In case your town, city, or country doesn’t include a multitude of bodegas, try out our recipe for homemade beef patties. Although it should go without saying, we recommend consuming any and all food right-side up, but especially these delicious beauties.

Ingredients

Beef Patty Dough Ingredients:

  • 450 g all purpose flour + more for dusting

  • 20 g sugar 

  • 1 ½ Tbsp Jamaican curry powder  

  • 1 Tbsp ground turmeric

  • ¾ tsp kosher salt

  • 25 g vegetable shortening, cubed + cold

  • 200 g beef suet (or unsalted butter), shredded + very cold, divided 

  • ~175-200 g ice water

Beef Patty Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp neutral oil, divided 

  • ½  large yellow onion, finely chopped

  • 4 scallion, thinly sliced 

  • 1-3 scotch bonnet peppers (to taste), seeded + finely chopped

  • 1 lb ground beef (or 80-85% lean beef)

  • 1 ½ tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced 

  • 1 ½ tsp fresh thyme, chopped 

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 tsp freshly ground allspice

  • ¾ tsp onion powder

  • ¾ tsp kosher salt + more to taste 

  • ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 tsp browning sauce 

  • ⅓ Cup breadcrumbs 

  • ⅔ Cup beef stock + more as needed 

  • Optional: American Cheese

Method

Beef Patty Dough Method:

  1. Combine the flour, sugar, curry powder, turmeric, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. 

  2. Add the vegetable shortening to the flour mixture and mix by hand until the pieces of shortening are about the size of peas and well incorporated into the flour. 

  3. Add 100 grams of the cold suet (or butter) to the mixture and fold to combine. Make sure not to compress the fat too much during this process. 

  4. Slowly stream in small amounts of water, while mixing the dough by hand, until the flour is hydrated and a shaggy dough forms. 

  5. Knead the dough until all of the flour is incorporated, then transfer the dough to a clean work surface. 

  6. Shape the dough into a roughly rectangular shape about ½ inch thick. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

  7. Dust your clean work surface with a generous amount of flour. Unwrap and place the dough onto the floured work surface and roll out to a rectangle 8 inches wide by 14 inch long and about ⅓ inch thick. Sprinkle about a sixth of the remaining suet (or butter) over the middle third of the dough rectangle. Fold the dough one the outer thirds of the dough over the middle, then sprinkle another sixth of the suet over that section of dough. Fold the remaining outer third of the dough over the exposed suet. Then, rotate the dough 90 degrees. 

  8. Repeat the rolling and folding once more using the remaining suet. Make sure to generously flour your work surface and rolling pin as necessary to prevent the dough from ripping or sticking. 

  9. Roll out the dough one final time and fold the dough in thirds once again. Wrap the completed dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes. 

Beef Patty Method:

  1. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet. Heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until the edges just begin to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes.

  2. Add the scallions and scotch bonnets to the skillet and stir to combine. Cook the mixture until all the vegetables are softened, 3-5 minutes.

  3. Push the cooked vegetables to the edges of the skillet and create a well in the center. Add another tablespoon of oil and allow it to preheat for 30 seconds. Add the ground beef and let it cook, undisturbed, for 1-2 minutes or until beginning to brown. Stir to break up the large pieces of beef and to incorporate the cooked vegetables. Continue cooking the entire mixture until the beef is completely browned. 

  4. Stir in the ginger, spices, browning sauce, and breadcrumbs, then cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

  5. Add the beef stock to the pan and simmer the filling for 4-6 minutes or until the filling is mostly dry. If the fillinging becomes too dry, add more beef stock as necessary.

  6. Turn off the heat, season the mixture to taste with more salt (if necessary), then allow the filling to cool to room temperature.

  7. Once the beef filling is cooled, preheat the oven to 350 °F. Prepare two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. 

  8. Divide the dough into two roughly equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough out to a rectangle about 16 inches long, 10 inches wide, and ⅛ inch thick.

  9. Add 3 heaping spoonfuls of filling (about ¼ - ⅓ cup of filling) to one half of the dough rectangle, making sure to leave at least ½ inch of space between each mound. Fold the remaining dough over the filling and press the edges shut around the mounds of filling. 

    1. Optionally, add a slice of folded american cheese on top of the filling before encasing the filling with dough.

    Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough to separate the three beef patties. Crimp the edges of the filled dough with a fork, then cut away the excess crust.

  10. Repeat the rolling and filling process with the remaining dough and filling.

  11. Transfer the beef patties to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-28 minutes or until crisp and lightly puffed.

  12. Let the beef patties cool on a rack for 10 minutes before serving.