Default User wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:
>
>> "Glasswalker" > wrote
>>
>>> Actually, as odd as it sounds, I never have cared for 'island' or
>>> 'tropical' cuisine at all.
>> I'm with you. Whenever I see it, it always seems to be a
>> collection of my least favorite foods, and everything has coconut
>> and mango in it or is name poi.
>
> I'll take some nice jerk chicken with black beans and rice on the side.
>
I love Emeril's (yeah, I know!? Go figure?) Jamaican meat patties
filling, but wasn't impressed with his crust. I'm on the lookout for a
better crust recipe but you can't beat this filling, The spices and
flavors are incredible

Jamaican Meat Patties
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001
For the pastry:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dried turmeric or annatto
2 teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons vegetable shortening
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
1 large onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups chopped)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 pound ground beef
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric or annatto
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and finely chopped, optional
2 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup water or beef stock
3 tablespoons Jamaican rum

To assemble the patties:
Flour for rolling out the dough
2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 teaspoon of rum

For the pastry: Sift the flour, turmeric, and salt into a large bowl.
Using your fingers, two knives, or a pastry blender, cut in the
shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Working
quickly, add only enough water to form a firm dough. Do not overwork
pastry. Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at
least 1 1/2 hours or overnight.

In a large skillet, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the
onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and
ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the ground beef, turmeric, cumin,
allspice, cardamom, hot peppers, and thyme and cook until the beef is
browned and spices are fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the scallions,
parsley, tomatoes, and stock and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the
flavors have come together and almost all of the liquid has evaporated.
Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, remove from the heat and stir in
the rum. Set aside to cool before assembling the patties.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry and cut into circles about
6 to 7 inches in diameter. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of the cooled filling
onto the center of one side of each circle, and lightly brush the edges
of the circle with a little of the beaten egg yolk mixture. Fold the
other half of the pastry over so that the edges meet, and use a fork to
crimp the edges together. Lightly brush the top of each patty with a
little of the beaten egg yolk mixture. Place the patties on
parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until golden brown, about 30
minutes. Serve immediately.