Jay and I love to watch Hells Kitchen.  One thing they always make on the show is Beef Wellington.  Almost every episode, one of the chefs screws it up and Gordon Ramsay yells, “It’s RAW!”.  Jay now has Beef Wellington engrained in his brain.  I asked him what he wanted to eat this week, and the first thing that came out of his mouth was “BEEF WELLINGTON!”. I was scared to make it, being that I very rarely cook steak, and never cook mushrooms (not really a fan).  But I was game!

I looked up a few recipes, and decided on modifying the The Ultimate Beef Wellington by Tyler Florence, since it had really good reviews. I didn’t make all the sides that came with it though.  I also made my own Madeira Wine Sauce instead of the Green Peppercorn sauce.  Here are the recipes!

Duxelle Process

Beef Wellington

serves 4 (ish), time needed: 1 hour prep, 45 min cook

Ingredients

For the Duxelles (mushroom filling):

• 2 pints baby bella mushrooms (or white button mushrooms)
• 1 1/2  shallots, peeled and roughly chopped (save other half for sauce)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Beef:

• 1 (2-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed (I cut the 2 lb filet in half and made 2 separate 1 lb Wellingtons)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 thin slices prosciutto
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Flour (if needed, for rolling out puff pastry)
• 1 box of frozen puff pastry, defrosted
• 1 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions

To make the Duxelles: Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and parsley 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.

To prepare the beef: Drizzle with beef 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 evenly with a thin layer of duxelles.  When the beef is seared, remove from heat 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, unwrap the puff pastry. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together (or in my case, I made 2 separate wellingtons, using 1 sheet of pastry for each). 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 (make Maderia sauce at this time while it bakes) until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on a thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices. Serve atop Maderia Wine Sauce.

Madeira Wine Sauce

• 3  1/2 cups Beef Broth
• 1 cup Maderia Wine
• 1/2 a shallot, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp butter (softened)
• 2 tbsp flour

In medium sized sauce pan, add Broth, Wine, Shallot, and Parsley.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to high simmer.  Let it reduce by half (about 25 minutes).  In a small bowl, combine the flour and butter.  When sauce is reduced, strain to remove parsley and shallots.  Then place back in pan, and add the flour/butter mixture. Simmer for a few minutes until thickened.

Beef Process

The verdict…. AMAZING!  I was so freaked out the whole time I was making it.  I thought the steak would be bad, or I wouldn’t make the mushrooms correctly, or my prosciutto wrapping skills would be awful.  Now that I have made this once, I will be making it again for sure.  It’s not the easiest (or the cheapest) thing to make.  But it’s great for a treat a couple times a year.  After eating this, Jay said “We have to find a way for you to be a housewife forever.  I want to eat this every day!”

What is something you really want to make but intimidates you??