The holidays are a time for all the special dishes, and in our home, it wouldn’t be Christmas without Beef Wellington.
While this isn’t a grilling recipe, it is still a cut of meat that takes a lot of skill to make. Whether you make it for Christmas or maybe save it for New Year’s, we guarantee this dish is one you won’t regret making.
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What is Beef Wellington?
Beef Wellington is originally a British steak dish that was made popular by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey. The dish is comprised of an entire filet mignon wrapped in parma ham, mushrooms, and a puff pastry.
Because you won’t be able to see the steak as it cooks, following a recipe for this dish is a must. We’ve taken years to perfect the recipe below, and we hope it can help you make a delicious Beef Wellington.
How to Make Beef Wellington
Ready to try your hand at making a Beef Wellington? You’ll need to start by visiting your butcher, as this isn’t a cut of meat you can get in stores.
Ingredients
- An entire filet mignon (or around 1.7-2 lbs total) ask the butcher to save the trimmings they usually remove as they take the meat out of the cow. These will be used for the sauce.
- Olive oil
- Mushrooms (2 500g packages or a pound will do)
- Thyme sprigs
- 1 package of puff pastry dough (try to find the one that is complete, but in a jam you can press shaped puff pastry dough together to make one big slab.
- 2 egg yolks
- Water
- Salt
- Pepper
- Foie Gras (one small container will do)
- Parma ham (8 slices or more)
- 4 Shallots
- Whole peppercorns
- Bay leaves
- Red wine vinegar
- 1 Bottle of red wine
- Beef stock
Step 1: Prep the Meat
The night before you plan to make Beef Wellington remove the filet mignon from the butcher wrap and wrap it in saran wrap. You will want to wrap it tightly, with multiple layers, so it will hold its shape. Leave it in the fridge like this overnight.
Step 2: Brown the Meat
Remove the meat from the saran wrap and rub it generously with salt and pepper.
Place a small amount of olive oil in a pan on high heat and sear the filet for 30-60 seconds until all sides are brown. Set the meat aside.
Step 3: Make a Duxelle
Chop the mushrooms as finely as possible and place them in a pan to fry with olive oil, thyme, and salt and pepper. You’ll saute the mushrooms until they release all their juices. This takes about 10 minutes.
Set the mushrooms aside to cool.
Step 4: Roll Out the Dough
Take the puff pastry dough out of the freezer and allow it 10 minutes to come to room temperature. Roll it out on a sheet of baking paper and then put it back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Prep the Wrap
Lay saran wrap on a flat surface and lay out your ham in a rectangular shape. You want the ham rectangle to be enough to cover all surfaces of the meat. This takes a little guesswork and adjusting.
Step 6: Foie Gras
Use a knife and spoon to gently coat the ham rectangle with a layer of foie gras.
Step 7: Mushrooms
Cover the ham and foie gras entirely with the cooled mushroom duxelle you made in step 3.
Step 8: Roll the Meat
Place the meat in the middle of the ham/mushroom/foie gras rectangle and use the cling wrap to help you roll it into a log shape. Allow the cling wrap to adhere to itself to make a tight casing for the meat. Use an extra layer of cling wrap if needed.
Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 9: Prepare the Pastry
Brush the pastry with egg wash(2 egg yolks with a little water and salt). Pull out the meat log and have a friend help you roll the meat log, ensuring it is covered on all sides with puff pastry.
Brush the resulting puff pastry log with more egg wash, then wrap it in cling film a second time and allow it to chill for 30 more minutes.
Step 10: Make the Sauce
Fry the beef trimmings in a pan with a little olive oil. Add in the shallots and all of the spices. Cook for 5 minutes.
Next, pour in the vinegar and let it bubble off. Then pour in the entire bottle of wine and allow it to reduce. Once you’ve got a wine sludge, add in the beef broth and bring the sauce to a boil. You will want to let it simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently.
Step 11: Put the Meat in the Oven
While the sauce is simmering, pull the Beef Wellington out of the fridge and gently score the pastry. Brush it with egg wash a second time and put it in an oven preheated to 400°F.
Step 12: Watch
Allow the meat to cook for at least 15 minutes, but you’ll want to wait until the pastry is lightly browned before you remove it from the oven. We find this takes closer to 25 minutes.
Step 13: Rest
Remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before you slice it. During this time, strain the sauce and put it in ramekins on each plate for dipping.
Step 14: Slice and Serve
Once the 10 minutes are up, slice and serve your Beef Wellington!
Beef Wellington Expert Tips and Variations
- You can omit the foie gras if it is not your thing. You can also add extra foie gras to the surface of the meat before you wrap it if you love foie gras.
- Don’t be scared to overcook the mushrooms. Undercooking them is far more dangerous as they will release their juices in the oven and cause your pastry to fall apart.
- If you don’t want to do all of this on the day of your event, you can do everything up to step 9 the day before. Beef Wellington can last one night in the fridge wrapped like this.
How to Serve Beef Wellington
Beef Wellington is an astounding dish all on its own, but we do recommend offering a vegetable or a salad as a side. If you are feeling really up to a challenge, the sauce for the Wellington can also be an amazing sauce for homemade mashed potatoes.
How to Store Beef Wellington
Unfortunately, Beef Wellington does not save, which is why we always eat it on holidays when there are enough people to ensure it is fully consumed. The extra sauce, however, does save and can be left in an airtight container in your fridge for a week for use with other meat dishes or mashed potatoes.
Beef Wellington FAQ
How Do I Stop My Beef Wellington Having a Soggy Bottom?
The soggy bottom is likely a result of undercooked mushrooms. Ensure you cook all the moisture possible from your mushrooms to prevent this from happening.
How Do You Keep a Beef Wellington From Overcooking?
The best way to prevent a Beef Wellington from overcooking is to ensure you follow all the steps. These cooling periods might seem odd, but it results in a delicious medium or medium rare wellington.
How Do You Make Beef Wellington Crispy?
The egg wash is the secret ingredient to a crispy Wellington. Don’t skip it, and ensure you add enough on all sides to help seal in the juices (also, ensure you cook your mushrooms fully!)
Beef Wellington
Ingredients
- An entire filet mignon or around 1.7-2 lbs total ask the butcher to save the trimmings they usually remove as they take the meat out of the cow. These will be used for the sauce.
- Olive oil
- Mushrooms 2 500g packages or a pound will do
- 2 Thyme sprigs
- 1 package of puff pastry dough (try to find the one that is complete but in a jam you can press shaped puff pastry dough together to make one big slab.
- 2 egg yolks
- Water
- Salt
- Pepper
- Foie Gras one small container will do
- Parma ham 8 slices or more
- 4 Shallots
- 12 Whole peppercorns
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 Tablespoons Red wine vinegar
- 1 Bottle of red wine
- 3 Cups of Beef stock
Instructions
- Wrap the beef filet in cling wrap and leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Lightly brown the meat in a pan for 30-60 seconds. Set aside to cool.
- Saute the finely chopped mushrooms until all the water has evaporated.
- Roll out the puff pastry dough and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Lay out cling wrap and line it with ham in a rectangular shape.
- Spread foie gras across the surface of the ham.
- Cover the foie gras with a thin layer of mushrooms.
- Place the meat in the middle of the rectangle and roll it into a log shape.
- Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Brush the pastry with egg wash, then roll the meat up in the puff pastry.
- Brush with egg wash a second time, then roll in cling film and allow to cool for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Saute the beef trimmings, shallots, and spices in a pan.
- Add the red wine vinegar and allow it to bubble off, then add all the wine.
- Reduce the wine, then add beef broth and allow to simmer for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Brush the pastry with egg wash a third time and place in the oven.
- Cook for 15-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
- Rest the meat for 10 minutes.
- Strain the sauce, slice the meat, and serve.
Notes
- You can omit the foie gras if it is not your thing. You can also add extra foie gras to the surface of the meat before you wrap it if you love foie gras.
- Don’t be scared to overcook the mushrooms. Undercooking them is far more dangerous as they will release their juices in the oven and cause your pastry to fall apart.
- If you don’t want to do all of this on the day of your event, you can do everything up to step 9 the day before. Beef Wellington can last one night in the fridge wrapped like this.
