“Beef Wellington”
Beef Wellington Recipe
Serves 6+
Beef Wellington. The amazing beef dish that likely has nothing to do with the Duke of Wellington, a man famous for defeating Napoleon, but not known for his fancy eating habits. In reality this dish probably has more to do with 20th century Los Angeles than it does for the man who sloshed through Waterloo in his wellies. In all cases it’s the perfect holiday treat.
INGREDIENTS:
1 package of puff pastry measuring approx. 11x9 inches, thawed overnight in the fridge.
1 center portion of beef tenderloin, the chateaubriand cut, weighing ~ 2 lbs.
1 1/2 lbs of mushrooms
1 tsp of thyme, chopped
1 Tbs of fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 shallots, minced
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
For the Madeira Sauce:
1/4 cup of Madeira
2 Tbs of Port
1 cup of demi-glace (Nicer grocery stores often have this in their soups and stock aisle under the brand “Better than Gourmet)
2 Tbs of butter
STEPS:
Brown the Meat:
Generously season the meat on sides with salt and pepper.
Bring a heavy skillet, like cast iron to heat over medium high heat.
Sear the beef on all sides until a deep brown. Approx. 2 mins per side.
Set beef aside to rest and cool in the fridge. Approx. 30 minutes.
Once the meat is cold, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and return it to the fridge.
Make the Duxelles:
Finely mince all of the mushrooms. You can do this by hand or in a food processor.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add 2-3 Tbs of oil to the pan.
Add the minced shallots and cook until translucent, approx. 1 minute.
Add the minced mushrooms and cook over medium heat until almost all of the moisture has evaporated. You’ll want to stir fairly often to prevent over browning.
Once the mushrooms have really cooked down, add the minced parsley and thyme and stir in.
Remove from heat and transfer the duxelles to a container and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or until cool.
Assemble the Wellington:
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the puff pastry out a little bit very gently. You just want it to be slightly larger than it was when you placed it on the counter. This will prevent it from puffing up too much in baking, but still keep it super flaky.
Spread the duxelles over the puff pastry leaving about a 2 inch border all the way around to help with sealing.
Place the beef on top of duxelles in the middle of the pastry. It should be in the same direction as the pastry, the long side of the beef running parallel to the long side of the pastry rectangle.
Carefully fold the long side of the pastry over the beef to encase the pastry, rolling it up as you would a jelly roll. There’s a good demonstration in the video above and Gordon Ramsay has one here that’s also excellent.
Fold the ends under to fully seal the beef in the pastry.
Trim off the excess and save the scraps for decorating the top.
Wrap the Wellington tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least one hour. This will firm up the butter and make it all flakier.
Bake The Welllington:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Place the Wellington on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush generously with egg wash.
Decorate with any scraps of puff pastry you have left over.
Brush with egg wash a second time.
Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 130ºF for medium rare.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
For the Madeira Sauce:
Combine the Madeira, port and demi-glace in a sauce pot over high heat.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Keep warm until ready to serve.
Just before serving, whisk in 2 Tbs of cold butter.
To Serve:
Carve portions of the beef Wellington and serve with the sauce over and around the beef.