Beef Wellington is a traditional English way of preparing beef tenderloin. Believed to have originated in the 1800s after the Duke of Wellington had a victory at Waterloo in 1815, it was a popular “fancy” dish in the mid-1900s.
The beef is covered in paté de foie gras or mushrooms duxelles (a mushroom puree that has its moisture cooked out) and some sort of ham — like Parma or proscuitto — cover the beef. It’s then wrapped in puff pastry and cooked in the oven.
PREPARATION TIME
Ingredients
1 pound thick beef tenderloin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons yellow mustard (like Coleman’s Original English Mustard)
1 pound mushrooms (see recipe note)
4 thin slices ham (Parma ham if you can get it) or prosciutto
1 (7 to 8 1/2-ounce sheet) puff pastry, thawed (see recipe note)
2 large egg yolks, beaten
Flaky salt, for sprinkling on top
Method
Preheat the oven:
Allow the oven to preheat to 400°F as you assemble the Wellington.
Sear the beef:
Season the beef generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan on high heat. Sear the beef in the pan on all sides until well browned, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. (Hint: do not move the beef until it has had a chance to brown.)
Brush the beef with mustard:
Remove the beef from the pan and let cool. Once cooled, brush the beef on all sides with mustard.
Chop the mushrooms and put them into a food processor. Pulse until very finely chopped.
Heat the sauté pan on medium-high heat. Transfer the mushroom mixture into the pan and cook, allowing the mushrooms to release their moisture, 10 to 15 minutes.
When the moisture released by the mushrooms has all boiled away, remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside to cool.
Wrap the beef in mushroom paste and ham:
Roll out a large piece of plastic wrap. Lay out the slices of ham on the plastic wrap so that they overlap and are large enough to wrap around and encapsulate the beef. Spread the mushroom mixture over the ham.
Place the beef in the middle and roll the mushroom and ham over the beef, using the plastic wrap so that you do this tightly.
Wrap up the beef into a tight barrel shape, twisting the ends of the plastic wrap to secure. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Roll out the puff pastry and wrap the beef:
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry sheet to a size that will wrap around the beef.
Unwrap the beef from the plastic wrap and place in the middle of the pastry dough. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg yolks.
Fold the pastry around the beef, cutting off any excess at the ends. (Pastry that is more than 2 layers thick will not cook all the way, try to limit the overlap.)
Place on a small plate, seam side down, and brush beaten egg yolks all over the top. Chill for 5 to 10 minutes.
Place the pastry-wrapped beef on a baking pan. Brush the exposed surface again with beaten eggs.
Score the top of the pastry with a sharp knife, not going all the way through the pastry. Sprinkle the top with coarse salt.
Bake in the oven:
Bake at 400°F for 25 to 35 minutes. The pastry should be nicely golden when done. To ensure that your roast is medium rare, test with an instant read meat thermometer. Pull out at 125 to 130°F for medium rare.
SIMPLE TIP!
To ensure an accurate temperature reading, stick the thermometer into the center of the beef from 2 to 3 different angles. Test from the top as well as the side.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice in 1-inch thick slices.
Leftover slices can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. Wrap tightly with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven. Once warm, remove the foil and bake for a few minutes more to crisp the pastry. Note that reheated slices will be closer to medium or well-done.
| NUTRITION FACTS(PER SERVING) | |
|---|---|
| 749 | CALORIES |
| 54g | FAT |
| 34g | CARBS |
| 31g | PROTEIN |
