Jamaican Beef Patties

About This Recipe

The Jamaican beef patty is one of the Caribbean's most iconic foods: a crescent-shaped pastry with a distinctively golden-yellow crust (coloured with turmeric) filled with boldly spiced ground beef. The filling is fragrant with allspice, thyme, scotch bonnet and curry powder, and the pastry is flaky and slightly sweet. Patties are sold at every street corner and bakery across Jamaica and have spread wherever the Jamaican diaspora has settled — from London to Toronto to New York, where they are often tucked inside a coco bread bun. Making them from scratch requires a bit of effort, but the result is incomparably better than shop-bought.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 400 gplain flour
• 1 teaspoonturmeric powder
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 150 gcold butter(cubed)
• 80 mlcold water
• 500 gground beef
• 1 mediumonion(finely diced)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1scotch bonnet pepper(finely chopped)
• 1 teaspooncurry powder
• 1 teaspoonallspice powder
• 1 teaspoondried thyme
• 2 tablespoonsbreadcrumbs
• 120 mlbeef stock
• 1egg(beaten, for sealing)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pastry

   Whisk flour, turmeric and salt together. Rub in cold butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add cold water gradually, mixing until dough just comes together. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Cook the filling

   Fry onion in a little oil for 4 minutes. Add garlic and scotch bonnet, cook 1 minute. Add beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned. Drain excess fat. Add curry powder, allspice, thyme, breadcrumbs and stock. Simmer for 10 minutes until mixture is dry but moist. Cool completely.

3. 3

   Assemble

   Preheat oven to 200°C. Roll pastry to 3mm thickness and cut into circles about 18cm diameter. Place a generous tablespoon of filling on one half. Brush edges with beaten egg, fold over and crimp firmly with a fork.

4. 4

   Bake

   Place patties on a lined baking tray. Brush tops lightly with beaten egg. Bake for 25–30 minutes until golden. Rest for 5 minutes before eating — the filling will be very hot.

Variations

• •

  Chicken or vegetable fillings are common alternatives.

• •

  Some bakers add a little coconut milk to the pastry for extra flavour.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Baked patties keep at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat in a 180°C oven for 10 minutes. Unbaked assembled patties freeze well for up to 1 month — bake from frozen at 200°C for 35 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions