I first fell in love with Jamaican patties when I was a young girl. My mum, who grew up in Jamaica, discovered a wonderful Jamaican patty shop in Vancouver. The owner just loved my mum because she could talk all-things-Jamaica with him (when she really got going, the Jamaican accent came back). I loved him because he made patties with the flakiest crust and most flavorful meat. I don't think the shop is there anymore, but the taste of those patties left a permanent mark in my memory.
Cut ¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks) chilled butter into small pieces and add it to the flour, along with ¼ cup shortening. Next time I am going to try a half-and-half ratio of butter and shortening (½ cup butter and ½ cup shortening) to see if I can get an even flakier crust.
With a pastry cutter, or your fingers, cut in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Stir in â…“ cup water until the mixture forms a ball.
I found that I had to add a little more water because it is so flippin' dry here. The bottle of Jergens lotion and I are best friends. Add the water 1 teaspoon at a time until the dough sticks together. Form the dough into a log.
Cut the dough into 10 even pieces.
To be continued...
The Meat
Set a large skillet over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoon butter. Add 1 small finely diced onion and saute until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add 1 lb ground beef.
Add 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
I have a difficult time finding ground allspice, but can easily find whole allspice in the spice section of the grocery store. You can easily grind it up with a mortar and pestle. Alternatively, put the allspice in a ziploc bag and smash with a rolling pin.
I made these patties without any spice to please my kids, but next time I'll some spice to the adults' patties.
Saute until the meat is browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Stir in ½ cup beef broth and ½ cup bread crumbs.
Once liquid is absorbed, remove the skillet from the heat.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Take one piece of dough and roll out into a 6-inch circle. Fill with 2 tablespoon of the meat mixture.
Fold the dough over and press the edges to seal. Use a fork to further seal. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Place the patties on a baking sheet.
In a small bowl, whisk one egg. Brush the top of each patty with the beaten egg.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the patties are golden brown. Serve with mango chutney, Pickapeppa sauce (from Jamaica, but available in North America), or any other sauce that appeals to you.
Printable Recipe
Jamaican Meat Patties
Ingredients
The dough:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons curry powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup ½ stick unsalted butter
- ¼ cup shortening
- â…“ cup (+more) water
The meat:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound ground beef (90% lean)
- 1 small onion finely diced
- Chili pepper, diced (optional)
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup beef broth
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
Instructions
The dough:
- In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, curry powder, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- With a pastry cutter, or your fingers, cut in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Add the water and stir until the mixture forms into a bowl. If the dough is too crumbly, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough sticks together. Form the dough into a log. Cut the dough into 10 pieces.
The meat:
- Set a large skillet over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoon butter. Add the diced onion and sauté until it is soft and translucent.
- Add the ground beef. Add curry powder, dried thyme, salt, freshly ground pepper, ground allspice, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg. liquid is absorbed, remove the skillet from the heat.
- Sauté until the meat is browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Stir in beef broth and bread crumbs. Once liquid is absorbed, remove the skillet from the heat.
Assemble & bake:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Take one piece of dough and roll out into a 6-inch circle. Fill with 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. Fold the dough over and press the edges to seal. Use a fork to further seal. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Place the patties on a baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk one egg.Brush the top of each patty with the beaten egg.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the patties are golden brown. Serve with mango chutney, Pickapeppa sauce (from Jamaica, but available in North America), or any other sauce that appeals to you.
Notes
Nutrition
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Michelle
These are in the oven right now! smelling so good! I had these Saturday at a Family Days festival from a Jamaican guy who also had amazing Jerk chicken & roasted pork butts.... I decided to try my hand at these. I used deer meat and a bit of chorizo (its really greasy!) and drained it. Added jalapeno & some diced cooked Yuca with lots of garlic. and some habanero sauce 🙂 My pastry was crumbling a bit, guess I needed a little more water. From what I could taste in his recipe yours is very similar. I can't wait til they are done! Thanks 🙂
chefandsteward.com
Love it! We will have to make our own soon because we haven't had any in 2 yeas and I am dreaming about them daily now! Thank you for sharing this little piece of Jamaica!
chefandsteward.com
Love it! We will have to make our own soon because we haven't had any in 2 yeas and I am dreaming about them daily now! Thank you for sharing this little piece of Jamaica!
Myrtille
I'm not familiar with Jamaican cuisine. Definitely would like to try it! Thanks for sharing.
Suzy Gruyere
Hi Cookin' Canuck,
I grew up in the Virgin Islands and can still taste the patties we bought from Dorothea on the beach. Will try your recipe one of these days!
Also, thanks for your comment at weheartmacandcheese.com. I think Hilary probably eats mac more often but I definitely cook it more often. 🙂 I did enjoy this one a lot and I'm thinking about trying the cottage cheese method with cheeses other than Cheddar.
Your blog is lovely. Do you have a mac recipe you'd like to crosspost?
I'm going to try that feta-butter corn ASAP. Mmm. Thanks for reading!
Cookin' Canuck
I love your variation, Barbara! And thank you for the feedback on the dough. I made a note in the post.
Barbara
I made the meat pies tonight with a little twist - I had slow cooked some pork yesterday and shredded it and mixed in some Sweet Baby Rays bbq sauce - cooked the onions like you said added the beef broth and the breadcrumbs - then I made the dough using 1/2 c shortening and 1/2 c butter it was very flakey almost tooo flakey to roll out but they were awesome! We dipped them in some of the bbq sauce on the side my kids loved them - thanks!
I love your site and have shared it with many friends
Thanks
Diane
I like the sound of the allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. It sounds like these would make a very hearty meal.