Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington is a delicious culinary masterpiece that will bring a Rockwell presentation and wow factor to your holiday feast or dinner party. It also satisfies my weakness for “oohs and aahs” and the endless volley of compliments that follow!

Don’t be intimidated. It’s not that difficult to make, and I promise that on your big day the vast majority of your time can be spent enjoying family and friends.

What is a Beef Wellington?

A Beef Wellington is a classic English dish featuring the centre cut of a beef tenderloin – an absolute melt in your mouth roast of beef. The roast is wrapped in layers of flavour including prosciutto, finely chopped and sauteed mushrooms called a Duxelles, and sometimes pâté, like a foie gras (duck or goose pâté) – and finally, all wrapped within a buttery puff pastry. The outer layer is usually scored or decorated with an additional layer of pastry patterns and sometimes festive shapes for further effect.

The result is a magnificent golden-brown log like parcel, that when sliced reveals a soft pink centre surrounded by layers of colours and textures. The presentation is outstanding and only surpassed by the depth of flavours.

My Favourite Wellington

With the exception of the final pastry layer and baking, I like to prepare the Wellington on the eve or even two days before the event.

There is no need for a lot of sides; we usually serve with creamy mashed potatoes and a salad or green vegetable like our favourite shredded brussels sprouts dish (press here for recipe link). We also like to serve with a red wine gravy – see here for details on how to make it.

Relax and enjoy the process.

You can have a lot of fun preparing this dish and don’t be afraid to involve family members, as the entire process is like a craft day!

This recipe will comfortably serve up to 9 people.

Ingredients:

Centre Cut Beef Tenderloin – This tenderloin was just under 3lbs, 9.5 inches in length and about 3.5 inches thick. I had it trimmed and trussed. Make sure to have it trussed, or do it yourself as you want it to hold together until the last moment before wrapping. This roast will serve up to 9 people when cut into 1 inch slices.

Be sure to get the centre cut of the tenderloin, as it will provide the most uniform size for even cooking.

Tip: This cut of meat is not inexpensive. Watch for sales, as freezing over a reasonable amount of time will not impact the final outcome. Also, in our neck of the woods, butcher shops and food chains will often sell the entire tenderloin at a very good price. These can be trimmed and the centre cut pieced out and trussed with the remainder cut into steaks. There is a wealth of information online on how to properly do this.

900g (just under 2lbs) mushrooms – The world is your oyster here – no pun intended. I use 50/50 cremini and white button mushrooms rinsed and cleaned. You cannot go wrong with your favourite mixture.

4 large sized shallots finely diced

4 to 6 medium sized cloves of garlic finely diced

12 slices of prosciutto or Parma – Parma is a specific type of prosciutto – I use prosciutto.

½ to ¾ cup of a good Dijon mustard

1/3 cup brandy – dry white wine, madeira, sherry ,cognac all work. I use brandy but I do not flame – I tend to get dangerous with that sort of thing. As an alternative to an alcohol base, apple cider or non sweetened grape juice or beef stock also work.

4/5 sprigs of thyme de-stemmed

2 TBSP un-salted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

2 TBSP olive oil (splash to cover pan bottom to sear the beef) – Just about any cooking oil can be used and while olive has a lower smoke point, and that is my preference to use.

1 tsp kosher salt

1 or 2 beaten eggs for egg wash

Good quality buttery puff pastry or make your own – Usually comes with two 10×10 inch sheets. Use one to roll the roast and the other to cut slices off for final decoration.

Preparing The Beef Wellington:

I begin the process on the eve of the event, completing all tasks except the final wrapping in puff pastry and baking. I could do the pastry on the eve as well, but I only want to deal with the pastry once as I like to add additional strips of pastry for decoration and don’t want to crush them in overnight wrapping. The entire hands-on time before cooking should take about 90 minutes.

Step 1: Preparing the Duxelles – 25 to 30 minutes

• Chop the mushroom into tiny bits or use a food processor (pulsing) to do the same – be careful to not create a paste.

• On medium high heat, add olive oil, butter, shallots and garlic to a suitably sized pan that will hold all the mushrooms. Stir occasionally until the shallots are soft and opaque.
• Add all the mushrooms.
• You want to cook all the moisture out of the mushrooms – moisture is the enemy here and can cause the final layer of pastry to be soft and mushy.
• Stirring occasionally and while there is still moisture, salt and pepper to taste (about 2 tsp of each).
• Add the thyme and brandy.
• Occasionally stir until moisture has cooked off and Duxelles is close to paste – don’t let the Duxelles stick to the pan.
• Remove from the pan and into a bowl, allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap and into the fridge it goes. Cooling the Duxelles makes it easier to spread, and if you are wrapping with pastry the same day, it’s better to not warm the pastry. Duxelles can last in the fridge for a couple of days.

Step 2: Preparing the Tenderloin – 15 minutes

• Optional: I like to cut two pieces of string to match the length and circumference of the roast. These are used to later mark a large piece of parchment paper as a placement guide for prosciutto and Duxelles layers.
  • This roast was 9.5 inches long with a circumference of 11 inches.
• Using the same pan as used for the Duxelles, coat the pan with oil on medium high heat.
• While heating, generously season (salt and pepper) all sides of the tenderloin including the ends.
• When the oil is hot and shimmering, place the trussed roast into the pan. You should hear it sizzle immediately. Sear for about 1 minute on each side including the ends – creating a dark brown crust to seal in the juices. Use tongs to manage the roast in the pan.
• When complete, place the roast onto a plate and immediately (while still hot) generously coat the entire roast with Dijon mustard, and into the fridge it goes to cool.

Note: Coating while hot helps the roast better absorb the mustard juices and flavour. At this point its helpful to keep the roast trussed to help it maintain form…..but don’t forget!

Step 3: Preparing the prosciutto and Duxelles for wrapping – 20 minutes

Note: In order to seal the roast when wrapping, you want the prosciutto layer to be wide enough to overlap the ends of the roast and tall enough to overlap the horizontal seam when rolled. Since my roast was 9.5 inches long and will roll for 11 inches, the width of the prosciutto layer should be approximately 13.5 inches wide (2 inches extra on each side of the roast) and 13 inches tall (1 inch extra on the top and bottom when rolled).

• Place a large piece of parchment paper over a flat surface.
• Using the strings cut earlier, mark out a rectangle on the parchment paper – 9.5 inches wide and 11 inches tall.
• Cover the parchment paper with two or three large pieces of plastic wrap that are layered and overlapping horizontally. Needs to be tall enough to wrap the circumference of the roast several times and wide enough to extend past the ends of the roast by at least 6 inches.
  • Note: You should be able to see the highly technical and skilled size markings on the parchment paper through the plastic wrap.

• Layer the prosciutto vertically overlapping the sides by approximately 2 inches past the marked horizontal edges and about 1 inch past the vertical edges (top and bottom).
• It is important to fill in any tears or holes in the prosciutto to prevent any moisture from leaking to the outer layer of puff pastry.
  • Some people also use a layer of crepes to further seal the roast from the Duxelles but my preference is to be generous with the prosciutto – either works.

• Use a spoon to evenly spread the Duxelles over the prosciutto, leaving a border around the top and the sides – you want to match the size of the roast; I exceeded this on the sides which is fine.
  • Note: After cooking and slicing the roast you will end up with what is called the end cap. It generally gets sliced off leaving pastry filled with prosciutto and a bit of Duxelles – we cut this up for everyone to sample.

Step 4: Wrapping the Roast in Prosciutto and Duxelles – 5 Minutes

!!!Remember to take the truss off the roast as it is not necessarily visible through the mustard. I forgot this once and while everyone was very kind, it was embarrassing to watch as the odd string was pulled off a plate. Eventually I did get over it and we all had a good laugh.

• Place the roast on the bottom of the Duxelles layer and evenly along the horizontal Duxelles sides.
• Using the plastic wrap, gently start to roll the prosciutto and Duxelles layers around the roast. As you move forward, continue to roll the roast, tucking in the overlapping prosciutto edges as you go. When completely rolled to the end of the prosciutto, tuck the plastic wrap in and roll the roast in the plastic wrap.
• Holding onto the sides of the plastic wrap, roll the log forward several times tightening the roll into a tight log including the ends.
• Into the fridge it goes for at least 30 minutes or in my case, until the next day.

Step 5: Wrapping in Puff Pastry – 10 minutes

• Follow the directions of your puff pastry to properly thaw and have ready for use.
• Lightly dust the work surface with flour and lay the pastry on top.
• Using a rolling pin, evenly extend the size of the pastry to better fit your wrapped roast.
  • I make sure to have at least an additional 3 inches on each end and 3 inches tall.
• Place the roast centred on the bottom edge of the pastry. Holding onto the pastry, slowly roll until the entire roast is covered.
• Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut off the excess pastry and pinch the seam closed. Tuck in the sides like wrapping a present, and folding excess pastry under the roast to the same side as the seam. If there is too much excess on the ends cut some off.
• Tightly wrap the roast again with plastic wrap to tighten the log and seal the edges, then back in the fridge it goes until it’s time to cook.

Step 6: Final Preparation and Cooking – 10 minutes preparation

• Preheat Oven to 425 Degrees Fahrenheit.
• While the oven is pre-heating, unwrap the roast and place on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
  • Scoring or Design
    • Option 1: Using the dull side of a table knife lightly cut lines across the top of the roast from one bottom to the other but do not pierce the pastry.
  • • Option 2: This is what I always do: Lightly dust the work area with flour and lay puff pastry sheet atop.
    • Cut 6 evenly sized (about ¾ of an inch in width) strips from the pastry sheet – I use a pizza cutter. Using the pastry strips, create an interwoven lattice over the log with 3 strips in one direction and 3 strips in the other. Cut excess edges off each bottom side.

Or

• Use a lattice roller to cut out the lattice design, stretch and place over the roast. Cut off any excess from the sides.
• Coat the entire roast with egg wash and lightly sprinkle the top with kosher salt.

• Place an automatic meat thermometer into the side of the roast and set to alarm at 125 degrees Fahrenheit – about 35 to 45 minutes. You can use an instant read thermometer but start checking the temperature of the roast after 25 minutes.
• Place the roast into the 425 Degree pre-heated oven.
  • Note: If the pastry becomes golden brown before the beef is finished, gently cover with silver foil.
• When the roast reaches 125 degrees, remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. During this time the roast will continue to cook up to another 8 to 12 degrees internally.

• We place the roast on the dinner table to capture the oohs/aahs and the usual dancing in the streets.
• Slice into 1 inch pieces using a serrated knife.
  • This roast was cooked perfectly to a pink centre. See the tasty end “Cap” for community sampling.

Hip, Hip Hurray you’ve done it.

I hope your Beef Wellington was fun to make and enjoyed by all.

Here’s the printable recipe card!

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