GUYANA: Guyanese Beef Patties and Instant Pot Veggie Cook-Up Rice

Many people know of Jamaican meat patties, but their Guyanese relatives get less attention. I imagine this has far more to do with the fact that Jamaica has significantly more global emigrants than Guyana, and far less to do with flavor; these Guyanese beef patties were spot on! They were far simpler to make than they look. That being noted, I missed my 45-minute mark getting this meal on the table. The crust is a simple shortcrust, so using a pre-bought pie crust would shorten the prep time.

Guyanese Beef Patties

Filling

 1 tablespoon olive oil

½ lb of ground beef

1 habanero or wiri wiri pepper

2 teaspoons brown sugar*

1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce*

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce*

2 tablespoons ketchup

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup frozen peas and carrots

Dough

2 cups of all purpose flour (I subbed Cup4Cup)

1 teaspoon salt

 ½ cup butter (1 stick), chilled in the freezer for about 30 minutes

¼ cup canola or other oil

1 egg yolk

*Traditionally casareep is used, but as that is hard to source, the sugar, tamari or soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce are a decent substitute.

To make the filling:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan on medium heat. Add the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.

2. Remove the stem and seed from the pepper. Mince finely. Add the pepper to skillet, along with remainder of ingredient. (You can add the peas and carrots frozen.) Add ½ cup water, and cook for an additional ~5 minutes, until meat is cooked through and most of the water has evaporated. (You can start making the dough here if you'd like to save time.)

3. Remove the meat from the heat and cool to room temperature before adding to the pastry dough.

1. To make the dough: Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Grate the chilled butter onto the mixture using a large grater.

2. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour but do not over blend, leaving little bits of butter creates a really flaky texture. Then add the oil and combine until it is fully mixed and crumbly

3. Pour about a cup of water over some ice, and add a few tablespoons of ice water to the bowl at time until the dough comes together. Form the dough into ball. Do not knead the dough as this will remove the flaky texture.

4. Cover with saran and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

To make the patties: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F

2. Remove pastry dough from the refrigerator and, roll the dough out until it is ~⅛-inch thick. Using a circular mold or the edge of a small bowl, cut 4 circles that are about 5 inches in diameter for the bottom of the patties (NOTE: I made 6 smaller ones, rather than 4 larger ones). The cut 4 slightly larger circles 5½-6 tops for the tops of the patties.

3. Next add about 2 tablespoons of meat filling to the center of each bottom, smaller circles of dough. Then brush water or use your finger to moisten the perimeter of the disk. Place the larger circles of dough on top. Using a fork to seal the edge of the patty, then pierce the top to allow air to escape during cooking. If you want to neaten the edges, you can recut the pies with the smaller circular cutter after sealing.

4. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Mix the egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water, and brush the patties with the egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes (or until golden brown), remove, and let cool slightly before serving.

Instant Pot Veggie Cook-Up Rice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion

1 carrot

1 clove garlic

1 ~13.4 oz coconut milk

2 cups uncooked basmati or other long grain rice

1 habanero or wiri wiri pepper

3 scallions

1 cup mixed canned beans (red kidney, black-eyed peas, and/or chickpeas)

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

10 ounces fresh, baby spinach

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1. Turn Instant Pot to sauté medium and add the oil. Chop the onion and peel and chop the carrot. Add both the the pot sauté about 3 minutes. Mince the garlic and add to the pot. Cook, stirring often, for another 3-5 minutes, until onion is translucent and soft.

2. Pour just the liquid from the can of coconut milk (do not shake first or mix in the cream) into a 2-cup or larger measuring cub. Add enough water to equal 2 cups of liquid, then pour all into the Instant Pot, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Turn off Instant Pot.

3. Add the rice to the Instant Pot. Cut a slit down the side of the pepper, and slice the scallions and add both to the pot. Add the bean, thyme, salt, and pepper.

4. Set Instant Pot to "rice" and cook. (NOTE: You can do all on the stove, provided you have a large pot with a lid. If using stove top method, increase water to 3 cups.)

5. When the Instant Pot finishes, manually release and stir in the spinach and grated ginger.

#meatpatties #cookuprice #instantpot #guyana #globalcooking #familydinners

FUN FACTS:

• Guyana is unique as South America's only English-speaking nation.

• Kaieteur Falls in Guyana is 823 feet high and the world's largest single-drop waterfall.

• The mountain from the Disney movie Up was inspired by Mount Roraima in Guyana.