[Smokin Gator]

Sorry guys... I just made the second batch and can't show the insides before you fold them... It is kind of non descript anyway. After they are cooked it just kind of looks like ground beef... but as you can see from the recipe there is a lot of bread crumbs in there.

I do make the dough.... Now I make a double batch of dough. That seems to be about right for the amount of filling (I just changed that in the recipe). They freeze great!!! My kids will take one out of the freezer, wrap it in a paper towel, put it in a baggie, and take them to school for a snack.

BTW... I got this recipe offline several years ago. Then I was dating a Jamaican lady (hotter than the patties) and she said they were good but not quite what she remembered. We called her grandmother who now lives in Canada and she walked me through a few changes in the recipe. The next batch I made she said were as good as any she had ever had in Jamaica!!! Kinda made me proud.

For anyone, including my man Keale, who don't have Word... here is the recipe:

Jamaican Patties

Pastry
4 cups flour
¾ cups salted butter – cold
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp baking powder
1 – 1 ½ cups very cold water

Filling
2 medium onions
3 scallions including tops
1-2 hot peppers preferably habeneros seeded (2 will make them plenty spicy)
1 ½ lbs lean ground beef (you can substitute pork or fish)
2 tsp oil
5 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 tsp ground turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ - 1 cup water

To make the pastry, sift together the flour, baking powder, turmeric, salt, and sugar. Slice the butter into pat size pieces. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or a fork until the flour has the consistency of cornmeal. Gradually add just enough cold water to hold the dough together, mixing it with your fingers or a dough hook. The key, however, is to never overwork your dough! You want the dough to be kind of dry and barely holding together.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours and up to overnight (this is important... I can't tell you why). You will need to take the dough out about 15 minutes before you are going to use it to let it warm up.

To prepare the filling, mince the onions, scallions, in a food processor, or chop very finely by hand. Add to the ground beef and mix well. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or a LARGE skillet. Then cook the meat until it is just brown – about 10 minutes. Add the breadcrumbs and seasonings and stir well. Add the water, cover, and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes. You may need to uncover as needed to evaporate excess moisture. You want the mixture just wet, not runny or dry. Allow to cool while you roll out the pastry.

Divide the dough into about 8 even sized pieces. On a lightly floured surface roll out each piece of dough to thickness of about 1/8 of an inch (a little thicker than pie dough and cut into circles of about 4 inches (I use a big plastic cup for this). Keep the pastry dough circles moist by stacking and covering with a damp cloth. After all the circles are cut take one at a time and spoon enough of the filling to cover about half of the circle. Fold the other half over and seal the edges by crimping with a fork. (I find they are easiest to fold if I kind of press the filling in with my thumbs as I fold the top over with my index fingers).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the patties on ungreased cookie sheets for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve hot when possible. However, Jamaicans will eat them any way they can!!

Yeilds about 24 patties

NOTE: I have made this a bunch of times and now make a double batch of dough. That is about right for the amount of filling.