Curried Jamaican Beef Patties
from https://www.seriouseats.com/

These flaky Jamaican meat patties are everywhere on the island, from ramshackle roadside stands to neighborhood restaurants and, yes, resorts. Jamaican patties are half moon shaped flaky pastries with bright yellow-hued dough and a spiced savory filling. They are considerably easy to make, are baked and not fried, and are excellent as a snack, light lunch, or party food.

You can also deep fry frozen Jamaican beef patties for a crispy and delicious result. To do so, heat a large skillet with enough oil to submerge the patties. Once the oil is hot, carefully place the frozen patties in the skillet and fry them for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown.

Condiment: From what I have read, Jamaican patties are normally eaten plain, as is. Some have said they used ketchup, especially when young. A popular way to eat them seems to be with Coco bread, basically bread made with coconut milk, which has a slightly sweet taste and is often made in the same shape as a patty. The patty is placed inside and eaten like a sandwich filling.

A few other Jamaicans have said they have used Matouk’s hot sauce or a spicy chutney. Matouk’s hot sauce is made from aged pickled Scotch Bonnet peppers, vinegar, mustard, onion powder, spices and soybean oil. A substitute would be Frank's RedHot or Tabasco, although these use different peppers. I did find one recipe for a Jamaican hot sauce, one for Jerk Coconut dipping sauce, and a Mango Peach Chutney that would be good to try. I'm not sure how authentic either of them are. I tried a Tamarind Sauce, that is Indian, that wasn't too bad. Tamarinds are very sour and I added a lot more sugar than the recipe called for, and it was still very sour. I added a pinch of red pepper flakes to it, which I shouldn't have as the patties are quite hot themselves.

FMM: These were pretty good. Very hot and spicy, but not so hot your mouth was burning. I added just a light sprinkle of cayenne. I added a Habanero pepper in place of the Scotch bonnet and it was enough. The flavor of the curry powder and the turmeric came through, despite the heat, and was quite nice. I cooked my meat mixture until quite dry, but after I added the breadcrumbs, it seemed too dry so I added some water, just so the mixture loosened up somewhat. This worked fine. Mine puffed up quite a bit including the crimping on the edge, and you could barely see the fork tine marks. None split open at the crimping edge. Next time maybe I will prick them with a fork once or twice to vent the steam. I did not use parchment paper and just greased the sheet instead. I made 3/4 recipe and got 9 patties, probably could have gotten 10, but wanted plenty of filling. I had one round of dough left. These were best the day they were made, but fine after reheating in the oven. Since I first made them I have found a recipe for Jamaican Curry Powder. I will try this next time instead of store-bought curry powder.

For the Dough:

3 cups (13.75 ounces; 390g) all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder, preferably Jamaican
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
8 ounces (226g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces [2 sticks]
3/4 cup (170ml) cold water
1 tablespoon (15ml) distilled white vinegar
1 large egg, lightly whisked

For the Filling:

1 pound (454g) ground beef
1 large yellow onion (8 ounces; 227g) finely chopped
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups (300ml) low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 tablespoons (23ml) Pickapeppa sauce or steak sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons (23ml) Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder, preferably Jamaican
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste; for table salt, use half as much by volume
2 fresh bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme [or 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons dry]
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (1 ounce; 29g)
Egg wash made from 1 large egg beaten with 1/4 cup (60ml) water

For the Dough: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, curry powder, turmeric, and butter until butter is broken into pea-size pieces, about 10 pulses.

In a small bowl, whisk together water, vinegar, and egg. Add the mixture to food processor and pulse until dough is combined (will still look loose but should hold together when you ball up a bit in your hand). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a 2-inch-thick disk. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

For the Filling: In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, brown ground beef, breaking meat into little bits and stirring occasionally. When beef is nearly cooked through, about 6 minutes, reduce heat to medium and add onion, Scotch bonnet pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables have softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add broth, Pickapeppa sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, cayenne, curry, allspice, salt, bay leaves, and thyme to beef mixture in sauté pan, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 12 minutes. [But leave some juice in the pan that will be Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Season with additional salt to taste, if needed. Add breadcrumbs and stir thoroughly.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough to an 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into 6-inch circles and place 2 heaping tablespoons of meat filling onto half of each round of dough. Brush edges of dough with egg wash. Fold dough over filling to make a half-moon shape. [Press out extra air in the patties so the meat mixture fits in the dough nuggly.] Press edge with tines of a fork to seal. Brush tops lightly with remaining egg wash.

Set patties on a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until dough is golden brown and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. [The ones I made puffed up including the crimped edges. Next time I would prick them once or twice with a fork,]

If you're planning on serving these to a crowd, it's possible to par-bake them 3/4 of the way. Just remove them from the oven after about 25 minutes. Prior to serving, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and finish cooking them for another 15 or so minutes, until the crust is cooked through and the filling is warm.

6 servings (1 recipe makes 12 patties)