Beef Wellington

 

At some point last year, I started thinking of beef Wellington – namely, how I really wanted to eat some! But to me it’s more of a winter dish, and not the kind of thing I would eat on a Texan summer, so I waited until closer to the holidays (I am catching up on my blogging). Meanwhile, the Little Prince has started being *very* interested in cooking, and he’s watching a lot of YouTube videos starring Nick DiGiovanni (who, I’m told, trained with Gordon Ramsay). It just so happens that one of his most-watched videos is him making beef Wellington. So when I told the Little Prince that I wanted to make it, he was all in!

Honestly, my first thought was to make the version in Maya Angelou’s Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, because the story that accompanies it is great and had really stayed with me (you can read it in two parts starting here). That being said, when I read the recipe and compared it with Nick DiGiovanni’s, I had to admit that his just sounded like it would be way better, so that’s the direction we went. I didn’t make my own mustard because I have a life, I used store-bought chicken bouillon because it’s faster, and I made a few other adjustments here and there, but I really like the result! My only criticism of our version is that the duxelles was a bit too dry. And, well, the sauce was too salty and we don’t think it’s necessary, so I’d skip it next time. (And obviously, since this is both labor-intensive and expensive, I won’t be making it often. But maybe for Christmas?) I served it with carrots (you could try roasting carrots and just starting them in the oven prior to the beef Wellington.)

You can see the recipe ingredients in the description here, the short version of the video here, and compare to Gordon’s Ramsay’s written instructions here. Below is my interpretation.

For the beef
1.5-lb. beef tenderloin
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ cup Dijon mustard (my estimation of the quantity)
2 sheets puff pastry
6 slices prosciutto
2 egg yolks + water (for egg wash)
flaky salt, to taste
finely chopped chives (for garnish)

For the duxelles
1 lb. assorted mushrooms
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. red wine
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

For the crepes (or you can use your own trusted recipe) 1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 pinch of salt
3 cups lactose-free milk

For the sauce (see note above)
2 Tbsp. lactose-free butter
6 sprigs thyme
½ cup chopped shallots
1/3 cup red wine
1 ½ cups reduced chicken stock


For the beef tenderloin
Make sure your beef tenderloin is relatively cylindrical. (You can trim it, and use the trimmings in another recipe.) Liberally salt and pepper the beef tenderloin on all sides.

In a pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sear the beef tenderloin for a few minutes on each side. So here’s one place where we deviated: you want your beef to be just about done to your taste at this point, and we both felt like rare was too raw. We put our seared tenderloin in the oven at 475 °F for 15-20 minutes. We were aiming for medium and perhaps undershot a bit, I blame this on not having a Thermapen, but all this to say, once your beef is seared, feel free to cook it longer, because past this point in the recipe it won’t cook any more, just get warmed up a bit.

Once done, take it off the heat. Brush the beef tenderloin with Dijon mustard on all sides. Set aside.

For the duxelles
Finely chop the mushrooms. (I did this in the food processor.)

In a pan (I would use the same one as for the beef, without even washing it), heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sweat until they are translucent, but not browned.

Add the mushrooms and cook down; add the wine, bay leaves, and a generous amount of salt. Cook until the moisture has evaporated and you are left with a paste. (See, mine was perhaps a bit too dry and not pasty enough.) Set aside.

For the crepes
Mix together all the ingredients.

In a clean pan, melt some butter over low to medium heat. Cook your crepes, one at a time. You will probably need two for this recipe; the rest make a great breakfast.

On a work surface like a big cutting board, lay two crepes so that they overlap. Cover at least one crepe (the one furthest away from you) with the prosciutto, then spread out the duxelles over that. Place the beef tenderloin crosswise on the edge furthest away from you, then gently roll it toward you, keeping the crepe around it. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 °F.

Meanwhile, spread out your two sheets of puff pastry in the same fashion. Beat together the egg yolks and water to create an egg wash, then brush it over the puff pastry. Unwrap the log of crepe-wrapped beef, then place it crosswise on the side of the puff pastry that is the furthest away from you. Gently roll it forward, wrapping the pastry around it as you go, making sure you pinch the dough over the short ends as well. Trim away the excess pastry and place the roll seam-side down on a baking sheet (I covered mine with parchment paper). Brush the puff pastry with the rest of the egg wash (you can get fancy with the decoration of the dough here). If you are using it, you’ll want to make the sauce now (see below) so that it is ready by the time the beef Wellington is done.

Cook the beef Wellington for 15 to 20 minutes or until the puff pastry has a golden-brown crust.

For the sauce
Heat the butter in a small saucepan, then add the thyme and shallots. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallots turn golden brown. Add the wine and boil until almost completely reduced. Add the stock, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until you have the desired consistency. (I ended up making a slurry with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water and mixing that in to help things along.)

When everything is ready, slice the beef Wellington, sprinkle with flaky salt and chives, and serve with the sauce. (I also made carrots.)