I decided to make Beef Wellington for New Years Eve last
year. What was I thinking? A special meal and I put the extra pressure
on myself to make something that I had never made before. I’m not going to lie; this WAS a lot of
work. BUT, it was TOTALLY worth it! This was absolutely DELICIOUS and worth every
minute I took in the preparation. To be
honest, for the most part it wasn’t really difficult – just time
consuming. The part that I found the
most difficult was the final assembly.
This received rave reviews from our guests. Even the kiddo ate it – mushrooms and
all! That was a total surprise. I will definitely make this again – but it is
certainly a “special occasion” kind of meal.
This is Tyler Florence’s recipe for the Ultimate Beef Wellington. The link to his recipe is HERE. I opted to serve it with Bearnaise sauce as
opposed to his suggested Green Peppercorn Sauce.
Ingredients:
For the Duxelles –
3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button 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
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices prosciutto
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
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Minced chives, for garnish
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 sauté
pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and sauté
for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt
and pepper and set aside to cool.
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. Meanwhile set out your prosciutto
on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in
length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting
board. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to
encompass the entire filet of beef.
Using a rubber spatula cover the prosciutto 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 slightly, then roll up
in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and
tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass
the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it
completely and hold it in a nice log shape. Set in the refrigerator for 30
minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.
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. Remove beef from refrigerator and
cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the
longer sides, brushing with egg wash to 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.
Top with coarse sea salt. 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 on an instant-read thermometer.
Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick
slices.
