Fry jacks are a delectable and popular staple in Belize cuisine. Usually served as a breakfast item, fry jacks are deep-fried pieces of dough, often accompanied by beans, eggs and ham and are highly addictive.

Before you place an order for fry jacks in a Belize restaurant, know that the Belizean Creole (Kriol) rarely uses the plural; a pile of fry jacks is still called “fry jack”.

Fry jacks aren’t only served in Belize. In fact, they go by many different names all over the world — beignets in New Orleans, sopapillas in Mexico and the American southwest, or often, simply ‘fried dough’.

Below are the instructions on how to make Belizean Fry Jacks:

  • Ingredients:
  • 1lb Flour
  • 1 TBSP Baking Powder
  • 1 TBSP Shortening
  • 1 Cup Water
 Instructions:

Put ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth.
Roll into pieces the size of golf balls.
Rest for 1/2 hour.
Roll it out and fry in oil.
Turn over once. When it floats, it finished.
Drain.

In this video I do a remake of Fry Jacks or Fry Cakes to include more instructions and keeping everything uniformed with our theme. Fry Jacks are a simple fried bread that can be the difference between going to be hungry of being satisfied during times of recession or famine. I can be eaten with jams and jellies, peanut butter, confectioner/powdered sugar or meats and cheeses or alone. This is a very versatile meal.