How We Prepare Chicken & Meat at YardyGrub
At YardyGrub, we prepare chicken and meat the traditional home-style Jamaican way. These steps are used across our recipes to ensure bold flavor, proper seasoning, and authentic results.
You’ll see many of our recipes refer back to this guide.
Step 1: Clean the Meat
Wash the meat with vinegar or lime juice, then rinse with water.
Allow any excess water to drain completely before seasoning.
Step 2: Prepare the Seasonings
Before seasoning the meat:
- Dice the onion
- Cut scallion (green onion) into small pieces
- Prepare the garlic by chopping, crushing, or beating
Scallion and thyme are essential seasonings in YardyGrub cooking.
Step 3: Season the Meat
Season the meat with your seasonings of choice, including scallion and thyme, and any additional herbs if desired.
Pimento seeds are common (allspice) used in Jamaican cooking and may be added if available and if so desired. This ingredient is optional and can be omitted if not on hand.
Add scotch bonnet pepper according to your preferred level of spiciness, and salt to taste.
Step 4: Marinate the Meat
For best flavor, allow the meat to marinate using one of the following methods:
Overnight Method (Preferred)
Season the meat and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking to allow it to come closer to room temperature. This helps with even cooking and better frying results.
Quick Method (When Pressed for Time)
Season the meat 1 hour before cooking.
Marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator, then allow the remaining 30 minutes at room temperature.
This also helps partially thaw the meat and promotes more even cooking.
Step 5: Brown the Meat
Brown the meat according to the color you prefer, based on the dish being prepared, before continuing with the remaining cooking steps.
Beginner Tip
Jamaican home cooking is flexible. These steps are meant to guide you, not restrict you. Adjust seasoning, heat, and browning to suit your taste and comfort level. With time, you’ll naturally find what works best for you.
I usually season the meat with powdered seasonings before browning, as this helps prevent the seasonings from burning during the browning process. Once the meat is browned, I then add the garlic, herbs, diced onions, scallions, and thyme, and add browning gradually until the desired color is reached.
If you prefer to season the meat with all seasonings at once—such as scallion, thyme, pepper, onion, garlic, and herbs—remove the fresh seasonings before frying to prevent them from burning.