Jamaican Beef Patties

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup water (or more)
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 3 scallions, including tops finely chopped
• 2 hot peppers, finely chopped (preferably scotch bonnet)
• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 5 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 3/4 teaspoon ground thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• salt and pepper
• 3/4-1 cup water

Recipe

• 1 pastry: sift together flour, baking powder, turmeric, curry and salt.
• 2 cut in shortening with pastry blender or until pastry has consistency of corn meal. (i have used food processor and "pulsed" the mixture with good results) add egg to water and mix well.
• 3 add just enough of this mixture to flour mixture in order to hold dough together, mixing it in with your fingers.
• 4 wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• 5 filling: add chopped onions and peppers to ground beef and mix well with hands.
• 6 heat oil in large frying pan or dutch oven.
• 7 add meat mixture.
• 8 cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
• 9 add breadcrumbs and seasonings and stir well.
• 10 add water.
• 11 cover and simmer for 30 minutes or as long as needed to evaporate the excess liquid (mixture should be just wet, not runny or not dry).
• 12 allow meat mixture to cool while rolling pastry.
• 13 divide the dough into 24 even-sized pieces.
• 14 on a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of dough to a thickness of 3/8 of an inch and cut into 4 inch circle.
• 15 keep patty dough circles moist by stacking and covering them with a damp cloth.
• 16 after all circles are cut, take one at a time and spoon on enough filling to cover half the circle.
• 17 fold the other half over, and seal the edges by crimping with a fork.
• 18 bake the patties on ungreased baking sheets and bake at 400°f for 30-35 minutes.
• 19 serve hot.