Review: Golden Krust Spicy Beef Patty and Spicy Jamaican Jerk Chicken Patty

Bottom Line: Both the Golden Krust Spicy Beef and Spicy Jamaican Jerk Chicken patties offer a quick and tasty meal with a kick.

Beef patties are a common Jamaican street food, though these are not something you will easily track down in the States unless you are on the East Coast and have a Golden Krust location nearby. That is a bakery/restaurant chain that started in New York City in 1989 and has since branched out to multiple locations featuring Jamaican favorites (you can check for a location near you here). And while none of those are located in Texas, the company has a lineup of frozen food that includes beef and chicken patties. I noticed those recently in the freezer section at my local H-E-B and decided to pick up the Spicy Beef Patty and the Jamaican Jerk Chicken Patty.

According to the website, the beef patty “has a tasty, spicy beef filling wrapped in 20 flaky layers of golden crust, then individually wrapped for freshness.” The Jerk Chicken is basically the same thing but with seasoned chicken instead of beef. These sell individually wrapped for $1.24 in my area, which is a heck of a good deal.

 

The crust on these is quite flaky (especially if you heat them in the air fryer), and it reminds me of the flaky biscuits you buy in a tube and cook at home. I’m surprised that the crust remains as flaky as it does after freezing, but it is certainly a highlight of the patty. The beef is more like a meat paste (similar to what is in Jack in the Box tacos), but it is well seasoned and brings some Jamaican flavors, likely including some jerk seasoning. It also has a nice kick of heat, approaching Medium on my scale.

The Jamaican Jerk Chicken Patty has a meat paste inside as well, as opposed to chunks of chicken. But the taste of the bird is definitely there, along with the Jamaican seasonings. It has a little bit of a kick, but less than the beef patty, and it comes in below Mild on my scale. Between the two, I would likely pick up the beef next time over the chicken.

I tried heating these two different ways—first in the air fryer and then in the microwave—and the former is the better way to go. The crust is somewhat tough after microwaving and loses some of its flakiness. So unless you are in a big rush, you’ll want to spend the extra time heating these up.

Calorie-wise, the beef patty totals 390 calories, while the chicken is slightly less at 380. If you eat one of these with a small side of potato or macaroni salad—or even some coleslaw—you won’t be busting the calorie bank. And at less than a buck and a quarter for the patty, that makes for a quick and cheap lunch that is quite filling!

As mentioned, I found these at H-E-B where they stock frozen sandwiches and snacks. On the Golden Krust website, it looks like they sell these in 2-pack boxes, but my store was offering them as singles. They are pretty tasty and deliver a kick—especially the beef patty—and they are certainly good to have in the freezer if you need a quick and easy meal. They are also available in mild beef and mild chicken varieties, as well as one made with Beyond Meat.

Nutrition Info:

Spicy Jamaican Beef Patty

Ingredients: Ground beef, water, breadcrumbs (wheat flour [niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, yeast, salt), textured vegetable protein (soy flour, caramel color), seasoning (monosodium glutamate, salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, red pepper, hydrolyzed soy protein, dextrose, spices (including celery seed), allspice, dehydrated onion, corn starch, sugar, paprika, red pepper, caramel color, yeast extract, paprika oleoresin (for color), turmeric, natural flavors, not more than 2% silicon dioxide added to prevent caking), modified food starch, thyme, scotch bonnet pepper, onion, beef base (roasted beef and beef juices, salt, yeast extract, beef stock, sugar, onion powder, flavoring, lactic acid, dehydrated garlic), shortening (palm oil and/or soybean oil), caramel color, garlic powder, soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat flour, salt, sugar, mushroom), monosodium glutamate.

Crust:
Wheat flour (wheat flour [niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], malted barley flour), water, shortening (palm oil and/or soybean oil), beef suet, sugar, yellow egg shade (fd&c yellow #5, fd&c yellow #6, salt), annatto turmeric liquid (propylene glycol, polysorbate 80, turmeric oleoresin, bixin, potassium hydroxide, water), salt.

Serving Size: 1 Patty
Calories: 390
Fat: 17g (9g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 12g
Carbs: 47g
Sodium: 650mg

Spicy Jamaican Chicken Jerk Patty

Ingredients: Ground chicken, water, bread crumbs (enriched wheat flour [enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, yeast, salt), modified corn starch, seasoning (monosodium glutamate, salt, dehydrated garlic, cinnamon, brown sugar, dextrose, spices (celery seed), corn starch, sugar, dehydrated onion, red pepper, paprika, paprika oleoresin (for color), turmeric, natural flavors, extractives of turmeric, not more than 2% silicon dioxide to prevent caking), jerk seasoning (onion, thyme, vinegar, salt, spices blend (brown sugar, monosodium glutamate, dextrose, sodium benzoate (preservative), dehydrated onion and garlic, paprika, corn starch, spices (celery seed), natural flavors, extractives of paprika, turmeric, not more than 2% silicon dioxide added to prevent caking), garlic, scallion, allspice, nutmeg, sodium benzoate), textured vegetable protein (soy flour), onion, modified food starch, scotch bonnet pepper, soy sauce (water, soy, wheat flour, salt, sugar, mushroom, preservatives), caramel color.

Crust:
Wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, shortening (palm oil and/or soybean oil), beef suet, sugar, yellow egg shade (fd&c yellow #5 and fd&c yellow #6, salt and/or annatto and turmeric liquid (propylene glycol, polysorbate 80, turmeric oleoresin, bixin, potassium hydroxide, water), salt.

Serving Size: 1 Patty
Calories: 380
Fat: 17g (9g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 12g
Carbs: 47g
Sodium: 650mg