Beef Patties

Name: Beef Patties
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h 10 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Cuisine: Caribbean Inspired
Ingredients: 1 small (5-ounce) russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes; Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal); 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 scallions, chopped; 1 small onion, chopped; 1 Scotch bonnet chile, seeds in or out; 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and chopped; ½ pound ground lamb or beef; Black pepper; 1 bay leaf; ¼ bunch fresh thyme (8 to 10 sprigs); Peel of 1 small navel orange (save the flesh for another use); 1 teaspoon roasted ground geera (also known as roasted ground cumin, see Tip); 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ½ teaspoon curry powder, preferably Caribbean-style (see Tip); ¼ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; ½ cup beef, chicken or vegetable stock; 1 lime, zest and juice separated; All-purpose flour, for work surface; 2 (14-ounce) boxes puff pastry sheets, defrosted in the refrigerator; 1 egg; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; Pepper sauce, pikliz and cilantro-mint chutney

By Yewande Komolafe

Updated April 20, 2026

Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

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Ready In: 2½ hr
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This is an adaptation of a dish served at Bar Kabawa by the chef Paul Carmichael in Manhattan’s East Village, where the vibe is casual and the food delicious. These patties are delicate, with a buttery crust that shatters upon bite to reveal an abundant meat or vegetable stuffing. Mr. Carmichael, who is from Barbados, uses in-house ground goat meat for his geera goat patties and makes the dough from scratch with a honed technique. This recipe calls for puff pastry sheets and ground lamb or beef. The potato, absent from Bar Kabawa’s version, is crushed, and the cooking liquid saved and incorporated to maintain the filling’s supple sauciness. Enjoy hot or warm, alongside pepper sauce, pikliz and cilantro-mint chutney, as a snack anytime of the day or as a bite to whet your palate before a larger meal.

Featured in: This Beef Patty Holds Many Secrets

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings

For the Filling

1 small (5-ounce) russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 scallions, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 Scotch bonnet chile, seeds in or out
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and chopped
½ pound ground lamb or beef
Black pepper
1 bay leaf
¼ bunch fresh thyme (8 to 10 sprigs)
Peel of 1 small navel orange (save the flesh for another use)
1 teaspoon roasted ground geera (also known as roasted ground cumin, see Tip)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon curry powder, preferably Caribbean-style (see Tip)
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ cup beef, chicken or vegetable stock
1 lime, zest and juice separated

For the Pastry

All-purpose flour, for work surface
2 (14-ounce) boxes puff pastry sheets, defrosted in the refrigerator
1 egg
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

To Serve

Pepper sauce, pikliz and cilantro-mint chutney

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Prepare the filling: Add potato to a small pot and cover with 4 cups water. Season generously with salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until a knife can fully pierce the pieces without resistance, about 25 minutes. Set aside and let potato cool in the cooking liquid.
1. Step 2
  While the potato cooks, add garlic, scallions, onion, Scotch bonnet and ginger to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse (about 8 times) until the vegetables are evenly chopped and resemble confetti, 1 minute. Set aside.
1. Step 3
  Set a large (10- to 12-inch) skillet over high heat. Add ground meat and season generously with salt and black pepper. Pat down into a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until the meat is light brown on the underside, about 3 minutes. Add bay leaf, thyme and orange peel. Stir into meat, continuing to cook until no part of the meat is pink, 1 to 2 minutes.
1. Step 4
  Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the geera, smoked paprika, turmeric, curry, allspice, cinnamon and cloves. Stir to combine and toast until fragrant and slightly deeper in color, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
1. Step 5
  Increase heat to medium, add the onion-scallion mix so it coats the meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the scallion mix softens and begins to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Add soy sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce reduces and the mixture begins to stick to the pan, 2 minutes. Add stock, and simmer until any liquid reduces and mixture releases along the edges and bottom of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. The meat should be tender, and if you drag a spatula through the mixture, the path formed by the spatula doesn't “fill in”. Remove the bay leaf, thyme sprigs and orange peel. Taste and add salt if necessary.
1. Step 6
  Reduce heat to medium-low. Add potatoes to the skillet, along with 1 cup potato cooking liquid. Crush potatoes with a fork while mixing with meat and aromatics. Cook, adding more liquid 1 tablespoon at a time if needed to prevent stuck bits or scorching, until liquid reduces, and the meat is tender and coated with sauce, 10 to 13 minutes. When the filling is done, a spatula dragged through the sauce should keep it in place. Stir in the lime zest and add lime juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, to adjust acidity. The filling can be cooled, transferred to a sealed container and stored refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator if frozen before use.
1. Step 7
  Prepare the patties: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly sprinkle a baking sheet with flour and line another baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
1. Step 8
  Prepare an egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk the egg with ¼ teaspoon turmeric and 1 tablespoon water.
1. Step 9
  Sprinkle some flour on a clean work surface. Remove a puff pastry sheet from its box and gently unfold on the work surface. Brush lightly with prepared egg wash.
2. Step 10
  Starting from one long end, roll the dough up into a log and place seam side down. Slice the dough crosswise into 10 to 12 (¾- to 1-inch thick) pieces (the number will depend on how wide your pastry sheets are). Move the slices to the lightly floured baking sheet and refrigerate. Repeat for the remaining pastry and add to the floured baking sheet, then return it to the refrigerator.
1. Step 11
  Sprinkle some flour on the work surface again. Take 2 pastry slices out of the fridge at a time, lightly flour them and roll each into a 4-inch round. Brush the surface of one round with the egg wash and place ¼ cup (58 to 60 grams) in the center. Place the second round over the filling and press along the edge with your thumb. Crimp the edge with a fork to completely seal. Return the unbaked patty to the refrigerator while you work through the remaining dough and filling. You should have 10 or 12 patties. Keep refrigerated or freeze (see Tip), until ready to bake.
1. Step 12
  Move the patties to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake until the pastry is puffed and light brown, about 30 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and continue to bake until the pastry is golden brown around the edges and tops are shiny, 5 minutes more.
1. Step 13
  Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool enough to eat. Serve immediately with pepper sauce, pikliz and cilantro-mint chutney.

Tips

Once the patties have been sealed, you can sprinkle them with flour and move without stacking to a sealed, airtight container. Freeze until ready to bake.
To bake from frozen, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Move the patties to a parchment-lined baking sheet and to the oven. Bake patties until the pastry is puffed, pale and light brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees. Rotate the baking sheet and continue to bake until pastry is puffed, golden brown at the edges and tops are shiny, 20 minutes more.
Geera (sometimes spelled “jeera”), also known as cumin, is often sold in its roasted, ground form at Indian, Caribbean and some international grocery stores. To make a similar version, you can toast cumin seeds in a skillet over low heat, stirring frequently, until they pop and turn dark brown. Cool completely, then mill the cumin seeds in a spice grinder until they resemble dust. Transfer to an airtight container and store covered at room temperature.
Caribbean-style curry powder is available under several brand names at Caribbean and some international grocery stores. A blend of many spices (coriander, turmeric, black pepper, fenugreek, chiles, fennel, allspice and black cumin, to name a few), with or without salt, it is often sold as “duck and goat curry powder” or “meat seasoning.”