Beef wellington is one of those dishes you see on a menu at a fancy restaurant but never think about making it. To be fair it is time consuming, but when done correctly, it is one of the most rewarding dishes to make. I will be breaking down the different components to a perfect beef wellington along with pictures to guide you along the process.
What cut of beef to use
Beef wellington uses the center cut of a beef tenderloin. I get mine from Costco and I cut an 8-9 inch roast for the beef wellington. The reason we only use the center cut is because it is the most even. This way we are able to wrap and cook the wellington perfectly.
Making the duxelles
The mushroom duxelles is a combination of garlic, shallots, and mainly mushrooms that are cooked until dry. First step to this is giving your shallots, garlic, and mushrooms an extremely fine dice. If you have a food processor, this will be a lot easier.
Chopped mushrooms
You want to cook the mushrooms over medium heat until all the water is completely cooked out. This will take close to 30 minutes and it will look like dry ground beef. If it still looks wet, continue cooking and stirring until they are completely dry. Then set aside to cool down.
Crepes in beef wellington
The purpose for crepes in beef wellington is to soak up the excess beef juices so that the pastry stays dry. The crepes are very simple, just water, milk, and eggs. You will want to use a non stick pan that is slightly larger than your beef.
Wrapping stages in beef wellington
There are a few layers to wrapping a beef wellington and these steps are extremely important.
- Lay down a large sheet of plastic wrap
- Crepe layer
- This uses two large crepes or enough to cover the beef.
- Prosciutto layer
- Mushroom duxelles layer
- The mushroom duxelles layer needs to be as even as possible and cover all of the prosciutto
After the mushroom duxelles layer, add the beef and using the plastic wrap, roll up the beef into a tight roll. Place in the fridge and allow it to cool down 30 minutes and set.
After it is done cooling down in the fridge, wrap it up tightly in puff pastry and seal with egg wash. Make sure to seal the edges.
Beef Wellington
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs center cut beef tenderloin (9 inch)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 10 slices prosciutto
- 1 large sheet puff pastry
- 1 large egg
Mushroom duxelles
- 600 g cremini mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot
Crepes
- ½ cup flour
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup milk
Instructions
- Season your center cut beef tenderloin with salt and sear over high heat on each side.2-3 lbs center cut beef tenderloin, 1 tbsp salt
- Brush with mustard then wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge to rest.1 tbsp mustard
- Cut mushrooms, garlic, and shallots into a really fine dice.600 g cremini mushrooms, 4 cloves garlic, 1 shallot
- Cook mushrooms, garlic, and shallots in a pan with olive oil until dry and there is no more moisture. It should look like dry ground beef. Set aside to cool
- Mix together crepe ingredients then add ½ cup of batter into a medium heat non stick pan and cook for 1-2 minutes each side.½ cup flour, 1 large egg, ¾ cup milk
- Lay down our crepes over plastic wrap.
- Layer proscuitto on top of the crepes.10 slices prosciutto
- Pack on an even layer of the mushroom duxelles.
- Add the beef tenderloin, and with the help of the plastic wrap, roll it up making sure it stays tight. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to set.
- Roll out your large sheet or puff pastry. You will need enough to completely enclose the wellington in the fridge.1 large sheet puff pastry
- Place the wellington in the middle of the puff pastry and begin to roll, keeping it tight.
- Brush the edge with egg wash to seal together all sides and cut off any excess pastry.1 large egg
- Brush with egg wash, top with salt and bake at 420F for 30-45 minutes.
- Allow it to rest at least 1 hour before cutting into it.
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