Jamaican Beef Patties
I love Jamaican food but these Jamaican Beef Patties are at the top of my list! The beef filling is savory and spicy and encased in a characteristic yellow buttery dough.
Doesn’t that description make you want to try a Jamaican beef patty right now? Luckily, I’ve got the perfect recipe that will have you eating one of these delicious, golden bites in no time!
What Are Jamaican Beef Patties Made Of?
Essentially, Jamaican beef patties consist of yellow pastry dough and seasoned ground beef. The pastry dough consists of flour, butter, water, salt, and turmeric which gives the dough its yellow color. In contrast, the ground beef filling is made with onions, garlic, scallions, bell peppers, curry, beef, thyme, and scotch bonnet peppers.
Are Jamaican Beef Patties the same as Empanadas?
Some people compare Jamaican beef patties with Empanadas. Technically speaking, Jamaican beef patties are similar to Empanadas.
However, Jamaican beef patties are steeped in Jamaican flavors. For example, Empanada beef filling doesn’t usually include, curry, or scotch bonnet peppers which are grown throughout the Caribbean region.
Are Jamaican Beef Patties Healthy?
Whether these Jamaican beef patties are healthy or not, depends on how you look at it. A Jamaican beef patty is no Greek Salad. On average, depending on the ingredients used and their quantities, one beef patty can have 300 hundred calories, 41 grams of carbs, and 9 grams of fat.
However, Jamaican beef patties are a much healthier alternative compared to fast food such as burgers and pizzas, which have a lot of calories.
Jamaican Beef Patties dough Ingredients
Most people shy away from Jamaican beef patties at home because they believe they are too difficult to make. However, these patties are so easy to make that you probably already have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now.
All-Purpose Flour – All-purpose flour is the base of the pastry dough. The gluten in the flour interacts with the water and forms the elastic dough.
Turmeric – Turmeric gives the pastry dough its yellow color and an earthy, slightly bitter flavor. You can use curry powder or annatto powder to give the pastry dough its color if you don’t have turmeric available.
Curry Powder – Curry powder also adds a little color to the dough and gives it a rich earthy flavor.
Salt – Salt gives the dough some flavor and balances out the flavor of the other spices.
Garlic and Onion Powder – Both garlic and onion powder add a savory flavor to the dough.
Butter – Butter gives the crust a buttery flavor since the little pieces of butter melt and create pockets of air in the dough resulting in a flaky crust. I used unsalted butter. However, if you are using salted butter, omit the salt from the dough.
Ice Cold Water– Cold water helps the dough come together. The cold water also prevents the butter from melting too much.
Jamaican Beef Patties filling Ingredients
Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil prevents the vegetables from sticking to the skillet as they are cooking.
Red Onions: Red onions are mild enough that they will not overpower the flavor of the beef filling. However, you can also use white or yellow onions.
Scallions: Scallions add a mild onion flavor to the filling.
Red Bell Pepper: Red bell peppers add a sweet flavor to the beef filling.
Garlic: Garlic intensifies the savory flavor of the filling.
Thyme: The beef filling would not be complete without some fresh herbs. I used thyme to give a citrusy, woodsy flavor to the beef filling.
Spices: I used a combination of curry powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika. However, you can add or remove any spice you desire.
Scotch Bonnet Pepper: Scotch bonnet peppers add a little spice to the beef filling. I only used 1 1/4 teaspoons, but you can increase the amount for a spicier patty or decrease the amount of pepper for a milder patty.
Ground Beef: It’s best to use 85% lean beef. You don’t want the beef to be so lean that it dries out. However, you also don’t want the beef to be too fatty. Therefore 85% lean is the perfect ratio for making beef patties.
Beef Bouillon: Beef bouillon adds a salty, robust flavor to the beef filling. A little beef bouillon goes a long way, so be careful and don’t add too much as otherwise, the filling may be too salty.
Soy Sauce: Soy sauce adds a sweet yet salty, umami flavor to the beef filling.
Egg yolk: Eggs help seal the pastry dough by preventing it from exploding while it’s baking in the oven. However, the eggs also give the beef patties their golden-brown color.
FAQS
What to serve with Jamaican Beef Patties?
Jamaican Beef Patties are very versatile in terms of what you can serve with them. You can serve these patties with a green salad, French fries, coleslaw, roasted vegetables, and even soup where you can dip the patties. You can pretty much choose your favorite side dish and serve it!
What sauce can I serve with Jamaican Beef Patties?
If you’re looking to serve your patties with a dipping sauce other than ketchup and mustard, you have a whole host of options that work well. Dips such as spicy peanut dip, cheese dip, or a hot sauce dip all work great. You can also serve Thai sweet chili sauce, mango jerk sauce, tomato sauce, or a jerk marinade.
Can I freeze Jamaican Beef Patties?
Yes, you can. Once you are done assembling your beef patties, you can place them on a sheet pan and put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, place them in batches in Ziploc bags and keep them in the freezer. You can also freeze baked patties if you have any leftovers, simply let them cool down and place them in Ziploc bags and freeze.
How to prepare frozen Jamaican Beef Patties?
Whether you are about to cook homemade frozen beef patties or store-bought, just preheat your oven to 400°F and place the patties on a baking pan. Bake the patties for about 20-30 minutes until they are golden brown or until the internal temperature reaches 166°F. You can then serve them immediately with side dishes and sauces of your choice.
How to reheat Jamaican Beef Patties?
If you’re looking to reheat cooked Jamaican beef patties, you can easily microwave them for about 2 minutes but that might not leave them crispy. For a crispier reheat, you can pop them in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 400°F or in an air fryer at the same temperature. Depending on how soon you want to eat these delicious patties, you can choose the best method to reheat these patties.
Can you air fry Jamaican Beef Patties?
Of course! Just set your air fryer to 325°F and pop in your patties. Cook your patties for around 15 minutes or until they are cooked through and golden brown. You can check the internal temperature with a thermometer or you can cut one to check how well it’s cooked.
More Delicious Caribbean Recipes
Jamaican Beef Patties
Ingredients
For the dough;
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 ½ tsp Ground Turmeric
- 1 ½ tsp Curry Powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup cold unsalted Butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cup Ice-Cold Water
For the Beef Filling
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Red Onion, diced
- 1 Scallion, diced
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ lbs 85% Lean Ground Beef
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 ½ tsp Curry Powder
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp massala
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- ½ Red Bell Pepper, chopped
- 1 1/4 tsp Scotch Bonnet Pepper, minced
- ½ cup Beef broth
- ½ tsp Fresh Thyme
- 1 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
Making the Dough;
- To make the pastry, place the all-purpose flour, turmeric, curry powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and unsalted butter into a food processor outfitted with the dough (plastic) blade.
- Pulse it to incorporate the fat into the flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs
- Next, add the ice-cold water to the dough a tablespoon at a time until a ball forms. Wrap the pastry dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge.
Making the Filling;
- To make the beef filling, add the oil to a skillet and set it over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and red bell peppers and cook them for 5 minutes until the onions soften.
- Stir in the spring onions, garlic, thyme, curry powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and scotch bonnet pepper, and cook the beef filling for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in the ground beef and cook it for 2 minutes until it starts to brown. Add the soy sauce, salt, and black pepper, and stir to combine. Cook the beef for 8 minutes until it is completely browned.
- Add the all-purpose flour and cook it for 1 minute.
- Add the water to the beef filling, decrease the heat to low, cover the beef, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Let the beef filling cool completely before assembling the patties.
Assembling the Patties;
- Turn the oven to a 350°F.
- Whisk the eggs and water in a small bowl until combined and set it aside.
- Place the pastry dough onto a floured surface and roll it out until it is 1/16-inch in thickness.
- Place a 3-inch plate or any plate you like around 3 to 5 inches on top of the dough and use it to cut 3-4 circles out of the pastry dough and place them onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Reroll the pastry dough and cut more circles out of it. In total, you should have 8 rounds of dough.
- Place 2-3 tablespoons of the beef filling in the center of the dough.
- Brush the perimeter of the pastry dough with egg wash, then fold one half of the pastry dough over the beef filling and press the edges of the dough together with a fork to seal it.
- Continue assembling the beef patties until all of the beef filling is gone.
- Once all the beef patties have been assembled, brush them with the remaining egg wash.
- Poke a few holes into each beef patty using a fork to allow the steam to escape.
- Bake the beef patties for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. The time depends on the size of the patties
- Serve and enjoy!
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