Name: Jamaican patty (home recipe)
Prep time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: Makes 12 patties
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 450 g (about 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) self-rising flour, plus more for dusting; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 3 tablespoons ground turmeric; 2 tablespoons chilled butter, diced small; 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water; 1 pound lean ground beef; 1 medium onion, minced; 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and diced; 1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder and kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1 beef stock cube dissolved in 2/3 cup boiling water; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika and 1/2 teaspoon allspice; 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs or flour; 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce or browning; Milk or water for brushing

History

A Jamaican patty is a semicircular pastry with a spiced filling baked inside a flaky shell, often tinted golden yellow with an egg yolk mixture, annatto or turmeric. It is traditionally filled with seasoned ground beef, shows the influence of the Cornish pasty and the Spanish empanada, and is often eaten with coco bread. Jamaicans brought patty recipes to the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, and the patties were then found in restaurants in areas of the New York metropolitan area with high West Indian populations; Brooklyn is home to the largest West Indian community outside the Caribbean.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 12 pattiesHands-on 1 hrTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

450 g (about 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons ground turmeric
2 tablespoons chilled butter, diced small
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, minced
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder and kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper
1 beef stock cube dissolved in 2/3 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon sweet paprika and 1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon breadcrumbs or flour
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce or browning
Milk or water for brushing

Method

Stir the flour, sugar, salt and turmeric, rub in the butter until crumbly, add the ice water to form a dough, and chill it for 1 hour.
Brown the beef in a skillet for about 5 minutes, add the onion and Scotch bonnet, and cook 3 minutes.
Add the garlic powder, salt and pepper, then the stock, paprika, allspice, breadcrumbs and soy sauce, simmer 20 minutes, and cool completely.
Heat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Roll the dough out, fold it into a square and roll again, repeating 2 to 3 times, then roll to 1/16 inch thick.
Cut twelve 6 inch rounds, put about 3 tablespoons of filling on each, brush the edge with milk, fold over, and crimp with a fork.
Poke steam holes, set on a baking sheet, and bake 25 minutes until golden.

Tip from the editors. Cool the filling completely before filling, or the warm meat melts the butter in the pastry and the crust turns tough.