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
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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.
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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
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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.
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Make the Meat pie filling
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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,
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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 .
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Finally add green onions and parsley, adjust for salt and pepper seasoning.
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Remove from stovetop and let it cool.
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Assembling Jamaican Meat pie
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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.
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Another way of sealing is by pressing the tines of a fork along the edges of the dough.
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Carefully place each pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes .
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you may freeze to bake later.
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Best served warm .
I would like to be connected with this kitchen
This is my first time making jamaican patties. Everyone gives them 6 stars (not just 5).
Aww… Thanks so much!!!!
Please why the cider vinegar? I want to know the purpose of adding the vinegar. Thanks
Bc it tastes good
If you make this with ground chicken, what spices would you substitute?
Here is the chicken patty version. https://www.africanbites.com/jamaican-chicken-patties/
My taste buds are doing a happy dance. I used to treat myself to a Jamaican beef patty from a small shop close to where I was working at the time. 15 years is way too long to go without one and now thanks to you I can make them at home. They blow the commercial ones out of the water. Easy to prepare, the pastry is perfect. I love a bit of bite from heat but can’t find scotch bonnet chilies here in Australia so I’ve used habanero instead. Is there a separate recipe using ground chicken instead of beef or can I just replace the beef with chicken? Thank you so much … I’ll be sharing this recipe.
Hi June! Thank you for joining me all the way from Australia. You can definitely use chicken, especially ground chicken since it will be closer to the same consistency. Please adjust spices accordingly since you’ll be using a different kind of meat. Habanero works great and so does Jalapenos just for that added kick 🙂
Can you make this meat filling and roll it in puff pastry like your sausage roll recipe?
Hi Terrell,
Yes you can. Try not to over-stuff it or fill it up too much.
These turned out so delicious! I did have to make a few substitutions (due to my celiac disease and garlic allergy). Despite that it was still amazing and my husband loves it too.
Imma.. you have made my week with this recipe!! I made these for a potluck at my mother’s house.. She loved these beef pies, as did many of the guests. Mom said they were delicious and that I was a wonderful cook. I love my mother, but one would not call her effusive… getting a compliment from her is a RARE occurrence.. ( presenting: my childhood baggage) Anyway… it really is a compliment for you.. because this recipe was delicious and foolproof!!! Thank you… next time I cook for her, I will be visiting this website… and probably before that too!
Also as a side note, you are right.. it a lot easier to work with a dough that is at least partially made with shortening… I would say it makes working with dough more fun!
Take Care,
Amy
Thank you, Amy for taking the time to let me know. And thanks to your mom for the compliment. Glad you guys enjoyed this. =)
These are amazing! I have made them several times now and have all my friends requesting them for every gathering or event! The dough has a fantastic flavor and is light and flaky (I use only butter, as a side note) and the beef mixture is outstanding. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Hi Shelley! I am so glad these were a hit! Thanks for stopping by!
Imma,
I really want to try these out but want to make them as close to how you are making them. The video shows creole seasoning, the recipe doesn’t have that listed. If I should be using it, what brand do you prefer and how much should I be using? Also, should I use it in place of other ingredients in the recipe or in additional to? Also, what kind of curry powder are you using. Madras curry powder is what I use when I’m looking for a generic taste but I also have regular and spicy Indian curry as well as Japanese curry which is quite a bit different in flavor. Thank you for the recipe! I am looking forward to making this for some Jamaican friends of mine.
Thanks for your help!
Hi Craig,
Creole seasoning here is optional, a matter of preference – Not traditional. I like to use it in most of my recipes because it adds tons of flavor without a boat load of calories . I would leave it out if you want something more traditional. Homemade creole seasoning here https://www.africanbites.com/creole-seasoning/
Madras curry would work just fine here. The focus should not be the curry powder . I make my own curry powder recipe here .https://www.africanbites.com/jamaican-curry-powder/. Hope this help
Let me tell you how the creole seasoning SAVED my Beef Pattis
Bless you!!!
Can I use a pie crust that u have to roll out and cut circle myself instead of make the pastry dough
Hi Imma,
I used this recipe and and it turned out niceee though crunchy. I didn’t have butter so used margarine and shortening. Maybe that could explain the crunchiness or probably they overstayed in the oven. Baked for 30mins.
Would like to know how to get them very very soft.
Also, why do we use iced water instead of warm?
Thanks for the recipe.
I love the way you are meticulous with the recipes.
Regards,
Hellena
I substituted rolled oats for the bread crumbs and went with 1/2 coconut flour (To improve the net carbs profile for us Diabetics)
Turned out utterly delicious and almost indistinguishable from the ones you buy. It helps to use the food processor on the ground beef and oatmeal in order to reduce it’s granularity and make it’s texture much more like the traditional meaty paste.
If you use 10oz of salted butter, you can reduce the salt to 1 teaspoon without messing up the flavor.
Thank you for sharing, Brian.
Hi there! About to make these and will report back when I do, but I had a question. What’s the serving size? 2 patties per person?
Thanks for your help,
Chef Alaina
This recipe yields around 10-12 patties; around 2-3 patties per person.
Thank you for responding, Imma. I made these for a bridal shower where the Bride is of Jamaican descent and she was THRILLED. They were delicious. My kids loved them to and couldn’t get enough. I am about to make them for a friend whose son’s favorite food is Jamaican beef patties, so I’m excited to show the family how to make them from scratch. Thanks again.
I am so glad the bride loved it! And your friends are in for a treat!
I’ve made dozens of different patty recipes. This was the one I was looking for. Can’t get enough of that dough! And caramelized onions + seared peppers made this last batch amazing o_o
I’d be jealous of your culinary wizardry, but you share so much of it . So, thanks for that
Michael,
Did you put the caramelized onions inside the patties or just serve alongside? Thanks!
Alaina
Thank you so much for this perfect recipe. When we go home to Toronto my husbands first stop is for a bag of seconds from the Jamaica Patty store. I think these are so much better. The dough is a dream to work with and will be used for other creations. We also loved your beans and rice so very good. I am excited to explore the rest of your recipes.
Would like to know if you have a cook book? If you do, where can I purchase it.
Sorry I don’t have one yet.
I made these last night. Everyone enjoyed them so much
Thank you
Arleen
Awesome! Thanks Arleen
Thankyou so much for your pattie recipe!
Made them for second time and wouldn’t use any other recipe now!
They are delicious!!
I made these for the first time ever for a bake sale last fall. I was called a goddess. I think that’s a win. BTW, I am a vegetarian, so I have no idea how delicious these are, except for the rave reviews. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Why not substitute the beef with the non-meat type crumble beef taste. There’s several substitutes for non meat eaters that I buy for my brother who don’t eat any type meat. That way you could have tasted your creation for the bake sale.
I make these with lentils in place of the beef and they are delicious. The rest of my family eats them the traditional way and everyone is happy.
I made these last night & they were delicious! I did freeze some, would I cook those at the same temp & time?
I have eaten some that also had cheese in them. What kind of cheese would you recommend?
Any melting cheese would work. I love smoked gouda and use it as often as I can.
Do you use the butter AND shortening or either butter or shortening?
I use both and sometimes only butter.
Do you have to substitute the 5oz of shortening for more butter, or just leave it out?
Substitute shortening in place of butter – 10 ounce of butter in total.
Please I want to know if the butter to use is the salted or none salted
Un salted butter. Recipe updated . Thanks
Hi there! I’m heading to get everything to make these for Christmas for my family! So excited to try them! I just had a clarifying question. Your recipe calls for curry. Is that paste or powder? Thank you!
Hi Mariah ! It’s curry powder.
Merry Christmas!!!
I love your recipes.
I have tried two of your fish recipes; the whole roast fish and the stew fish and both came out really well.
Planning to to the patties as part of the starter selection over Christmas.
Will let you know how they turn out!
Thank you
Thank you, Alena! Hope they turned out well for you. Happy holidays!
Absolutely delish! Thank you for such an easy recipe. I suck at baking so I bought store bought pastry dough, but I’m sure yours is lovely. Very easy to make the filling and the instructions to assemble were spot-on. So full of flavour and the spice combinations are amazing!
Thank you for taking the time to let me know, Carole! Glad you love how it taste.
Carole,
I’m also terrible at making pastry and crusts. What kind of pastry dough did you get. I’d like to use your short cut. Thank you