Pimento wood

I am looking to purchase a large amount of pimento wood for the BBQ this summer. Does anyone know of a place in the Chicagoland area thats sells this exotic wood used to make authentic jerk BBQ? All I know of is a place on the internet, but I was hoping to pick up lots so id much rather purchase the stuff in person. Thanks.

If you run across a place in the area that sells it, please post here. I've never been able to find pimento wood at any of the usual suspects.

stevez wrote:If you run across a place in the area that sells it, please post here. I've never been able to find pimento wood at any of the usual suspects.

Yes, please post if you find pimento wood. I've looked high and low, but have never come across as much as a pimento wood twig.

A trick I learned from a Jerk Man on 75th street is to toss allspice berries into the fire. Not pimento wood, but you do get a hint of the essence.

Enjoy,
Gary

I've gotten my pimento wood shipped from a distributor in Minnesota of all places. In fact, I have two sticks under the coffeetable at this moment.

http://www.pimentowood.com

It ain't exactly cheap for what you get. The sticks are about 12 inches long and about an inch in diameter. It's $30 for four. Supposedly, they can be reused, but the last time I jerked a chicken, I used two sticks--I probably would have gone all four if they weren't $30.

Now, the wood chips are $15 for 90 cubic inches. I can't conceptualize how much wood that actually is, but the website claims it's good for 10-12 smoking sessions. I've never bought them.

edit: I suspect this must be the "place on the internet" you're talking about. As far as I know, there's no place in Chicago that sells pimento wood. Now, one lead I've never followed up on is Calypso Cafe in Hyde Park. When I was last there, the waitress claimed that the jerk chicken was indeed smoked/grilled over pimento wood, although she said I would have to come back the next day to talk to the person in charge of buying it to ask where it comes from. She was good enough to bring a sample from the kitchen, but they were wood chips and I could not tell by looking at them whether they were in fact pimento or not. But it's a long shot you can try.

I also ordered from the company in Minneapolis.

http://www.pimentowood.com/

I found that, if used correctly, the chips last a long time. If you know pimento wood - it is has a very intense smoke. Any more than a handfull per session will over power the meat.
True Jerk flavor comes from cooking over pimento leaves and sticks. The leaves and bark give off alot of flavor. I have re- used my sticks about a dozen times so far. They will last as long as you don't let them burn.

G