Plate 05 of 10

Beef Patty

Name: Beef Patty
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 8 large patties, about 180 g each
Cuisine: Jamaica
Ingredients: 500 g Plain flour, about 11 percent protein, sifted; 10 g Ground turmeric; 5 g Mild Jamaican curry powder; 10 g Fine sea salt; 15 g Granulated sugar; 150 g Vegetable shortening or beef suet, cubed and chilled hard; 100 g Unsalted butter, frozen and grated on a box grater; 220 ml Ice-cold water; 15 ml White cane vinegar; 600 g Lean minced beef chuck, 85/15; 30 ml Vegetable oil; 1 medium Yellow onion, minced fine; 4 stalks Scallions, minced fine; 4 cloves Garlic, minced fine; 1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced very fine; 10 g Jamaican browning sauce; 15 ml Soy or Worcestershire sauce; 5 g Ground allspice, freshly ground; 3 g Fresh thyme leaves, chopped; 6 g Fine sea salt; 3 g Freshly ground black pepper; 240 ml Beef stock; 45 g Fine dry breadcrumbs

The Kingston lunch. A turmeric-yellow shortcrust laminated with grated frozen butter and shortening, folded over a spiced beef filling that has been simmered with stock and breadcrumbs into a paste that stays put when you bite.

Prep: 45 min
Cook: 30 min
Serves: 8 large patties, about 180 g each
Difficulty: Hard

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

Golden-yellow half-moon beef patties with fork-crimped edges on a wire rack, one broken open to show the dark spiced beef filling inside flaky pastry.

Walk down any street in Kingston at noon and you will see commuters holding a brown paper bag with a hot patty inside. It is unmistakable: a bright turmeric-yellow pastry folded into a half-moon, crimped with a fork, and shattering into flaky layers at the first bite.

The pastry gets its colour from turmeric and curry powder, and its flake from cold suet or shortening laminated with grated frozen butter. Inside is finely minced beef spiced with Scotch bonnet, scallion, thyme, garlic, allspice and browning. Unlike a loose meat pie, the filling is simmered with stock and breadcrumbs until it is a cohesive paste that clings to the pastry instead of spilling into your lap.

Ingredients

Pastry
500 gPlain flour, about 11 percent protein, sifted
10 gGround turmeric
5 gMild Jamaican curry powder
10 gFine sea salt
15 gGranulated sugar
150 gVegetable shortening or beef suet, cubed and chilled hard
100 gUnsalted butter, frozen and grated on a box grater
220 mlIce-cold water
15 mlWhite cane vinegarkeeps the gluten relaxed
Filling
600 gLean minced beef chuck, 85/15
30 mlVegetable oil
1 mediumYellow onion, minced fine
4 stalksScallions, minced fine
4 clovesGarlic, minced fine
1 wholeScotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced very fine
10 gJamaican browning sauce
15 mlSoy or Worcestershire sauce
5 gGround allspice, freshly ground
3 gFresh thyme leaves, chopped
6 gFine sea salt
3 gFreshly ground black pepper
240 mlBeef stock
45 gFine dry breadcrumbsbind the juices into a paste

Two fats, two jobs

Shortening coats the flour proteins and keeps the crust tender. Grated frozen butter sits in pockets between the flour sheets; at 200 °C the water in it flashes to steam and pushes the layers apart into flakes. That is why the recipe uses both.

Vinegar in the dough

A splash of vinegar lowers the dough's pH and weakens the gluten bonds, so the pastry rolls without fighting back and does not shrink in the oven.

Breadcrumbs are the secret

Loose mince leaks. The crumbs absorb the beef juices and stock and swell into a smooth paste that stays moist in the oven without steaming its way out through the seams.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt runs evenly through the cold dough and the filling. Fat is suet, shortening and butter flakes in the pastry and the beef in the filling. Acid is the vinegar in the dough and a splash of Worcestershire. Heat is Scotch bonnet, black pepper and allspice. Umami is browned beef, reduced stock, soy and browning.

Equipment

Large mixing bowl and pastry cutter
Box grater, for the frozen butter
Rolling pin
12-inch skillet, for the filling
Two half-sheet pans lined with parchment
Fork, for crimping

Commercial patty shops bake on heavy steel sheets in deck ovens. At home, parchment-lined half-sheet pans on the middle-lower rack get the bottom crust crisp and dry without burning it.

Method

Make the turmeric pastry15 min
Whisk the flour, turmeric, curry powder, salt and sugar until evenly yellow. Add the chilled shortening and the grated frozen butter and work them in with a pastry cutter or fingertips until the mix looks like coarse crumbs with pea-sized bits of butter.
Combine the ice water and vinegar, drizzle over the flour, and toss with a fork until it just comes together. Press into a flat rectangle, wrap tightly, and refrigerate 1 hour.
Whisk flour, turmeric, curry powder, salt and sugar. Work in cold shortening and grated frozen butter, retaining pea-sized butter pieces. Combine ice water and vinegar; toss in with a fork just until joined. Flatten into a rectangle, wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
Laminate the dough10 min
On a lightly floured board, roll the dough into a 20 by 40 cm rectangle. Fold the top third to the centre and the bottom third over it, like a letter. Turn 90 degrees, roll out again, and fold in thirds a second time. Wrap and chill 30 minutes more.
Roll on a lightly floured board to 20 × 40 cm. Fold in thirds like a letter, rotate 90°, then roll and fold in thirds again. Wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Cook the spiced beef filling25 min
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sweat the onion, scallions, garlic and Scotch bonnet 4 minutes until soft. Add the beef, breaking it up, and cook 6 to 8 minutes until browned.
Stir in the browning, soy, allspice, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in the stock and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the breadcrumbs; the mix will thicken at once into a smooth, glossy paste. Take off the heat and cool completely. The filling must be cold before you assemble.
Heat oil over medium; soften onion, scallions, garlic and Scotch bonnet 4 minutes. Crumble and brown beef 6–8 minutes. Add browning, soy, allspice, thyme, salt, pepper and stock; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in breadcrumbs until glossy and cohesive; cool completely before filling.
Roll and cut the discs10 min
Heat the oven to 200 °C conventional. Divide the dough into 8 pieces of about 110 g. Roll each into a circle roughly 18 cm across and 3 mm thick.
Heat a conventional oven to 200 °C. Divide dough into 8 pieces of about 110 g; roll each into an 18 cm circle, 3 mm thick.
Fill and crimp the half-moons10 min
Spoon about 75 g of cold filling onto one half of each circle, leaving a 1.5 cm border. Brush the border with cold water. Fold the empty half over the meat, press the edges together to push out trapped air, and crimp the curved edge firmly with the tines of a fork.
Place about 75 g cold filling on half of each circle, leaving a 1.5 cm border. Wet the border with cold water, fold over and press out air. Seal the curved edge firmly with a fork.
Bake25 to 30 min
Set the patties on the lined sheets with 3 cm between them. Bake on the centre rack at 200 °C for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and dry and lightly golden at the crimps. Rest on a wire rack 5 minutes.
Space patties 3 cm apart on lined trays. Bake on the centre rack at 200 °C for 25–30 minutes until dry and crisp with lightly golden crimps. Rest on a wire rack 5 minutes.
07
Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: vivid golden-yellow pastry with dry, crisp, layered edges and neat crimps, and no soggy dough underneath.
- Auditory: a delicate crunch through the top crust, then a soft yield.
- Olfactory: baked butter pastry, earthy turmeric, Scotch bonnet, allspice and roasted beef.
Check for golden-yellow pastry with dry, crisp layers and neatly sealed edges; the underside should not be soggy. The crust should crunch delicately over the soft, moist beef filling.

Storing it

Freeze unbaked patties solid on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen at 190 °C for 35 to 40 minutes.

Troubleshooting

Sticky, soggy dough that will not fold.: Warm filling was spooned onto raw pastry and melted the fat. Chill the filling completely first.
Filling boils out through the seams.: No breadcrumbs. Loose, watery meat leaks in the oven. The crumbs bind the juices into the traditional paste.
Tough, chewy crust.: The dough was kneaded and developed gluten. Mix only until it holds together.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Beef suet or shortening	Cold vegetable shortening, or all butter	One-to-one. Shortening gives the tender flake; butter adds dairy flavour
Scotch bonnet	Habanero	One-to-one. Same heat and fruit
Minced beef chuck	Minced chicken or lamb, or a curried vegetable filling	One-to-one. Keep the filling thick and completely cold before assembling

Scaling

Half, for 4 patties

Halve everything. Bake time stays at 25 to 30 minutes.

Double, for 16 patties

Double the ingredients and bake on two sheets, rotating racks halfway through.

What to serve it with

Coco bread, the sweet folded yeast bread the patty is tucked inside for a Kingston lunch
Pineapple soda, or ice-cold ginger beer

Questions

Why is the pastry yellow?

Turmeric and a touch of curry powder in the flour. There is no egg wash for colour.

Can I freeze unbaked patties?

Yes. Freeze them solid on a tray, bag them, and bake from frozen at 190 °C for 35 to 40 minutes.

Can I make cocktail-sized patties?

Roll the dough a little thinner, cut 8 cm circles, fill with a tablespoon of meat, and bake 18 to 20 minutes.