Beef Wellington
Some times, when dinner rolls around, we all experiment and try to put together something new. Other times, we resort to the classics, maybe not comfort food, but definitely something “established,” and this is one such dish: Beef Wellington.
I don’t think I ever had a Beef Wellington before this, but was well aware of it (how could you not be when its included on Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen season after season?). Like some other “classics”, I approached this with some hesitation as it seemed like it could be tasty in my mind, but it also just seemed kind of…stodgy and dated, if that makes any sense. But the more I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine how this dish would disappoint.
After eating this, I can easily see why this is a classic. This is timeless: a juicy, tender cut of filet mignon cooked inside a tight, buttery, flaky package of puff pastry. If you’re not familiar with this dish though, there’s an additional, literal layer of flavor in there between the steak and the pastry: an earthy mushroom duxelle (think a finely diced mix of caramelized mushroom, garlic, and shallot) as well as an optional mousse of foie gras (or in my case, a bit of dijon–I have no aversions to the deliciousness that is foie gras, I just didn’t have any handy!). When this delicate dish is fully assembled, you have something that just screams luxurious, and as luck would have it, I just happened to have some of the highest quality, marbleized, melt-in-your-mouth, tender cut of beef I ever had the privilege of cooking in my kitchen. Cooked rare so that the beef could still shine center-stage, this made for quite a meal.
- ~1.5 lb beef tenderloin (ideally all in one piece)
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- ~1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp water
- Duxelle
- no more than 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp duck fat
- 8 oz button mushrooms
- 1 shallot
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black or white pepper
- 2.5 Tbsp white wine
- Optional: ~1-2 oz of Foie Gras or some other pâté
Begin by letting the tendeloin rest at room temperature so that it warms up a bit.
Now, we’ll start with the duxelle. Finely dice the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms.
In a hot pan, melt a teaspoon of duck fat (if available–this was my nod to foie gras) and a knob of butter. Sauté the shallot for 2 minutes and then add the garlic for another minute. Finally add the mushroom with the salt and pepper and sauté for about another 10 minutes (just when the mushrooms begin to caramelize), after which, you should deglaze with the wine and briefly cook further until the wine fully absorbs. Set this aside to cool.
Now that the duxelle is done, salt and pepper the steak and then in a pan with a bit of olive oil, sear the tenderloin for about one minute on all sides (this is good for rare/medium-rare). Remove this from heat and set aside while preheating the oven to 425°F.
At this point, roll out a sheet of puff pastry (already thawed out if using store-bought) to about 14 inches square (adjust this size to accommodate your cut of meat) and fairly thin.
If you’re using pâté (due to poor timing, I ran out just prior to cooking this!), coat the entire surface of the tenderloin on all sides with it, pressing firmly all over the steak. If you don’t have or care to use pâté, you could instead lightly coat the steak all over with dijon mustard instead (this is what I did–but don’t use both at the same time).
Whatever you coated the steak with, finally, coat the steak with the duxelle you prepared earlier, pressing on all sides. Lay your coated steak on the rolled out puff pastry. If there’s excess puff pastry, cut off a thin strip for decorative purposes later (if you care to bother).
In a bowl, prepare an egg wash, beating the egg with water in a bowl until well mixed. Brush the perimeter of the inside of the puff pastry with the egg wash (to ensure it sticks and seals shut nicely later) and roll it tightly around your steak, crimping and sealing shut as neatly as possible. The goal is for all of this to happen on the “bottom” of your wellington so that the ugly seams are unseen.
If you have any designs for decorating your wellington with the extra puff pastry, now is a good time to go ahead and do it. I don’t really know what I was thinking, lol, but it looks better than nothing, right? Make leaves, lines, and other frilly things just so it doesn’t look like a big, dull loaf.
Finally, brush the entire visible surface of the pastry with your egg wash and set this on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and transfer this to the oven.
Once 20 minutes have passed, your wellington should be around rare/medium-rare, so if you’re happy with that (like I am), take it out of the oven. If you prefer your meat a little more cooked, give it another 5-10 minutes (and consider a longer sear earlier). Whenever you say the meat is cooked, let the wellington rest for about 5-10 minutes before you dive in so that the juices can be reabsorbed into the meat.
Once you can’t hold back any more, with a sharp knife and a steady hand, carve into serving sized slices and dig in. While you could prepare an additional sauce to compliment this, with a high quality cut of meat, I think you’ll find this rich and rewarding enough as it is. I served with a side of mashed potatoes and a glass of aged Brunello di Montalcino.
Enjoy!
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May 16th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Beef wellington is so special. I’ve made a few times for x-mas dinner. I love the comnination of the musrooms, herbs and beef and of course the flaky pastry. Perfect!
May 16th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Not only beautiful but it looks delicious too! Yum.
Great photos
May 16th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Wow, that looks wonderful!
May 16th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Did you save some for me?! That looks FANTASTIC!!!
May 16th, 2008 at 10:13 am
There are No. Words. Do you have any idea how fabulous this looks?
I have wanted to prepare Beef Wellington for as long as I can remember and I have no idea why I haven’t. This post may finally be the impetus that pushes me over the edge.
I can’t get over that tenderloin, it looks amazing. This is probably going to sound weird, but I’ve never seen a cut of beef look more beautiful. So glad you were able to convey that in these photos.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Perfectly cooked beef in puff pastry - it does not get any better than this. Lovely post.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Perfectly cooked, Mike. GREAT GOING! I would’ve shed a tear if I saw grey-brown meat inside taht lovely crisp pastry!
May 16th, 2008 at 10:51 am
That’s a Wellington that would make Ramsey proud!
You’ve made it sound so straightforward and failsafe. I’d like to do something fancy schmancy like this for a nice dinner party or Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner (I’m not a big fan of turkey). I’m going to bookmark this page.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:18 am
YOU LIE or you’re damn good in the kitchen! lol
Beef Wellington’s tough to get right as you have go purely on timing to get the doneness right, rare asyou have here.
I bow, Mike…we are not worthy! lol
May 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Your family is very lucky! We only have this on special occasions! Gordon would be proud of you! You definately would not be kicked off the show with this gem!
May 16th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
That is incredible! I haven’t had beef wellington in ages. This looks like it will be on the menu for our next special occasion.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
This looks amazing, Mike! I’ve been dying to try a Wellington ever since I fell in love with Gordon Ramsay!
It looks like you’ve got the perfect technique. Great job!
May 16th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I’m really annoyed I was not invited…I LUUUU-HUUUVE Beef Well. We go way back.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
My Word! That is absolutely gorgeous! Well done. You succeeded in making my mouth water.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I have never had beef wellington! Looks incredible!
May 16th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Well done, Mike! I don’t even like my meat that pink, but one look at this recipe and all I could think of was biting into that delicious looking dish. I’ve never even heard of dish - I must try it soon. It looks fun and different.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Wow, did this bring back a memory… the first really gourmet dinner that my mom took me out to- this is what I ordered. I absolutely love it. I made individual wellingtons with filet mignon not too long ago. Yours looks fab, as usual!
May 17th, 2008 at 3:13 am
Oh what a classic! My partner asks for this every year for his birthday so over the years I have perfected my recipe. I use foie gras pate mixed with the mushrooms and I use a layer of parma ham between the pastry and the mushrooms to stop any juices leaking onto the pastry and of course, add an extra layer of deliciousness, it’s fab! Your beef looks so perfectly cooked. I am craving this so badly now!!!!
May 17th, 2008 at 5:16 am
puff pastry in any way, shape, or form makes me giddy. that’s a gorgeous dish, plus “beef wellington” just sounds so posh and fancy. most impressive.
side note: i have that very knife, and it may very well be my favorite kitchen tool.
May 17th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
WOW! That’s all I can say. I love puff pastry and I just made a batch yesterday. I wonder if I can do something like this with lamb…
May 17th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I made a Welly once, using venison and wild mushrooms. But since I always try to make everything sound more fancy, I called it “venison tenderloin en croute with oyster mushroom duxelles” instead of Venison Wellington.
@ Ben - you totally can do this with lamb.
May 17th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
That looks just perfect! (You could have used faux gras)
I’ve never tried it but, I think I might - next winter when I’m cooking indoors and the foie gras is in season!
May 17th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I have never had Beef Wellington before. It looks amazing! How can you go wrong with beef baked in pastry? It looks perfectly cooked and nice and pink. Bookmarked to try.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Beef Wellington reminds me of all the carvery meals I’ve had in London over the years. It’s such a classic. And your pastry looks perfect!
May 17th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
The first ingredient calls for
“~1.5 lb beef tenderloin (ideally all in one piece)”
Is this supposed to have 1.5 lbs of meat, or a half pound? The former seems like a lot.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Just keeps getting better Mike. Thanks for the comments on the mango breakfast salad…missed the strawberry seduction, but hoping for some mango mischief now!!
May 18th, 2008 at 4:38 am
What time did you say dinner was?
Great Job Mike and thanks for stopping by during the week.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
wow! that looks delicious! the crust looks absolutely amazing on this! i am trying it the next time I have guests for dinner!
May 18th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Hi all,
Before I get booed off stage, I must say that as his wife I get to express this opinion and survive!
I am in the process of convincing by wonderful husband that this website needs a fresh look. Right now that is last on his list of priorities. I am imploring you to help me convince him to move it higher.
Having said that, happy cooking!
Dhipthi
May 19th, 2008 at 8:09 am
The lady’s RIGHT Mike…a man’s gotta do what his better half sayeth!!! MOVE IT HIGHER…it’s a load of effort but once it’s up & running, you’ll thank her for it!! She’s a brave lady,expressing her opinion & surviving, under the threat of getting booed off…LOL!!
May 19th, 2008 at 8:24 am
I can’t believe it has not been said yet:
The beef is raw you donkey!
hehehehehhehe
j/k brother. Love it and looks awesome!
May 19th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Fabulous dish Mike - I’ve always wanted to cook this - I haven’t even tasted it yet! I seriously can’t believe how amazing the fillet looks - nice job!
May 19th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
The thought of making a wellington was always just daunting and out of the realm of reasonability for me. Your pictorial breaks up the mystery and now I feel like the little engine that could. Really good job!!!
May 20th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Foix gras is only one option for the liver flavor. I’ve done it with both a chicken liver mouse and a country pate sliced very thin.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I’ve done Wellington several times… I taught myself how to from a French cook book. And of course watching TV. Mine was good, however, this one looks great. You can use just about any steak, but the tenderlion is the best. The only problem I had with mine was the Puff Pastry was a little soggy on the inside, But I’m working on that…. I’ll figure it out one of these days… maybe an egg wash on the inside before rolling it up. Anyway, Looks great. Thanks
May 20th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
The wellington looks divine. I made it for the first time with beef about 6 months ago. Delicious and easy to prepare. I have also made a salmon wellington with wil rice. A nice change.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:38 am
u are my hero! I can’t believe how beautiful and perfect it looks.
Ramsey would love you on his show.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:25 am
Mike, you really this one out of the ballpark! It’s just an amazing photo, we can taste it off the computer!
May 30th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I don’t eat beef but my husband would love this. I like your pastry.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
That is an awesome idea and looks delicious. Im just concerned about cooking the meat properly without overcookin the outside