Mouth-watering spiced meat in a buttery, flaky crust. These Jamaican beef patties are bursting with flavor from the savory curry, warm allspice, and spicy peppers. This recipe will make about 11 six-inch patties in about 1.5 hours.
Oh, little meat pie. You bring so much joy to my cold, dead heart. You're spicy, crispy, juicy, and scrumptious. Have a bland palate or don't like heavily spiced food? Sorry, this is not the recipe for you. *Flips hair*
Ingredients:
For the crust:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
3/4 cup ice cold water
1 egg, beaten
For the filling:
1 lb ground beef
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeños or 1 scotch bonnet pepper, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions:
Make the filling. You can even do this the day before. In a large skillet, sauté the onion in olive oil on medium heat until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and pepper and continue cooking for about 2 more minutes.
Stir in the ground beef, breaking up the chunks as it cooks. While it's cooking, add in all of the spices and incorporate well.
Once the beef is browned, sprinkle in the breadcrumbs and pour in the beef broth and stir until the liquid is absorbed. The mixture should look be solid and a little paste-like. Taste and add salt to your preference. Set aside and allow to cool.
Make the crust. In a food processor*, pulse together the flour, salt, curry powder, and turmeric until uniform.
On the lowest mode, add the cubes of butter one by one until the the mixture looks like small crumbs instead of powder.
Slowly pour in the cold water until clumps of dough start to form. Stop immediately. Over-mixing will result in a tough crust.
Remove the dough from the food processor and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Assemble the patties once the meat is cooled and the dough is rested.
Preheat the oven to 375F (about 190C).
Flour a large surface liberally. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness; you can do this in batches. Cut out 6-inch circles. I used a small sauce pan lid as a mold!
Using a finger or small brush, spread a little bit of beaten egg along the edge of the circle.
Place about 2-3 tablespoons of meat in the center of each circular crust.
Fold the circle in half, pressing and pinching if necessary to seal the patty. Crimp the edges using a fork. Set on a parchment paper-line baking sheet. Repeat until either the dough or meat is gone. Then, brush each beef patty with the beaten egg.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
*You can mix and knead by hand, too. It's just a little more time-consuming.
The beef patties will keep in the fridge for a few days. They also freeze really well! Just reheat in the microwave with a wet paper towel.
Live, laugh, love (JK could you imagine?!)
Arielle