminum foil on the grill. Close the lid, adjust the temperature to 250°F and cook for 1½ hours, depending on thickness of ribs time may be longer. (See Note1)
Do I have to use a gas grill or smoker ????.Can a regular charcoal grill be used???
Definitely Myanka, charcoal grill would be great. There are so many different ideas on smoking, times and temperatures, so feel free to use what best works for you and your desired doneness (see other comments!). The recipe is mainly to share with you the Jamaican Jerk. Enjoy!
Im sorry but meat temp of 196 makes no sense to me….pork is well-done @ 160….
Hi J, thanks for stopping by. After my own recipe studies and tests on different ribs, this is the time that worked for the best, fall off the bone rib for me on the grill and smoker. While most set their temp @ 225°F I use 250°F and less time. Feel free to do a search on the internet and you will find numerous times and temps, so I suggest you do what works best for you and your desired doneness.
As Meathead Goldwyn says in his book The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling: “Every grill and smoker is different and every slab of meat is different, so exact cooking time depend on a number of variables. The goal is to get the meat to 180 to 190°F. The ideal cooking temp is about 225°F, hot enough to brown the surface, to develop a crusty bark, and to melt fat and collagens.”
Aaron over at The SmokerKing writes: “The ribs are done when the meat retracts and exposes the edge of the rib bones by about 1/2 inch or so, and basically each rib section will tear apart with ease. Grab a rib bone and twist. If it releases from the meat, or is pretty darn close, the ribs are done. The internal meat temperature will be about 175°F or so when done.”
According to USDA: “ribs are “done” when they are 145°F internal temp, but they may still be tough. If you take them up to 180°F, drop the oven temp to about 180°F and hold them at this temp for about 30 minutes, the collagens and fats melt some more at this temp and make the meat more tender and juicy.
I hope this bit of info helps, have a great day.
Made this and it was awesome
It may not look too pretty as a rub, but that flavor is crazy good, right? So glad you tried it and it was a success. Thanks Nathan!
Curious to know if you tried this recipe in a smoker at lower temp? Also, I notice you didn’t use a mop sauce to finish. Any suggestions in that regard for a good Jamaican Rum/Pineapple/Coconut flavoured sauce?
Hi Tyler. I usually smoke on the grill using a smoker box. Cook until the meat has shrunk back from the bones at least ½ inch and the internal meat temperature is 196°F, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Keep the temperature of the grill at 250°. Remove the racks from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. If using a smoker, keep it at 250°F and for 2 racks of ribs (approx 4 lbs) I’d go at least 4 hours, more or less, and the internal meat temperature is 196°F. As for a mop sauce I have not on these as they are quite flavorful on their own, but you have me thinking of making one! Thanks for stopping by.
I literally got shivers looking at that first pic. OMG. OMG OMG. The flavour….the ribs….I need to make these…..
And iPhone pics you say? No way! These are awesome photos! The colours you captured are amazing!!
I love the idea of a dry Jerk Rub. I don’t have a smoker so I’d have to make these in the oven and finish them off on my BBQ. I think that will work – smoke flavour aside of course.
WOW. Seriously, that crust just looks incredible…..
I’ll take that high praise, thanks you so much. Yes, those were definitely from my iPhone, that was back in the early stages of this site (and money). Ha!
Also, you could use a smoker box on your grill, it works great. I wrote a post on wood chips, and smoker stuff, etc. in my Tips & Tricks section here https://keviniscooking.com/wood-chips-for-smoking/ Long live good rib bark! Thanks again Nagi! 🙂