Jamaican Beef Patty

A Jamaican beef patty ​is prepared with a delicious flaky pastry then is filled with a well-seasoned Haitian style beef that will not only satisfy your taste buds, but also bring you the best of both cultures. This unique combination will make you grab seconds and even thirds!

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Also known as hand pie in some parts of the world, especially in the Caribbean, these baked hand pies, which are often refer to as street food, can be found throughout the countries of Haiti and Jamaica from roadside food vendors or restaurants, dinner parties, and local bakery stores. 

If you ever get a chance to visit either country, Haiti or Jamaica, you must try each country’s version of beef patties as they are both so satisfying.  

Comparison Between The Two Patties

• Jamaican Beef Patties are often more filling with meat with a choice of spicy of mild. On the other hand, Haitian Patties have an extremely soft and flaky dough with several different choices of meats such as fish (smoke herring/cod), beef, or chicken. Haitian Patties are usually mild unless made at home.

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• Jamaican patty pastry is flaky but spreads wide when baked. Haitian beef patties rise up with many flaky layers when baked. They are both equally flaky; however, the Haitian beef patties’ pastry is very similar to the puff pastry.

• The Jamaican version, from start to finish seasoned the dough with curry powder, turmeric, salt, sugar, and sometimes baking powder. That way, the first and last taste you get from pasty is the same throughout.

• The seasoning from the Haitian beef patties comes mainly from meat and the epis, green seasoning, that’s used to flavor the meat. Though, the dough still has flavor from the abundance of butter, the emphasis is in the filling.

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• The meat in Jamaican patties are often blended whereas the ground meat found in Haitian patties are lumpy. 

Baker’s Tips

• Use cold butter and shortening to have a flaky outer crust. 

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• Store uncooked patties in a freezer safe air-tight container. The patties will last up to 3 months and can be baked cold. 

• Work fast when handling the dough as you do not want the butter and or shortening to start to soften or melt. 

• Wear gloves and be careful when working with curry powder and turmeric as the color may stain your surface including your hands.

• Use cold water when applying liquid to the dough.

• Be sure to not over work the dough as you do not want it to be mushy. 

• Cut the rolled dough in half to better manage it. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

JAMAICAN PATTIES / HAITIAN PATTIES VARIATIONS:

Beef is the most commonly used when making these patties from either country. The patties can be made spicy or mild. However, you can definitely use any of the suggestions listed below when making the patties. 

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The seasoning base is the same for the dough, but you may have to alter the seasoning when using one of the meat suggestions below. By the way, this recipe works well with leftover meat!

• Spicy chicken
• Shrimp
• Roasted vegetables or like Jamaican steamed cabbage will work well with these patties.

More Delicious Caribbean Patties To Try:

Haitian Patties

Salmon Patties

Haitian Pate Kode (Fried Patty)

Jamaican & Haitian Dishes You Might Also Like 

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

Jus De Citron (Haitian Lemonade)

Haitian Black Rice

Haitian Pikliz 

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