23The patty’s
journey to
fruition is as
varied as
Jamaica’s history.1 medium onion, diced
1 pound beef chuck, minced or ground
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon soy sauce, preferably dark
soy sauce
2 small beef-stock cubes (14 grams),
dissolved in 3 tablespoons boiling water- Make the crust: Whisk flour in a medium
bowl, then whisk in turmeric, sugar and
salt. Work in shortening and beef suet quickly,
rubbing them into the dry ingredients
with your fingers until the mixture is evenly
crumbly. Gradually add ½ cup ice-cold water
while stirring to form the dough. If the dough
isn’t coming together, add more water by the
tablespoon as necessary. Form dough into
a ball, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate
for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. - While the dough is chilling, make the
filling: Heat a large frying pan over medium,
then add vegetable oil. Fry Scotch bonnet
peppers and onion, stirring occasionally, until
softened, about 5 minutes. Add beef, and
cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 4-8
minutes. Season with allspice, black pepper,
garlic powder, paprika, soy sauce and the
beef-stock mixture. Cook, stirring, until most
of the liquid evaporates, 1-2 minutes. Transfer
to a dish, and let cool completely at room
temperature or in the refrigerator. The filling
can be refrigerated in an airtight container
for up to 2 days. - When ready to assemble patties, heat oven
to 375. - Remove dough from the refrigerator,
and roll on a lightly floured work surface with
a lightly floured pin into a 12-inch square.
(Turmeric will stain a porous work surface.
Roll between sheets of parchment paper
if needed.) Fold dough in half to form a
rectangle, then fold again the other way to
form a square. Roll again into a 12-inch square.
Repeat this process 3 more times, letting
dough rest as needed if it’s too stiff to roll.
Roll to -inch thickness, then use a bowl or
pastry cutter to cut out 10 (6-inch) rounds,
rerolling scraps as necessary. - Divide beef mixture among rounds,
spooning about ¼ cup onto 1 side of each
round. Fold the other side of each round
over the meat until the edges meet. Using
a fork, seal the edges, then prick the
center of each to allow steam to escape. - Place patties on 1 or 2 baking sheets,
and bake until pastry is set and golden,
22-25 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at
room temperature.
Yield: 10 patties.Jamaican Beef Patties
Time: 1½ hours, plus time for chilling dough
and cooling fillingFor the crust:
3½ cups/450 grams all-purpose fl our, plus
more for rolling
3 teaspoons/7 grams ground turmeric
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
1 cup/187 grams vegetable shortening
½ packed cup/67 grams minced or ground
unrendered beef suet
½ to ¾ cup/118 to 177 milliliters
ice-cold water
For the fi lling:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 small Scotch bonnet peppers, seeded
and mincedTaste of Jamaica,’’ the predilections of
those arriving cultures “have all helped
to create the unique culinary blend which
is Jamaican.’’ The world is so much small-
er than we make it out to be. So maybe
it’s hardly surprising that one of my life’s
wonders has been fi nding beef patties all
over the globe: I’ve ordered them, four
beers in, from the bar stool of Patois, a
Caribbean- Asian restaurant in Toronto;
and I’ve dined on patties barefoot at
seaside convenience stores in Playa del
Carmen; and I even found patty variants
on the menu of an entirely delightful
Jamaica-themed queer bar (now defunct)
in Osaka, where the microwaved dish I
snarfed in fours as a child was served
alongside umeshu.
But the biggest surprises arrive closest
to home. Not long ago, my boyfriend and I
passed through Cool Runnings in Houston,
one of our fi rst sit-down restaurant outings
in the past few years. We were led into the
dining room, a dance hall in repose, where
streamers loomed above an empty stage.
Our waitress inquired about our spice tol-
erances — insisting, with a smirk, that we
be honest, for everyone’s sake — before she
brought out a plate of brown stew chicken,
another of ackee and salt fi sh and then two
patties: one beef, one chicken.
Naturally, I had my ‘‘Ratatouille’’ fl ash
of recognition: a momentary stunning
into speechlessness. It had been a few
years. But aren’t the dishes we hold dear
so much more than whatever words we
conjure for them? So when my boyfriend
asked me about the fi rst bite, I could only
reply, blandly, but lovingly: It’s a patty.In Jamaica, you’ll fi nd patties bran-
dished across fast-food stands and conve-
nience stores and walk-ups. They’re as reli-
ably present as a burger with fries. And on
trips to the island as a kid, I had patties in
Kingston that were noshed on the go after
crossing three lanes of rush-hour traffi c on
foot. But my fi rst encounters with the patty
were in Houston’s Alief neighborhood.
My family went to our usual Jamai-
can takeout spot only on Saturdays, but
whether we ordered two dishes or 12,
we always waited an hour for our food,
queued behind a seemingly infi nite back-
log. The same soaps always droned from
the television. The restaurant’s matron
stood by the register, resting her elbow
on the counter. After we made our order,
she’d pat my head exactly once, less out
of approval than to dismiss us as she dis-
appeared into the kitchen indefi nitely.
These patties were obligatory: It mattered
that I liked them as much as it mattered
that I liked air or water. They just were.
I sneaked bites from the bag on the way
home, breaking off just enough crust to
pretend that I hadn’t disturbed them at all.
Generally, though, there couldn’t be a
faster food — you order a patty and poof,
it’s in your hands. If you’re lucky, it’s crispy
to the touch. If you’re luckier, you’ve taken
a bite quickly enough for the steam to
escape the pastry. And there’s a kick of
spice present — enough Scotch bonnet for
you to say, ‘‘Hunh,’’ but not enough to send
you sprinting. But crucially, a beef patty
is both deeply inconspicuous and entirely
singular, a ritual taken for granted that you
can’t help mourning once it’s gone.
The patty’s journey to fruition is as var-
ied as Jamaica’s history; the island’s nation-
al motto is ‘‘Out of Many, One People,’’
adopted in 1962 after the island became
independent of England. From the arrival
of the Spanish (with their concurrent may-
hem) and the British (with their concurrent
mayhem) to the generations of Africans
who were brought enslaved to the island,
the mixing only furthered as the years
passed. Indentured servitude and migra-
tion rhythms also brought Chinese, Indian,
Jewish and other West Indian Caribbean
dwellers to the island. And through the
rhythms of migration and relocation, the
island’s confl uence of cultures and mores
changed forms, taking what it was given
and continually adapting.
The island’s foodways changed, too.
As Enid Donaldson writes in ‘‘The Real