Jerk is Jamaica’s signature spice blend. It originated in the mountains of Jamaica by escaped African slaves called the Maroons. As they ventured through the rough terrain capitalizing on every means to survive, a culinary force was born out of struggle and determination. The Maroons hunted wild game and cooked over open flame utilizing the flavors they discovered. Jerk is a mixture of hot scotch bonnet peppers, pimento berries and leaves, various onions, nutmeg, cinnamon and garlic. Jamaican Jerk Bacon Wraps is a super spicy seasoning blend because of the number of scotch bonnet peppers used in it.
You can make your own jerk seasoning but great bottled alternatives are currently on the market. One of the most reputable brands for bottled Jerk is Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning. They have a variety of spice levels as well as Jerk BBQ sauce.
For this recipe I added Walkerswood jerk seasoning to bacon and cooked the bacon in the oven under the broiler. I fried some eggs, sliced an avocado and wrapped it all with cheese in flour tortillas that were sealed and warmed through in my grill pan. This was a quick and delicious recipe.
For Jamaican Jerk Bacon Wraps you will need:
Tools:
- Grill Pan
- Skillet
- Egg Spatula
- Cutting board
- Wire rack
- Aluminum foil
- Cookie sheet
- Small bowl
- Measuring spoon
- Disposable gloves
- Sharp knife
Ingredients
- 1 pk. of thick cut bacon
- 1 heaping teaspoon of Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 1 package of your favorite sliced cheese (I used provolone. Mozzarella would be great)
- 1 medium avocado (sliced)
- Hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Peel bacon slices apart and place each strip of bacon into a small bowl.
- Add jerk seasoning to bacon. Cover your hands with gloves and mix in jerk seasoning with your hands until it evenly coats each strip of bacon.
- Layer the cookie sheet in aluminum foil and place the wire rack onto the sheet. (The cookie sheet will catch the excess fat that will drip away from the bacon.)
- Place each strip of bacon on the wire rack and place the rack under your oven’s broiler on high heat.
This is my bacon on a wire rack. I added a little bit of brown sugar on mine. This is totally optional. - Bacon should fully cook and crisp up in 4-5 minutes depending on how crispy you like bacon.
- Remove bacon from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack. Cut each strip in half and set aside on a plate.
- Crack and fry each egg in a skillet using a small amount of oil each time. You should not need more than a tablespoon of oil to fry 4 eggs. You may break your egg yolks or fry them over-easy. Season each egg with salt, pepper and onion powder.
- Remove the skin from the avocado and make thin slices using a sharp knife. Set aside on a plate.Assembly:
- Place a tortilla on the cutting board. Make a slit halfway down the center of a tortilla.
- Place the eggs, cheese, bacon and avocado in each ¼ of the tortilla.
- Roll each section on to the next (See video tutorial)
- In a grill pan place a little butter. (Remember to use a little for each of the 4 wraps)
- Grill and seal tortilla on both sides in the hot pan. (Grilling also rewarms everything in the wrap and melts the cheese).
- Repeat 3 times for the remaining ingredients.
- Add hot sauce, serve hot and enjoy.
Notes
- Choose the mild jerk blend if you cannot handle super spicy food.
- Cooking under an oven broiler is a quick-cook method. You cannot leave food under the broiler and attend to anything else. Food cooked under the broiler will easily burn.
- Feel free to use turkey bacon, turkey sausages, beef bacon or any alternatives to pork you can find. You may also use sauteed veggies instead of meat in this wrap.
