Jamaican Beef Patties – Taste Of Tradition

I have a friend who moved to my neighborhood a few years ago and came from Jamaica. Last weekend she invited us to a barbecue party, and each of us had to bring a meal that would respect traditional Jamaican cuisine. For a long time, I thought about what to bring, I searched the internet for various traditional Jamaican dishes that I could make, I tried to remember some of the dishes that my friend had made, but in vain. Overwhelmed with panic, I suddenly thought – Jamaican beef patties!

How could I forget about this dish? My friend’s mother when she came to visit us here, made this dish for us and I was simply amazed by the simplicity and wonderful taste of the food! So as not to be selfish, I decided to share this recipe with you. I believe that you will find yourself in many situations, especially in situations where you will want to show off your culinary skills and delight people with your knowledge of different traditional dishes!

Let’s Discover the Secret of the Jamaican Beef Patties

What Are Jamaican Beef Patties?

In principle, the Jamaican patty is a pastry that is made with a huge number of different fillings, in our case, it is made with beef filling. The fillings are actually a mix of different ingredients and a huge number of spices. The filling is placed inside the patty, and the patty has a yellow-gold color which is obtained by coating the patty with a mixture of egg yolk and turmeric. As we said, this patty is traditionally filled with beef, but there are also variations of this dish that are made with pork, chicken, beef, seafood, and even this dish can be made only from vegetables. thus obtaining a vegetarian version of this dish. As the name of this dish says, this dish originates from Jamaica. During the 1960s and 1970s, Jamaican immigrants spread the recipe for this dish to all places where they settled.

Easy Jamaican Beef Patty Recipe

Ingredients

Pastry Crust: 

• 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour  
• ice-cold water (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup of shortening 
• 1/4 cup of cold salted butter 
• apple cider vinegar (1 tsp)
• curry powder (1 tsp)
• sugar (1 tsp)
• turmeric (1/2 tsp)
• salt (1/2 tsp)
• 1 egg + 1 T of water for an egg wash 

Meat Filling: 

• 1 lb of 80/20 ground beef 
• 1-1.5 T of olive oil 
• 1 cup of chicken broth (beef and vegetable would work, too)
• garlic clove 
• 1/2 cup of panko or bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup of diced onion 

Spice Mix: 

• Garlic powder (1 tsp)
• Paprika (1 tsp)
• Onion powder (1 tsp)
• Curry powder (1 tsp)
• Dried thyme (1 tsp)
• Parsley (1 tsp)
• ½ tsp of Allspice 
• ¼ tsp of Cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp of Cloves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Pastry Crust: 

1. In a food processor, mix the flour, curry powder, sugar, salt, and tumeric. 
2. Add the apple cider vinegar, cold water, butter, shortening. 
3. Blend the mixture until it forms into a ball of dough. 
4. On a lightly floured surface, transfer the dough and roll out until a 1/2-inch thin circle. 
5. Transfer the flattened dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
6. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and proceed with making the meat filling. 

Meat Filling: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Heat a skillet with olive oil to medium heat for about 3 minutes.
3. Pour the ground beef into the skillet, as it sizzles and cooks, chop the beef with a spatula into small pieces. 
4. Add the garlic and onion and combine. 
5. Add the spice mix and stir until well combined. 
6. Stir in the panko or bread crumbs. 
7. Pour in the broth and let the meat filling simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. The sauce should start to thicken or be thickened at this point.
8. After 5 minutes, set aside and let the ground beef mixture cool until it’s time to compose the patties. 

Forming The Patties: 

1. After 30 minutes, take out the pastry crust. 
2. Use a bowl, about 6-6.5 inches in diameter, or a sharp knife, to cut the pastry crust into a circle. This recipe makes about 4 patties. 
3. Brush half of the pastry crust with the egg wash. 
4. Fill the center of each pastry crust with about 2-2.5 tablespoons of the ground beef mixture. Do not overfill or your pastry will break as you fold it over the meat. 
5. Carefully fold the side of the pastry, without the egg wash, over the meat to other egg-washed side of the pastry crust. 
6. Seal with a fork and place the patties on a baking sheet.
7. Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees

What to Serve with Jamaican Beef Patties?

Now that you have made these patties as a main dish, you are probably asking yourself the question of what to serve with Jamaican beef patties? Don’t worry, I got you covered! To stay true to the Jamaican tradition, I will also offer you a few Jamaican options for side dishes. What you can serve along with Jamaican beef patties are the following dishes. 

First on the list is Trini corn pie and which is made from corn kernels, creamed corn, evaporated milk, and cheddar cheese. These are just the main ingredients to which a huge number of spices and vegetables are added.

Second, on the list is the traditional Jamaican rice and peas, and as the name of the dish says, the main ingredients are rice and peas to which spices and other vegetables are added if desired. 

Third on the list are cinnamon baked plantains. Again, this dish is made from plantains that are coated with a mixture of spices such as cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg.

Fourth on the list is the Jamaican mango salsa recipe. The main ingredient of this side dish is mango, to which additional ingredients such as onion, cilantro, limes, and hot pepper sauce are added.

Conclusion

I can not explain to you how happy I am that I remembered this dish. I made it and took it to the barbecue party, and believe me it was a hit! Together with the Jamaican beef patties I also brought Jamaican mango salsa; in just a few minutes my plates were empty! So do not hesitate and do not panic when you need to cook something. Feel free to follow the recipe I gave you and believe that your meal will be the focal point of the event and a huge number of people will ask you for the secret recipe according to which you made the meal. 

The traditional Jamaican taste and explosion of flavors and aromas found in this dish will make you look like you have culinary skills that can be compared to the skills of top chefs. But keep it a secret and do not say how easy it is to make this dish!