This was my first attempt at Beef Wellington; I got rave reviews from all who ate it. It was surprisingly easy, as long as you are a little patience (ughh). Read all the way through to ensure you do not make the same mistakes I made.
I looked at tons of recipes for Beef Wellington, and decided to adapt my recipe from Gordon Ramsay's, I watched his video on you tube to see how he made it.
Here is my version of the recipe...
5-7 pound beef tenderloin
Salt & pepper
1 tbl vegetable oil
8 oz shitake mushrooms
10-12 thinly sliced prosciutto
English mustard for brushing meat
Pastry puff (I used 1 sheet from a Pepperidge Farm package)
2 egg yolks
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Trim your beef tenderloin of excess fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large pan and quickly sear the beef on all sides. Remove and allow to cool. Once fully cooled, brush generously with the English Mustard.
***Gordon made it a point to say NOT to use Grey Poupon. Now, I must admit, I had no idea what English mustard is, and I didn’t know if I would be able to buy it here, I mean come on, we don’t have specialty stores on every corner. I was prepared to go against the warnings and I was going to use the forbidden GP. Well, to my surprise I found English Mustard. The brand I found is Colemans, and it was a in a tiny jar, 3.5 ounces. The taste is very strong and has a bit of a horseradish taste to it, although there is no horseradish listed in the ingredient list. I only used ½ of the jar because I was afraid it would be too strong, but next time I will use the entire jar.
Roughly chop the mushrooms, then put them in the food processor to for a puree. Place the mix in a hot pan and allow the water to evaporate. When the mixture is sticking together nicely, set aside to cool.
Roll out a generous length of saran wrap, lay out the prosciutto, each slightly overlapping the last, and make it large enough to cover your tenderloin. With a pallet knife spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the prosciutto.
Place the tenderloin in the middle of the ham/mushroom, and keeping a tight hold on the saran wrap from the outside edge, neatly roll the prociutto ham and mushrooms over the beef into a tight barrel shape. Twist the ends to secure the saran wrap. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes, this allows the Wellington to set and helps keep the shape.
Roll out the pastry large enough to cover your beef. Unwrap the meat from from the saran wrap. Egg wash the edge of the pastry and place the beef in the middle. Roll up the pastry, cut any excess off the ends and fold neatly to the ‘underside’. Turn over and egg wash over the top. Chill again to let the pastry cool, approximately 5 minutes. Egg was again and cut decorative lines on the top of the puff pastry before baking for 30-40 minutes.
***Learn from my mistake and use a meat thermometer to cook the meat to the wellness you desire. I feel I overcooked the meat a little.
***One more thing, I would place on a roasting rack during the cooking process so the bottom of the Wellington will not be soggy.
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