Compare Jerk Seasoning - A review of 4 jerk products

We rubbed some chicken thighs with 4 different jerk seasonings to see how they compare, then grilled them to jerk-perfection!

Here are the players:

Neera’s Hot Jamaican Jerk Spice Grilling Paste

Pickapeppa Hot Spicy Jerk Seasoning

Walkerswood Traditional Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

McCormick Jamaican Jerk Seasoning - Not tasted

McCormick Caribbean Jerk Seasoning Sweet & Spicy

We began by rubbing each seasoning on a pair of skinless chicken thighs the night before.

The next day, it was time to grill these spicy jerk chicken pieces, and see which we liked best.

Here’s what we thought about each of the spices/rubs…

Pickapeppa: onions, sugar, cane vinegar, raisins, salt, pepper and spices

Brian sez: A very chunky rub because of the raisins, the Pickapeppa had a nice, fruity flavor, but was disappointing in the heat department. Especially so, as I love their Pickapeppa Classic Sauce and Pickapeppa Red Hot Sauce. I was really rooting for this one to be the best. But ultimately, out of the four, I rated it last. Sigh.

Wifey sez: I think this was the juciest meat of the 4, and I thought the heat level was very hot.

Final rating in order of preference:
Brian - 4th
Wifey - 3rd

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Walkerswood: scallions, Scotch Bonnet peppers, salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, citric acid, sugar, thyme

Brian sez: This rub was very fragrant and salty. Salt, apparently, is a very important and prominent ingredient in traditional jerk recipes. Out of the 4, this is probably the most authentic recipe, spice-wise.

Wifey sez: Salty, with lots of allspice flavor… not my taste. I’m not a fan of allspice. I rated this one last.

Final rating in order of preference:
Brian - 3rd
Wifey - 4th

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Neera’s: lemon juice, malt vinegar, chile peppers, allspice, garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, spices, habanero chile

Brian sez: Neera’s was surprisingly the best all-around flavor profile, with the best taste. It was well rounded with nice heat (and you know I like HOT!)

Wifey sez: Nice heat and great balance of flavors. I was really torn between this one and the McCormick Caribbean, but this was my top pick.

Final rating:
Brian - 1st
Wifey - 1st

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McCormick: sugar, spices (including red pepper, thyme, and allspice), salt, onion, and turmeric

Brian sez: Nice overall flavor, not as hot as the others, but great taste. Moderate heat level. Wifey and I both rated this as our second favorite Surprise! I would like to experiment with this seasoning along with the other “wet” rubs.

Wifey sez: Ditto on flavor and heat. If you’re trying jerk for the first time, go with this one. It’s the most readily available and reasonably priced with great jerk flavor and moderate heat level depending on how much you sprinkle on. Use some oil to help spread the dry seasoning around.

Final rating:
Brian - 2nd
Wifey - 2nd

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(We’ve tried McCormick’s Gourmet Jamaican Jerk Seasoning a few times in the past, but neither of us like it at all. So it was excluded from this tasting.)

Note: The bottle of McCormick’s Caribbean suggests something we’ve not tried yet…
for a Jerk Marinade - Combine 3 T. seasoning, 3 T. vegetable oil, 2 T. soy sauce, 1 T. cider vinegar, for  1 1/2  lb. chicken parts
We’ve not tried that yet, as our taste-test was to be strictly out of the jar, rubbed on spices.

If you’ve tried any of these jerk seasonings, and have a favorite, please chime in and let us know.