We cannot tell you how many times we have gotten requests for a Jamaican Beef Patty. If we had been saving a dirham every time we got one, maybe by now we would have enough for a plane ticket to Jamaica to get the real deal. However since popping over to Jamaica is not a reality for most, and even those of us who are from that Land We Love cannot afford monthly trips, here is something that will help you. It is a key part of the survival kit in being a Jamaican expatriate as patties are stape Jamaican street food, enjoyed by young and young at heart. If you are not Jamaican, you may have come across this if you live in a city where lots of Caribbean nationals are. Different Caribbean countries have different versions. This is ours. If you have never seen or heard of a Jamaican patty, as we say back home “Half your life gone.”
This is a working recipe adapted from A Real Taste of Jamaica by Enid Donaldson. As result, we will adjust it over time on this post until we get a patty reminiscent of the popular Tastee Patties in Jamaica! Until then, this is a really great place to start! The recipe and method are illustrated in the video below.
We strongly suggest using both the beef suet and 1/2 cup shortening for an extra flaky pastry. We also added 3 cloves finely diced garlic to our filling, which somehow did not make the edit . You may also 2 tablespoons oyster sauce to the filling.
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try these. I am such a fan of these but seriously had no idea how to make them.
Jocelyn, now you do! Looking froward to seeing yours.
Oh good heavens! I miss these so much! YUMMMMMMM
Now you can make them 🙂 Happy you like them 🙂
Oh my goodness, I was just listening to this song YESTERDAY! Jimmy Cliff with Miss Jamaica. Some really good vibes. I’m still celebrating Jamaica50 (lol).
By the way, is there a recipe for Vegetable Patties? For those of use who lean toward veggie…
Ava, we wanted to infuse the video with classic Jamaican songs… we will work on a vegetarian version. We already have a vegetarian filling so we will just have to work on the crust!
You should talk to Claudette or Juds about doing a series from Dubai. Very nice! 🙂 What’s next?
You know Kathy, it never crossed my mind to do a correspondent show from Dubai. Will definitely look into it.
I can’t stop dancing now….:)
Now THAT’s what we’re talking about!
Fantastic video!! You guys make it look so easy! When next I go to Juici patties I’ll think of you 🙂
Thanks so much Teika! That was what we were aiming (except the bit about you being able to buy them ready made :p)
Great video! Thanks for putting it up, must have taken ages to make!
Surprising, it didn’t take long to make at all Tasmeea. It is just as straightforward as illustrated in the video. It was fun as well and children would love to work on these as well so you can incorporate them in the preparation.
Chef Ligi…. you are a star……..!!!!!! Love Love Love the video Kari
Thanks Paulita!
Love the video…looking forward to getting together with my niece to try your recipe ….thanks for sharing
That’s amazing! We actually love to spur cultural bonding with our Jamaican food posts and I am glad that aunty and niece will be doing just that with this video recipe! Remember to add the suggested ingredients in the body of the post.
Just discovered your blog and this video. I am a Jamaican living in Canada where the temperature this morning is +4 C, up from -3 yesterday. This was a beautiful way to start the day! The music will keep me warm all day.
Thank you!
Over the moon about this post! Just last night I tried out a patty recipie from a friend. Was highly disappointed but decided to give it another try. Thanks for this!
Let us say that this is a WORKING recipe… simply because it needs work still. We mentioned that in the text of the post but we just want to restate it here. We got the original recipe from Enid Donaldson’s book but it was way off base and we have been modifying it to make it more palatable. We do think there is still more room to grow but you too can experiment from this point and share your findings and substitutions with us. Thanks for coming by!