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
Jamaican Meat Pie
Ingredients
PIE CRUST
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ½-2 teaspoon turmeric
- 5 ounces shortening
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 cup ice water
- 5 ounces unsalted butter
JAMAICAN BEEf FILLING
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon curry
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 green onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt, or more
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- ½ scotch bonnet pepper, chopped (optional)
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, optional replace with salt
Instructions
Make the Pie Crust
- 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 the dough until it all has been cut. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
Make the Meat Pie Filling
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a saucepan, followed by onions, garlic, paprika, thyme curry, chili powder, white pepper, allspice, and chicken bouillon. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Then add ground meat and breadcrumbs 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 and adjust for salt and pepper seasoning.
- Remove from stovetop and let it cool.
Assemble the Jamaican Meat Pies
- 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 the oven to 375℉.
- Carefully place each pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes .
- You may freeze them to bake later.
- Best served warm.
Tips & Notes:
- Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Steve T says
Hi, I am used to using suet in my pastry for these patties but suet is not always easy finding in the supermarkets so I am coming here for your recipe! I have made these patties once before and everyone loved them! Now I am making more so I can freeze some for a special occasion :-))
Thanks again Imma for keeping this recipe up! I printed a copy just so I don’t lose such a great recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Steve! Happy to know that you liked this recipe!
Stef says
One of the best tasting things I’ve ever made! I omitted the parsley and bread crumbs because I didn’t have them and added a bit of Jamaican jerk seasoning, and it turned out amazing. Ate with a little dab of tart and tangy pomegranate molasses and the flavor combo was divine but the meat pie was perfect without it! Thank you, this is a keeper!
ImmaculateBites says
You are welcome Stef! I am so happy you liked it! 🙂
J Kwan says
Question about the step 14 -“Freeze to bake later.” Would it be best to bake completely and then freeze for later use, or freeze with raw dough and go from there? Thinking about making ahead to bring for Thanksgiving where oven time is a hot commodity.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi J, either way will work. Since it’s not a yeast dough, it doesn’t have to rise. So you can freeze it before.
Julia Tausch says
I veganized these yesterday using lentils and some “beefy” seasonings in place of ground beef, and they were SO good!! The spicing of the filling was so delicious, thank you so much!
Immaculate Bites says
Yum! Thank you, Julia! 🙂
Estellita mejia says
I tried it but crust was not flaky
Need help.with crust prep
Immaculate Bites says
Hello Estellita! In making the dough, first make sure that the butter and shortening are well incorporated with the flour then add vinegar and ice cold water and continue mixing until it forms into a ball. Second, Also make sure to not over-work the dough (prevent the butter and shortening to melt). Lastly, make sure that you’ve refrigerated the dough for 30 minutes before filling and baking them. The secret is to make the butter and shortening do their work during baking, this is when the fat melts away creating air pockets which will result to a flaky crust. Let me know how it goes 🙂 Enjoy!
Kate Faries says
Freeze short and make sure water is very cold!!!
Immaculate Bites says
Thanks for sharing, Kate!
CHERYL CHIN says
Thank you for this recipe I will definitely make your Jamaican Patties again
Immaculate Bites says
Woohoo! Thank you, Cheryl! 🙂
Sabrina says
Easy to follow recipe! And big flavour! The pastry was amazing. I may have added more scotch bonnet! Can’t wait to make it again!
Immaculate Bites says
Yay! Thank you for trying this recipe, Sabrina 🙂
Brenna says
Just a question. I noticed in your comments above the recipe, it says cumin. But the recipe itself doesn’t have it listed. How much should I use?
Immaculate Bites says
Hi Brenna! One of the ingredients in curry powder (which is listed in the ingredients) is cumin, I meant to say that if you want more cumin, you can add up to 1/3 teaspoon, more than that and it might overpower the other ingredients.
Also, you may try my Jamaican Curry Powder in this recipe, it’s awesome! Hope this helps. 🙂
Chittakookar says
I tried this and it was great however I had a question about the crust. I followed the recipe but for some reason my crust didnt come out as flaky so just wondering if I did something wrong? any help would be appreciated.
Immaculate Bites says
Hi Chittakookar! I can’t say if you did anything wrong, but it may be the measurement or the ingredients itself? Check your cider vinegar as well, next time. 🙂
Jenn says
I made this recipe for dinner tonight, along with your pineapple, cucumber, and avocado salad and they were both so tasty! My 18 month old LOVED every bite and both dishes will definitely be keepers in our house. Thanks so much for your great recipes!
Immaculate Bites says
Yay! Thank you, Jenn!
Liz says
Can I omit the all spice?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you can.
Tiana says
Transcendent! Made these as directed and I was worried I was messing up the dough but it was very forgiving. My entire family, including kids ages 1 and 4, loved them. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Sharon says
Delicious! I added in a little diced green pepper and a shake of ghost pepper flakes in lieu of scotch bonnet pepper. I was a little unsure as to the amount of turmeric, and went with 2 1/2 tsp. Mine were much more yellow than those in the pics above, but they resemble the ones I used to buy at Jamaican restaurants on the East Coast.
Tess says
I use this recipe and it always turns out great!
Linda says
This is so good. The beef mixture alone, I could eat with a spoon. Thank you for sharing!