Recipe | Jamaican Patties

I've spent quite a bit of time trying to perfect the patty, and I think I've got pretty damn close. Everyone has their own recipe, and they each have their merits. (But some don't. I once had a patty that tasted like pureed cat food wrapped in yellow play dough. You know who you are DC food truck!) Ultimately, I really think the key to delicious patty is the crisp, flaky pastry with the perfect amount of heat in the filling.

So, I decided to find the flakiest pie crust recipe and use that. I use a variant of the Smitten Kitchen recipe, and an the EatJamaican.com recipe for the meat filling. I'm not going to lie -- the process is quite a bit of work, but it's beyond worth it. The plus side is that these bad boys heat up perfectly in the oven as leftovers. We usually pair patties with a cucumber-tomato raita or tropical coleslaw.

You can start making the dough first, so you can let it sit for an hour or two, while you make the filling and let it cool down. I even think if you want to make the process a little less painful, you can do the dough the day before and keep it in the fridge until the next day when you do the meat filling.

Curry Dough Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp table salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold
• 1/2 tbsp curry
• 1/4 cup of ice cold vodka
• 1/2 cup of ice cold water

Directions

1. Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside.
2. Put a 1/4 cup of vodka in the freezer.
3. In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, curry, and salt. 
4. Dice two sticks of very cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch pieces.
5. Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with the pastry blender, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly. 
6. When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas STOP. (These little chunks of butter make the flakiness.)
7. Mix 1/4 cup ice-cold vodka with 1/4 cup ice-cold water. (Keep in freezer until needed.)
8. Start by drizzling cold vodka-water mixture over the butter-flour mixture. 
9. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. 
10. Use an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon as a time. 
11. Fold with spatula.
12. Gather the disparate damp clumps together into one mound, kneading them gently together.
13. Let the dough chill in the fridge for an hour or two before rolling it out.

You can keep the dough will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer longer. If not using it that day, wrap it in additional layers of plastic wrap to protect it from other odors. To defrost your dough, move it to the fridge for one day before using it.

Meat Filling Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tbp oil
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp scotch bonnet pepper, chopped (or 1 tsp Caribbean hot sauce)*
• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup beef or chicken stock*

*I typically use ground turkey with beef stock, to give the illusion of all beef. I don't think I find scotch bonnet peppers in the store too often, so I use Matouk's hot sauce.

Directions

1. In a large skillet, melt the margarine and sauté the onion and scotch bonnet pepper until they become limp. 
2. Add the ground beef, salt, pepper, curry powder and thyme, and mix well. 
3. Brown the meat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
4. Add the breadcrumbs and stock and combine all the ingredients well. 
5. Cover the skillet and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
6. When all the liquids have been absorbed, the filling is ready. (It should be moist but not watery.)
7. Let cool.**

**The reason I let the filling cool is so that when I'm making the patties, the hot filling doesn't melt the butter in the uncooked dough.

Patty Recipe

Ingredients

• Chilled curry dough
• Cooled meat filling 
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
2. Mix beaten egg with 2 tablespoons of water.
3. Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and roll out the dough until about 1/8-inch thick. 
4. Cut out 8-inch circles in dough.*** 
5. Place about two tablespoons of filling on half of each. 
6. Moisten the edges of the dough with water and fold the dough circle over the meat filling. 
7. Pinch the edges closed with a fork. 
8. Lightly brush the pastry with a mixture of the egg and water. 
9. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the pastry are golden brown. 

***I try to do this as quick ad possible, so the butter in the uncooked dough doesn't melt. I really believe having the little chunks of butter cold and intact helps to have the flakiest possible pastry.