I grew up eating Jamaican beef patties all throughout high school and university. They were the perfect snack during lunch or after class. The flakey pastry combined with flavorful and spicy ground beef was something I could eat everyday. Now that I am out of school, I find myself eating it slightly less which is why I decided to make them at home.
How to get proper filling consistency
One of the most important things in a good beef patty is the consistency of the beef. You want it to be moist which is why I add beef stock into the mixture while cooking. A quick hack to also make it more “sludgy” is to blend the ground beef.
Tips for Jamaican beef patties pastry
- Keep your ingredients as cold as possible, this will allow for the best layers of flakey pastry.
- Use lard, with all my pastries I find that lard gets rid of that “flour” like flavor.
- Don’t overwork the dough. Many people make the mistake of overworking the dough which is what makes the dough hard and not flakey. You just need to work the dough enough so that it isn’t falling apart.
Jamaican Beef Patties
Jamaican beef patties are an all time snack in my opinion.
Ingredients
- 450 g ground beef
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp sugar
Wet seasonings
- ½ cup beef stock
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp regular soy sauce
- 1 tbsp browning seasoning
- 1-2 scotch bonnets
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2-3 scallions
Pastry ingredients
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 100 g butter (plus more for folding)
- 50 g lard
- 125 ml cold water
Instructions
- In a blender, add all the wet seasonings and blend together until smooth. Set aside for later.½ cup beef stock, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp regular soy sauce, 1 tbsp browning seasoning, 1-2 scotch bonnets, 1 small yellow onion, 2-3 scallions
- Into a hot pan add 1 tbsp of oil and lay down your ground beef.450 g ground beef
- Add all the remaining seasonings on top of the beef and mix until cooked through.2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp allspice, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tbsp dried thyme, 2 tsp sugar
- Once the ground beef is mostly cooked, add your blended wet seasonings and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes until consistency thickens. Optionally, you can also pulse with a hand blender to get a more sludgy texture.
- Set the beef mixture aside to cool while we make the pastry.
- In a bowl mix together flour, sugar, salt, curry powder, and turmeric powder.2 cups AP flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp curry powder
- Grate in all 100g cold butter and add in lard that has been cut into smaller pieces. Give it a rough mix.100 g butter, 50 g lard
- Add water into the bowl and begin to knead until you have formed 1 solid doughball. It should not look smooth, but should not fall apart.125 ml cold water
- Cover with plastic wrap and place dough in fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough until about 1/4 inch thick then grate on 1 layer of butter.
- Fold in half and roll it out until about 1/8 inch in thickness. You should be able to cut out 5-6 circles that are 7 inches in diameter.
- Roll out each dough piece in one direction to form a slightly oval shape. Add ⅓ cup of filling into the center of the dough.
- Lightly egg wash the edges of the dough and fold in half.
- Press down on the edges with your hands and optionally use a fork to seal.
- Clean up the edges using a bench scraper to make it look cleaner.
- Bake at 375F for 25 minutes.
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