I love Jamaican food when I can get it. I’ve had beef patties on several occasions and always love them. Jamaican food is an amalgamation of several different regions’ foods that were all thrown together from slave trading and later British rule. There are cuisines from Africa and also from India and British/Irish foods. There are curries and soups that are highly spiced. One of the mainstays of Jamaican cuisine is the “Jamaican Patty”. The Jamaican Patty is a pastry that is folded over while usually being filled with beef. You can get them filled with all sorts of different meats and seafood and even vegetables but for the vast majority, it’s just ground beef.
I love that Trader Joe’s is always trying new things, it’s hard for me here in the Pacific Northwest to find anything remotely Caribbean. So, I am appreciative of their attempt. You get two pretty large “patties” in the box. They both weigh in at 440 calories each so patty could be a meal, especially if you added something else.
I highly recommend that you bake these in a regular oven or air fryer them. Microwaving them will probably give you a soggy mess. You need that oven to give you a nice crispy pastry shell. The only downside is that this will take either a 1/2 hour in a regular oven or 15 minutes in an air fryer.
You’ll notice the pastry crust looks yellowish and that’s from the Tumeric they put in the pastry dough. I think it makes them look quite appetizing, but to be honest, I couldn’t taste any Tumeric when I was eating them.
They smelled amazing while I was baking them in my toaster oven. Careful when you pull them out they are very hot and don’t cool off very quickly. Ask me how I know this! The crust was very flaky and crunchy when I cut into them. Just like a pie crust.
Cutting them open reveals a layer of ground beef. You can smell the melange of spices coming from the filling. After I let them cool off, I took a bite. I could taste all the different spices rolling around on my tongue and the ground beef gives you a nice rich flavor to all of it. You can tell from the first bite that these are going to be very filling because they are so rich. I could only eat one and saved one for later.
Probably not the healthiest food that Trader Joe’s has ever released, but if you want an easy-to-make, and filling meal these might be your ticket. I am looking forward to the day they release the beefless Jamaican patties!
I really enjoyed these Trader Joe’s Jamaican Style Beef Patties and I am going to give them 8 Bells!
HEATING INSTRUCTIONS:
HEAT FROM FROZEN
CONVENTIONAL OVEN: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Remove all packaging and place on a baking sheet
in center rack of oven. Bake for 35 minutes or to an
internal temperature of 165°F and crust is firm and
golden brown.
AIR FRYER: Remove all packaging and place patty flat
in air fryer basket. Heat for 15-20 minutes at 350°F to
an internal temperature of 165°F and crust is firm and
golden brown.
MICROWAVE (1200 watt): Microwave heat times
may vary depending on
oven wattage. Remove all
packaging and place on
a microwave-safe dish.
Heat on high power for 1
1/2 minutes to an internal
temperature of 165°F
Ingredients:
CRUST: (ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], PALM SHORTENING, WATER, BEEF SUET, SUGAR, SALT, TURMERIC), FILLING: (GROUND BEEF, WATER, BREADCRUMBS [WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, YEAST, CANOLA OIL], TAMARI SOY SAUCE [WATER, SOYBEANS, SALT, ALCOHOL], ONION POWDER, CORNSTARCH, DEHYDRATED ONION, SUGAR, SALT, CAYENNE PEPPER, RED PEPPER FLAKES, GARLIC POWDER, CURRY POWDER [CORIANDER, FENUGREEK, TURMERIC, CUMIN, BLACK PEPPER, BAY LEAVES, CELERY SEED, NUTMEG, CLOVES, ONION, RED PEPPER, GINGER], BLACK PEPPER, DRIED THYME).
- CONTAINS SOY, WHEAT.
What? 99.9% of the people eating this food have no idea what it should taste like. Especially here in Seattle about 5000 miles from Jamaica
I am a Jamaican just back from a visit, and these had the traditional flaky crust but the lacked the seasoning and spicy kick that our real patties are known for. It makes sense that they’re called “Jamaican style” and not authentic. My spouse, who is not from the island, had the same feedback. The taste buds of someone from Seattle would rejoice once they’ve had the real deal.
Gotta agree with Tilly here. Half of my family is Jamaican, though I’m not super picky about perfectly-authentic Jamaican cuisine. But I have some references points. The pastry crust is very flakey and good, but the filling really lacks flavor or kick. It’s not BAD at all, it’s just somewhat bland. Adding some scotch bonnet or cayenne pepper helps bring out the flavors more, which in my opinion is badly needed. But really it should have more flavor to start with. Even mild jamaican patties normally have a very strong flavor.
A little disappointed, though it could have been worse. If one doesn’t have access to better patties, I could see getting these once in a while (and adding more spice for flavor), but they definitely don’t “hit the spot” the way a more flavorful one does.
I just tried these and were quite happy with them. The ones I ate had a level of spicy to them and were just as good if not better than the well. Known commercial brands.
I have to agree with the other commenters on this one. While the taste wasn’t bad, it was a bit bland, and it’s hard not to be disappointed if you know what good Jamaican patties taste like.