Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

In the summer of 2015 I visited London for the first time. It was the end of August, my birthday weekend, and I was there to attend the famous Notting Hill Carnival, which had been on my bucket list since high school. I met up with my friend of 20 years, who lived in London, and she had a treat for me: curried goat patties, the ultimate surprise. We stopped into The Jamaican Patty Company in Covent Garden, a food hall in London’s West End. It was a magical experience—the crust was right, flaky but not too messy, and the goat was seasoned to perfection. We completed the meal with grapefruit sodas. I have since had goat patties in Kingston, but at the time, it was the most novel speciality item for a goat lover like me.

I created my own version of the patties, since I am not able to get them here in New England. Thanks to Chestnut Farms, I have a package or two of ground goat meat in my freezer. These little hand pies can be served as a snack or as a main dish with a mixed green salad. The pastry recipe is from my dear friend Chantal Thomas of the Connecticut-based online bakery Amazing Ackee. She is a patty connoisseur and I like how approachable her recipe is as it uses coconut oil to achieve a flaky crust instead of butter. I hope this recipe brings you as much joy as it brings me.

Makes 12 medium patties

For the Pastry:
400 grams all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground annatto, optional

½ teaspoon ground turmeric
150 grams coconut oil, melted
200 grams cold water
1 large egg, beaten with cup water, for glazing, optional

For the Filling:
olive oil
1 pound ground goat
salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
3–5 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped
½ fresh Scotch bonnet pepper, seeds removed, minced
1–1¼ cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
1½ tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground pimento (allspice)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 sprigs fresh thyme
¼ cup dried breadcrumbs

To make the pastry dough: Put the flour, salt, annatto (if using) and turmeric into a large mixing bowl; whisk gently to combine. Combine the melted coconut oil with the water and pour evenly over the dry ingredients and mix with your hands or a spoon until the dough comes together. Do not overmix.

Remove the dough from the bowl, pat into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for 15 minutes.

Make the filling: Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and brown the ground goat in a large skillet over high heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon (as you would with ground beef). When the meat is almost cooked through, remove it from the pan. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon olive oil, onion, pepper, garlic and Scotch bonnet pepper to the same pan. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables have softened, 4–5 minutes.

Return the meat to the pan and add stock or water, ketchup, soy sauce, spices and salt. Stir to combine and add the thyme. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. Discard thyme sprigs. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Add breadcrumbs and stir thoroughly. Cool the filling to room temperature (or refrigerate until cold) before assembling the patties.

Make the patties: Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit out for 5 minutes, then divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Using a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll each ball into a 6-inch round and layer on a parchment-lined sheet tray dusted with more flour.

Working with one round at a time, spoon a scant 1/3 cup cooled meat filling onto a pastry round, covering half but leaving a little border, about inch. Spread the filling evenly on that half, then brush the edge with water and fold the dough over to make a crescent shape.

Press out as much air as possible, then press gently around the edges to seal the patty (or use a fork to seal edges and create a design). Trim and neaten the edges. Prick the tops a few times with a fork to allow the steam to escape while baking. Repeat with the remaining rounds, adding each finished patty to a parchment-lined sheet tray while you work on the rest, 6 patties to a tray, leaving 3- to 4-inch space between them. Chill the patties thoroughly before baking (at least 20 minutes).

While the patties chill, preheat the oven to 400 F and place one of the racks in the upper third so the bottoms of the patties won’t brown too much before the top can brown and cook through.

(If your oven isn’t large enough to accommodate 2 baking trays on the same rack, bake in batches.) Brush the patties with the egg and water mixture, if using, for a nice, glossy sheen.

Place the baking sheets in the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 F. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until golden brown and crispy at the edges, checking and rotating your tray(s) at the 10-minute mark. Cool on a wire rack. If the patties have ballooned, press the tops gently to allow some of the steam to escape. Serve warm with lime wedges and a cold beer.

This recipe appeared in the Spring 2022 issue as part of a larger story on The Geography of Goat.