The first time I tried Jamaican beef patties was at a fried chicken place in NYC. They weren’t good. I went a couple years claiming I didn’t like Jamaican beef patties until I went to a Jamaican restaurant and had the most amazing Jamaican beef patties!
I must’ve asked about 4 people that week if they liked Jamaican beef patties, looking for an excuse to make them. They’re not easy to find in central Jersey. This was about 6 years ago so I couldn’t use my CBJ site excuse.
I make these all the time now because they’re so good and like I said, not easy to find. Not good ones at least. Hopefully, you’ll give this recipe a try and enjoy them as much as I do.
Don’t let the dough part intimidate you if you’ve never made the dough from scratch before it is literally the easiest dough to make.
Of course, we’re making the dough from scratch
All purpose flour, unsalted butter, sugar, salt, curry powder, turmeric, and water is all you need for the dough.
The dough should be slightly sticky and soft. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes
These are the ingredients you’ll need for the filling
I used a yogurt container top to shape these, you may use a bowl 🙂
You may add cheese at this point if you’d like
Brush these with egg yolk and then bake for 25-30 minutes
Voilaaa
Jamaican Beef Patties
Jamaican Beef Patties can be hard to find when you’re out and about but they are very easy to make. The spices give it a unique taste and pack it full of flavor. This dough recipe is easy to make and even if you aren’t a baker, it’s straightforward and simple, and well worth the effort to make these hand pies.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 80 minutes
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
Filling
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 scallions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp granulated onion
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 2 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp soy sauce *optional*
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To make the dough, place the all purpose flour, butter sliced in pieces, sugar, salt, curry powder, and turmeric into a food processor and pulse it a couple times.
- Pour the water through the feed tube and continue to blend the mixture until it forms a ball of dough.
- The dough will be slightly sticky and soft if it’s too sticky add more flour.
- Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with some vegetable oil.
- Add the green onions and peppers to the skillet and cook fro 1 minute.
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the beef to the skillet and crumble it as best as possible.
- When the beef has browned, add the paprika, curry powder, thyme, granulated onion, granulated garlic, chicken stock, bread crumbs, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Cook the beef for 15-20 minutes over low heat, then let the beef mixture cool a bit.
- Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.
- Cut out 5-inch rounds and add some meat filling to each round, careful not to overfill it.
- Fold the dough over in half to close the empanada and use a fork to press the edges.
- Bake the patties for 25-30 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
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