Why didn’t I find a recipe for Jamaican patties from a site other than Martha Stewart? Because the authentic ones looked hard, and the ingredients they had were not readily available. I TURNED TO THE DOMESTIC GODDESS to show me how to make one of my favorite Jamaican treats.

I made the dough and the filling, so when you use this recipe you can truly say it is all homemade.

Here is the recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/349211/beef-patties

The patties that I’ve had in the past have always been rectangle in shape so when I saw these emapanada looking patties I was a little wary. However, the ingredients were similar to those in the authentic patty recipes give or take a few things. So my tweaks and notes!

• I used frozen butter and it gave the dough the nice layers you’re looking for in a patty
• Instead of 2 tablespoons of curry powder in the dough I used 1 tablespoon of curry powder and 1 tablespoon of tumeric. The tumeric gave the signature yellow color AND the Jamaican recipes I saw called for tumeric in their dough.
• I didn’t have Scotch Bonnet peppers nor did I want to buy 12 of them just to end up using 2. I hate that. Instead, I cut up some dried red peppers and added it to the recipe. Use as much or as little as you like depending on your heat tolerance. I bought a HUGE bag of Korean dried red peppers and they’ve come in handy…you’ll see in future recipes.
• The filling didn’t taste right after I put everything together…something was missing, and that something for me was cumin! I added about 1 tablespoon of cumin.
• My filling was a little underseasoned so don’t forget to add salt & pepper!…mainly salt.Of course, season to your taste! The filling is typically very fragrant and packed full of flavor with a little hit of heat.
• I wasn’t a huge fan of rolling out the triangle pieces of dough, but whatever.

I ended up making 16 patties. No I didn’t double the recipe like I usually do. The packet of meat I used was only slightly above one pound, and it was perfect if you’re a generous filler.

The patties were a hit with my boss, coworkers and family! It’s an easy gateway meal if you’re trying to intro people into Jamaican food. YUMM!