Jamaican beef patties are a real blending of cultures. Carribean flavours such as thyme and allspice marry together with British influences from Cornish pasties and curry powder. I’ve taken this theme a little further with the addition of diced potato but feel free to leave this out if you would rather have an authentic flavour.
This recipe uses a scotch bonnet chili which is very hot, but also quintessentially Caribbean in flavour. Feel free to reduce the amount but try to use at least a little to get the best flavour.
These Jamaican patties are so more-ish they can be eaten as a main or just as a snack on the go. They go with anything – I like to serve them with a lime coleslaw and either chips or rice.
Jamaican beef patties can also be frozen to be cooked later, so they are super convenient.
Jamaican beef patties
Pastry
Patty filling
Patty assembly
Instructions
Making the pastry
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Mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
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Add the butter to the flour cutting it into small pieces. Using your thumb and fingers rub the butter in – don’t overwork the mix or allow the butter to become too warm. Uneven lumps of butter are fine.
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Add water a little at a time and mix into the flour/butter mixture with your hands. The amount of water will vary depending on flour and humidity.Â
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When the dough just forms a loose ball wrap in cling film and let rest in fridge for 30 minutes.Â
As you can see in the photo the dough ball only just comes together.
Jamaican beef patty filling
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In a pan of water, boil the diced potato until tender. Drain and set aside.
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Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil to a frying pan and fry the onion on medium heat until softened.
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Add the beef mince and fry breaking the meat into smaller pieces as it cooks. Fry for about 5 minutes or until the mince is cooked.
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Add the garlic and scotch bonnet and fry for 2 minutes.
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Add the thyme (remove the leaves from the stalk), 1 tsp of allspice and 1 tbsp of curry powder and fry for about 1 minute until the fragrance is released.
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Stir in 1 tbsp of tomato paste and fry for 2 minutes. If the mixture becomes too dry add a little water.
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Add 1 tbsp of beef stock concentrate and salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked potato and stir in being careful not to break up the potato too much. Cook for a further 3 minutes.
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Take the filling mixture off the heat and stir in the spring onion.
Jamaican beef patty assembly
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Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC with fan.
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Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to a thickness of about ½ cm.
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Using a round cutter (or suitable-sized glass) cut 12cm circles.
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Put 1-2 tablespoons of filling on one half of the dough circle.
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Brush the edge with the beaten egg and fold the dough to create a half-moon shape. Crimp edges with a fork and pierce the top with a fork to allow the steam to escape.
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Brush the top of each patty with a little egg.
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Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with coleslaw, butternut squash and rice or chips.
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