Beef Wellington
I have only ever eaten this a few times, but as I love anything wrapped in pastry, it was something I had to make for myself and it is really not that difficult, it’s also one of those dishes that will impress any dinner guest because it looks just so damn good!
Despite it’s name, this showcase of a dish was not named after our famous duke who defeated that short arsed French bloke at Waterloo, no, he had already had a rubber boot named after him after all and it was actually mentioned in the Telegraph newspaper well before Wellington became famous! Meat baked in pastry was already a well established part of English cuisine and that the dish was very similar to the French filet de bœuf en croûte, which might imply that “Beef Wellington” was in fact a “timely patriotic rebranding of a trendy continental dish”! Anyway, there are no 19th century recipes for the dish although there is a mention of “fillet of beef, a la Wellington” in The Los Angeles Times of 1903, but the first occurrence of the dish itself is in the Oxford English Dictionary which cites a 1939 New York food guide with “Tenderloin of Beef Wellington” which is cooked, left to cool and rolled in a pie crust.
Clarissa Dickson Wright of that famous biker duo, “The Two Fat Ladies” argues that “This dish has nothing to do with that splendid hero, the Duke of Wellington, it was invented for a civic reception in Wellington, New Zealand, but it is a splendid addition to any party.”
And a splendid addition to any party it is!
It is a dish that blows your guests away but it is in fact so simple to cook.
The key ingredient to making this a very good recipe being a good quality filet of beef. You can make your own puff pastry if you want, but I also use shop bought which is also good.
I was watching Gordon Ramsey’s Christmas and just had to have a go! I use mushrooms and chestnuts for the filling, but you can seriously make this your own with your own filling.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 800g filet of beef , trimmed
- Splash of olive oil
- 2 large knobs of unsalted butter
- 250g chestnut or brown mushrooms
- 1 clove of garlic
- 200g cooked chestnuts
- Approx. 8 slices of cured prosciutto or serrano ham
- 1 splash Worcestershire sauce
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Dijon or English mustard
- 1 x 500 g block puff pastry
- 1 large free-range egg beaten with tbsp water
Preparation method:
You can start by wrapping the beef joint tightly in cling film so that it becomes a nice cylinder shape and put in the fridge to chill and form.
To make the duxelles or stuffing, finely chop the mushrooms with the garlic and chestnuts in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper then put into a large pan over a medium heat and dry fry. This will remove moisture from the mix which keeps it firmer and it won’t go all soggy later.
Set to one side and bring the meat out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit to room temp as you don’t want to be putting a cold lump of meat onto heat. You know when you get into a pool or the sea and the water is a bit cold, well, it has the same effect!
Once the meat has sat, season it all round with salt and black pepper. In a pan heat up some olive oil and brown off the meat, until it looks brown all over then remove from the pan. The oil and meat juices can be used to make a gravy. Let the meat cool down.
Measure out enough cling film to easily wrap up the joint of meat. On the cling film place the ham in strips making a skin for the meat to be wrapped in. On top of the ham spread out the duxelles and spread it evenly so that it would cover the joint of beef. Spread the cooled down beef with mustard, making sure it is nicely covered. I use Englsish or Dijon mustard, but you can use whatever mustard you like. Place the joint on the edge of the stuffing and ham and using the excess cling film , roll it up tight into a nice cylinder again and put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and allow to warm up a to room temperature. Place the beef Wellington onto some baking paper on a baking tray and score a pattern on the pastry. This is only for decoration, but looks great, then crack a large egg in a bowl, add a drop of water and whisk, then baste over the pastry to give a nice finish.
Preheat the oven to 210°C/425°F/gas 7 and bake until the pastry crust is nice and golden brown, about 25 or minutes or so. Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes then serve with your choice of veggies and potatoes and of course a nice gravy!
Enjoy!