Jamaican Beef Patty – Spicy flavorful beef stuffed in an amazing super easy buttery dough. Comes together quickly and flies off the table. Simply delicious!
Making your own pastry can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Trust me, if you have a food processor it is a breeze and without one, you only have to sacrifice a few more minutes.
Now who doesn’t love Jamaican pies? A spicy beef filling encased in a flaky spicy pastry dough. Hello! Spicy taste-bud overload.
Jamaican meat pies are very distinctive from the other meat pies like this African meat pie or the well-loved empanadas. It is yellowish due to the addition of turmeric. Turmeric is a spice that is mostly used for flavoring and also acts as a coloring agent.
It gives off a mild fragrance slightly suggestive of orange and ginger. It is used to make other spices especially curry powder. So if you do not have turmeric, you may replace it with mild curry powder. Or leave it out completely. No big deal.
In this recipe, the beef filling is heavily spiced with cumin, garlic, onions, hot pepper, allspice, thyme, paprika and curry, differentiating itself from the rest. Some Jamaican beef patties are spicy hot with the inclusion of scotch bonnet pepper.
If you can tolerate the heat then by all means add some in the filling. Here, I added ½ a teaspoon of chili pepper to make it spicy but not overly hot.
For the crust, you may use butter only. The reason why vegetable shortening is included in most pastries is because it is easier to work with . However, butter is more flavorful than shortening.
These addictive pastries would be great for any celebration because they can be made ahead of time and you can freeze them till the day of event. Place them on a cookie sheet – single layer, freeze for about an hour then remove and place in zip lock bag or storage container.
Enjoy!!!!
Watch How to Make It
- 4 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 2 Tablespoon sugar
- ½ Tablespoon salt
- 1/2 - 2- teaspoon turmeric
- 5 oz. Shortening
- 1- tablespoon cider vinegar.
- 1 cup iced water
- 5 - ounce un-salted butter
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon all spice powder
- 1 teaspoon curry
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 green onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more
- 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper chopped optional
- 1- teaspoon chicken bouillon powder optional replace with salt
- In a food processor or by hand, mix together, flour, salt, sugar, turmeric blend well Add the butter, shortening, followed by vinegar and water in small amounts, pulse until combined and dough holds together in a ball.
- Place the dough on a well -floured surface. Divide it into 2 and roll it out. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes until ready to use
- Using a large mouth, glass or bowl about 4 - 5 " cut out circles by gently pressing on the dough and releasing it, shaping the meat pie dough. Continue cutting out dough until all dough has been cut. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
- Make the Meat pie filling
- Add 2 tablespoon of oil to a saucepan, followed by onions, garlic, paprika, thyme curry, chili powder, white pepper, all spice and chicken bouillon . Let it simmer for about 2 minutes,
- Then, add ground meat, bread crumbs and continue cooking for about 10 or more minutes.stirring frequently to prevent burning, add about ½ cup of water .
- Finally add green onions and parsley, adjust for salt and pepper seasoning.
- Remove from stovetop and let it cool.
- Assembling Jamaican Meat pie
- Scoop a heaping tablespoon of filling into each circle, and brush with egg white or white around half of the circle. Fold over twist with fingers gently to seal the edges of the meat pie.
- Another way of sealing is by pressing the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Carefully place each pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes .
- you may freeze to bake later.
- Best served warm .
Where do you get scotch bonnet peppers in the US?
Hi Stacy. You could try Asian or African stores. You may also substitute this scotch bonnet with Hebenaro, Chilli, or jalapenos.
Tried this today with my family. Definitely a keeper.
Awesome! I am so glad this was a hit with your family, Judy!
My mum loved this and so did my son
It was my first time, and tasted delicious of cause because of my Jamaican roots made a few changes, my mum loves baking them for the family so for her to be impressed was fantastic
Woohoo!! High-five on nailing it the first time! I am so glad this was a hit with your family and that you got to impress mum :). Thank you for the feedback, Sheena!
Hi, could you please reload the video for the patty recipe. It keeps saying there is an error and I would love to watch you make it.
Hi Janay! It is probably a glitch in the system. Working on it…
My Jamaican husband loved it, and actually prefers it over the Jamaican Bakery in our village. I’ve made these patties several times, and when I’m pressed for time, I use frozen puff pastry as a substitute for the crust. Thanks for sharing this flavorful recipe.
Hi Ruth. I am so thrilled you love this recipe. Now, I feel a little bad for the Jamaican Bakery in your village.:)
Puff pastry is a good substitute for the crust. Thanks for sharing that and thanks for stopping by!
Hi! I love your recipes and would love to make this one but was wondering if I could use saltfish in any way?
Hi Tara. I don’t see why you can’t use saltfish for this recipe. Do let me know how it works out for you!
I have eaten saltfish patties and they were delicious.
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing JoAnne :).
I love these just as I love every other recipe I’ve made from this blog! I froze most of them, any recommendations on heating temp/time? I’m giving some to family and want to tell them best way. Thanks!!