Jamaican Beef Patties
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus chilling dough and cooling filling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:10 patties
- 3½cups/450 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 3teaspoons/7 grams ground turmeric
- 2teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- 1cup/187 grams vegetable shortening
- ½packed cup/67 grams minced or ground unrendered beef suet (see Tip)
- ½ to ¾cup/118 to 177 milliliters ice cold water
- 1tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2small Scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and minced
- 1medium onion, diced
- 1pound beef chuck, minced or ground
- 2teaspoons ground allspice
- 1½teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- 1teaspoon paprika
- 1tablespoon soy sauce, preferably dark soy sauce
- 2small beef stock cubes (14 grams), dissolved in 3 tablespoons boiling water
For the Crust
For the Filling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
300 calories; 18 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 290 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Make the crust: Whisk flour in a medium bowl, then whisk in turmeric, sugar and salt. Work in shortening and beef suet quickly, rubbing them into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Gradually add ½ cup ice cold water while stirring with your hands to form the dough. If the dough isn’t coming together, add more water by the tablespoon as necessary. Form dough into a ball, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Step 2
While the dough is chilling, make the filling: Heat a large frying pan over medium, then add vegetable oil. Fry scotch bonnet peppers and onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Season with allspice, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, soy sauce and the beef stock mixture. Cook, stirring, until most of the liquid evaporates, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a dish and let cool completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator. (The filling can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.)
- Step 3
When ready to assemble patties, heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll on a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured pin into a 12-inch square. (Turmeric will stain a porous work surface. Roll between sheets of parchment paper if needed.) Fold dough in half to form a rectangle, then fold again the other way to form a square. Roll again into a 12-inch square. Repeat this process 3 more times, letting dough rest as needed if it’s too stiff to roll. Roll to ⅛-inch thickness, then use a bowl or pastry cutter to cut out 10 (6-inch) rounds, rerolling scraps as necessary.
- Step 4
Divide beef mixture among rounds, spooning about ¼ cup onto one side of each round. Fold the other side of each round over the meat until the edges meet. Using a fork, seal the edges, then prick the center of each to allow steam to escape.
- Step 5
Place patties on 1 or 2 baking sheets, and bake until pastry is set and golden, 22 to 25 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Tip
- Beef suet is the solid fat around cows’ kidneys and is sold whole or ground from butcher counters. Be sure to buy unrendered suet, which is solid and crumbly.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Prakash Nadkarni
RE: Suet substitute: You're making a close-to-traditional pastry dough. So, sub any fat that stays (semi)solid at room temperature: butter, lard, coconut oil. Jamaican food is historically frugal: animal fat was saved for cooking & other uses rather than discarded. Britain's Yorkshire Pudding, which accompanies their Roast Beef, has similar origins: it uses fat rendered from roasting. (The recipe's mandating of un-rendered suet is dubious: rendered suet becomes solid on chilling.)
Judith
I am so eager to make these, however.... At the risk of seeming blasphemous, what could I substitute for the suet and vegetable shortening? Apologies in advance....
Prakash Nadkarni
RE: Soggy Pastry with Butter In his book, "Ratio", Mark Ruhlman gives the ratio flour:fat:liquid = 3:2:1. For US butter (80% butterfat), 1 drops to 0.6. However, you add ice water in stages, mixing each time with hands/mixer until the dough JUST holds together: you don't have to use all the water. The crust recipe above calls for 1/2 cup water first, adding the rest in stages if needed. To address Jen's valid concern, I'd probably start with 1/4 cup water if using butter.
Jen
It's essentially a flaky pastry, so fat + flour + liquid. However, shortening, suet, lard, and butter, all have different attributes and swapping one out for another will change the end result. Butter, for example, has a fair amount of water in it while suet and shortening wouldn't. You could probably use all butter but you'll likely have different results, and the pastry might not be quite as sturdy and could get soggy and/or leak a bit.
J Campbell
I'm from Jamaica and annatto is what is traditionally used to color the crust (can be found on Amazon). When we still lived in Jamaica, my mother (an excellent Jamaican cook) made patties exactly one time in my childhood that I can recall. It really wasn't something any Jamaican cooked at home. It was a treat when you went to the market with your parents. No matter how well you follow a recipe you will never get close to a store bought one, unless you are the store owner.
jp
I always pay attention when Prakash Nadkarni comments as I always learn something. The name is not common but also not singular, I have looked. While a CV would be great, if possible I would love to know a little more about this knowledgeable reader and commentator. Thank you Prakash Nadkarni.
Charmaine
I've tried a lot of recipes for Jamaican beef patties looking for the perfect recipe that tastes just like what I used to get in the vibrant Caribbean community around Toronto. This wasn't it. Maybe it was cook's error, maybe the offerings of the Jamaican ex-pats in Toronto was different from everyone else. Either way, this recipe was not tasty. Crust was more crumbly than flaky. The filling required more spice/seasoning than the recipe calls for but flavor was bland (heat aside).
Elaine
My baking life has changed since I acquired a baking mat, a silicone mat, to roll dough and bread on. Miraculous! NOTHING sticks to it. It has measurements and equivalents on it, and washes easily. It made me realize how I hesitated to get out my breadboard or the mat I had that refused to lie flat. This changed my attitude toward pastry--I highly recommend it.
Yvonne
Most of our favorite Jamaican pattie outlets here in Los Angeles include curry (?) in the crust. I've eaten patties as crisp as a Pop Tart or almost chewy. I've always wanted to make them and think I'd probably use my favorite crust recipe. But with so many different options to choose from, for instant gratification I'll continue to grab-and-go with a Ting.
Genevieve Ko
So you don't have to get out the tablespoon for the dough too and also because you can slip a teaspoon into a spice jar more easily!
Ashia Aubourg
I love this recipe. It’s quick and came together beautifully (and flaky!!) I didn’t have beef suet, so I used some leftover bacon drippings I’ve been collecting and it came out equally as delicious.
celia
You can make delicious traditional ital patties (as in natural and vegetarian) with callaloo and ackee or pumpkin or a combo of those ingredients and not need lard. It is disappointing that no recipes for the wonderful vegan food I ate and prepared when I lived in Yard (Jamaica) for 2 years in not represented in this cooking app. I do really appreciate that there is a variety of other countries’ vegetarian offerings!
Jon
These came out well, but I’d make some changes next time. I bake pies and the like often, but found the dough somewhat difficult to work with. It was a bit too crumbly and difficult to reroll the scraps. Also, the turmeric really does stain everything. Cutting boards, rolling pins, hands, knives. Next time I’d use paprika or annato for color and add turmeric to the filling for the flavor. These froze well unbaked. I baked from frozen at 400 for about 30 min.
Sam
Made these tonight with a few tweaks and they were incredible! Subbed unsalted butter for shortening, and we also doubled the meat mixture and found it was just right. Rolling out the dough was going consuming... This is definitely not a weeknight meal. But we'll for sure make them again!
barbA
I found the mixture needed a lot more seasoning all around except for the ghost pepper. The baked dough is faultless and holds the mixture well even with the use of coconut oil ... flaky and good. More turmeric to reach the desired color.
Kyle
Instead of suet I just used some thick fat from beef rib bones and minced it. The patty dough requires a lot of working, but it's fabulous with the beef fat + vegetable shortening - super flakey.
r
You're making a close-to-traditional pastry dough. So, sub any fat that stays (semi)solid at room temperature: butter, lard, coconut oil. In his book, "Ratio", Mark Ruhlman gives the ratio flour:fat:liquid = 3:2:1. For US butter (80% butterfat), 1 drops to 0.6. However, you add ice water in stages, mixing each time with hands/mixer until the dough JUST holds together: you don't have to use all the water. 'd probably start with 1/4 cup water if using butter.
Tyler
Having made these once before off a spruce eats recipe that’s not all to dissimilar to this one these are going to need a lot more seasoning. Ketchup, Worcestershire, and a bit of curry powder and loads more salt did it for my batch.
banana
These came out perfectly! I made both the pastry dough and filling a day ahead. Was unable to find any suet, but finely chopped up beef fat from the butcher did the trick. The crust was perfectly flaky, though I found that I needed to add a little water for the rolling out and folding. Couldn't find scotch bonnets either, habaneros worked well but next time I'll add 1-2 more to get closer to the spicy Jamaican beef patties of my youth.
jenny
Why does this call for 3 teaspoons of turmeric instead of 1 tablespoon?
Genevieve Ko
So you don't have to get out the tablespoon for the dough too and also because you can slip a teaspoon into a spice jar more easily!
Sandy J
The first time I had a patty was in 1982 on the beach in Montgomery bay.my 2 year old kept asking me to “take the hot out”. There was nothing else to eat on the beach. By the 4th day he munched on them happily. But we have also had Pattys in jamaica with Callaloo, a big leafed spinach like vegetable. And one time we watched the cook make the beef ones with thyme, nutmeg, and grated dry bread ( bread crumbs).
Michael
There are versions. In the 60s in my Jamaica College Tuck Shop, the beef would be cooked with annatto rather than tumeric. That's the flavor I associate with patties - the red leaked into the pastry. A chef in Philadelphia, Tevon Tryrell, is doing amazing patties for pop-up this Spring.
Tiem
These are very similar in appearance and ingredients to a Cornish Pasty. Perhaps that similarity was deemed too obvious to mention, but I suspect many Americans don't know that the pasty is a likely progenitor of the patty. This doesn't detract from the fact that patties are distinct and uniquely Jamaican.
Rio
@Tiem agree. I learned to make similar hand pies as a girl in London. My picky family has always welcomed my meat pies, large or small, and they are great to use up leftovers. I will add a bit of carrot and/or potato even to a spiced version.
betsy millard
Instead of turmeric I usually add curry. It is really tasty and closer to a Caribbean Patty
J Campbell
I'm from Jamaica and annatto is what is traditionally used to color the crust (can be found on Amazon). When we still lived in Jamaica, my mother (an excellent Jamaican cook) made patties exactly one time in my childhood that I can recall. It really wasn't something any Jamaican cooked at home. It was a treat when you went to the market with your parents. No matter how well you follow a recipe you will never get close to a store bought one, unless you are the store owner.
Teresa
Brown's Bakery in Washington, DC. Closed in early 2000's. To my taste the best pattie on earth. Beef, chicken and veggie -- spicy or mild. Coco bread -- yes!! This one is OK but not quite "enough". There should be a rule -- going out of business -- publish the recipe!! Or at least sell it in a cookbook. Suet -- I've used rendered beef fat, leaf lard and ghee. If there is a butcher shop near you they can get suet for you.
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