I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I've never had beef wellington before. Its not something that I choose when dining out and it always seemed to fussy and fancy for at home. Content was I to believe this until Madam Chow of Madam Chow's Kitchen chose Beef Wellington for our June Recipes to Rival challenge.
We were able to choose whatever protein we wanted to use for the challenge. I would have preferred to use beef since the dish is in fact called Beef Wellington. However, I had a perfectly sized bacon wrapped pork tenderloin medallion for an individual portion. But soon I would love to try with beef.
I was surprised at how quickly it came together. I seared the meat ahead of time and let in chill out in the fridge until it was time to cook. The duxelles were also prepared ahead of time and joined the pork in the fridge. As soon as the puff pastry was thawed, I rolled it out and assembled everything. Because I chose to do a single serving, it only took a portion of the time to bake. As I was doing this at almost the last minute I was happy it came together and baked quickly.
I can definitely see how this would be a show stopper of an entree for a meal. While the pork was okay, the beef would have been spectacular. I'm a sucker for puff pastry and definitely loved it this time. My duxelles were a big surprise hit with myself. I could have eaten just the duxelles with the puff pastry and been quite happy. I don't like mushrooms at all (its hard to make myself eat fungus) but recently I've tried shitake mushrooms and liked them more than other mushrooms because of their meatier texture. I'm still not a huge mushroom fan by any means but shitake's are infinitely more tolerable than the rest.
More than likely this will be a repeat recipe for me. Next time I will use beef and I'm sure I will love it. Sorry pork! You were just a little too bland for me!
Check out the Recipes to Rival blogroll for more Beef Wellington!
Beef Wellington
For the Duxelles:
3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms (I used shitake mushrooms)
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Beef:
1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed (I used a pork tenderloin medallion)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen (follow directions on the package)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces mousse pate, available in specialty cheese and appetizer cases of larger markets (optional)
Directions
To make the Duxelles:
Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool completely.
To prepare the beef:
Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes.
Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool completely.
I made the duxelles and seared the tenderloin about 10 hours in advance, and refrigerated both of them. It is important that these items are cold because you will be working with puff pastry, and if they're warm, they may cause the dough to melt before you get it in the oven.
About an hour before you plan to serve the Beef Wellington,preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together.
Spread the duxelles mixture down in a column down the middle of the rolled out puff pastry. Thinly slice the mousse and cover the duxelles with it - every square millimeter doesn't have to be covered, but you're trying to make sure that every serving gets beef, duxelle, and mousse.
Remove beef from refrigerator. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and brush all the edges of the pastry with egg wash. Fold the longer sides over the beef, and seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.
Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F (rare) on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into 3/4-inch thick slices.
Beef Wellington
For the Duxelles:
3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms (I used shitake mushrooms)
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Beef:
1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed (I used a pork tenderloin medallion)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen (follow directions on the package)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces mousse pate, available in specialty cheese and appetizer cases of larger markets (optional)
Directions
To make the Duxelles:
Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool completely.
To prepare the beef:
Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes.
Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool completely.
I made the duxelles and seared the tenderloin about 10 hours in advance, and refrigerated both of them. It is important that these items are cold because you will be working with puff pastry, and if they're warm, they may cause the dough to melt before you get it in the oven.
About an hour before you plan to serve the Beef Wellington,preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together.
Spread the duxelles mixture down in a column down the middle of the rolled out puff pastry. Thinly slice the mousse and cover the duxelles with it - every square millimeter doesn't have to be covered, but you're trying to make sure that every serving gets beef, duxelle, and mousse.
Remove beef from refrigerator. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and brush all the edges of the pastry with egg wash. Fold the longer sides over the beef, and seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.
Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F (rare) on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into 3/4-inch thick slices.
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6 Treats for Charlie:
Good for you, going out of your comfort zone with the mushrooms. It was an amazing treat, wasnt it?
We love mushrooms. I've done duxelles before and really enjoyed. I really need to try it like this ... for our once a year beef ;)
You did a really nice job with this challenge. It looks lovely and I know it was fantastically flavorful. Kudos kiddo.
You did a wonderful job with this challenge. Kudos.
Glad you liked the mushrooms. I'm not a fan of beef, but I have to tell you that the flavor was perfect with the mushrooms, puff pastry, etc., so if you thought this was decent, you will love it with beef.
I, too, have never made Beef Wellinton. You are an inspiration. That looks delicious.
Guess I will have to try.
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