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A plate of jamaican chicken patties, with one broken open to show the flaky pastry.
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5 from 12 votes

Flaky Jamaican Beef Patties [& Chicken Patties]

I grew up on Jamaican Beef Patties - they were always a favourite lunch in high school (Thank you, 7-Eleven). Here’s how you can make a homemade version!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Resting time30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: Jamaican
Servings: 12 or more patties
Calories: 633kcal
Author: Marie Porter

Equipment

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 Large egg
  • 1 tablespoon Vinegar
  • 5 ½ cups Flour
  • 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Turmeric
  • ⅛ teaspoon Baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 lb Lard*

Filling

  • 1 Large onion finely chopped
  • 1-3 Scotch Bonnet Peppers seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Curry Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon Allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
  • 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef or Ground Chicken
  • 2 slices White Bread ripped into small pieces
  • ⅔ cup Milk
  • ⅔ cup Beef Broth
  • 1 Large Egg beaten
  • 2 tablespoon Water

Instructions

Pastry Dough

  • Whisk water, egg, and vinegar together, set aside.
  • In a larger bowl, mix together flour, curry, turmeric, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
  • Add lard, cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork gently, until it resembles gravel.
  • Pour in the wet ingredients, mixing with a fork until just combined. Don’t over handle it! In Tom’s words, “Mix it with kindness”!
  • Gather dough into a loose ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes before using.
  • * Tom recommends using Tenderflake brand lard, which is apparently only available in Canada. Shortening can be substituted if lard cannot be obtained, but is definitely not *preferable* to lard.

Patty Filling

  • In a large pan, saute the onion and Scotch bonnet pepper together until onion is translucent and soft. Add the spices, stir until well distributed.
  • Add in the ground beef, bread, and milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring / mashing until mixture looks relatively uniform.
  • Add beef broth, continue to cook – stirring often – until most of the liquid has cooked off, leaving a somewhat wet paste. Cool to room temperature.

To Assemble the Patties

  • Preheat oven to 400 F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
  • Lightly flour your work surface. Roll dough out to about ¼" thick, then cut into desired rounds / squares. For full sized patties, cut into 6-7" rounds or squares. For minis, cut rounds about 2-3" across.
  • Center about ¼ cup of filling on each full sized crust - or about 1 tablespoon for minis - moisten edges of each crust with a little water. Fold each crust in half, pushing out some of the air as you go.
  • Press edges closed, then “crimp” by pressing down gently with a fork. Place finished pastries on prepared baking sheets.
  • Whisk together egg and water, lightly brush over the top of each pie.
  • Bake until golden - about 15-17 minutes for mini patties, and 20-25 minutes for full sized patties.

Notes

Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap (or transferred to an airtight container) and either stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or frozen.
Best when reheated in an air fryer, but 45 seconds in a microwave works as well (it just won’t be as crispy).

Nutrition

Serving: 112th of the recipe | Calories: 633kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 314mg | Potassium: 267mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 4mg