How to make Beef Wellington
83Beef Wellington Recipe
If you feel the need for an impressive, albeit expensive meal, perhaps to impress someone, or just plain indulge yourself for once, this recipe has to be top of my list. The English like to claim this recipe as their own, but the French also have a claim, calling it, “Boeuf en croute.” Either way, I like to think of this as the first “fusion” recipe, because I can see how the two culinary cultures combined for this. So, I am giving equal credit to England and France.
Some people have trouble making pastry, so I am going to let that slide for once. If you don’t enjoy making pastry, go ahead and buy some ready-made. That’s something you will rarely hear from me, but I totally understand because pastry making needs a large flat surface to work on and many kitchens just don’t have enough room, mine included. Just make certain it’s flaky pastry.
This recipe is enough to get the average vegetarian fuming. It’s all about the meat. Meat, meat, meat, and then some more meat. I love it and it’s always a party favorite. It will take about a tenth of the time you think, the only proviso is that you will need to do a fair amount of prep work. Having said that, it’s still an easy recipe. First thing to do is pop down the bank and ask for a mortgage, you are going to need at least 2 pounds of beef fillet and some foie gras pate. One way of reducing the cost of the meal is to use a different pate, but my thinking has always been that if you are going to this much trouble and spending the money on a big piece of fillet, you might as well go the whole hog. Just writing this one is making my mouth water. Some chefs will tell you to make individual beef Wellingtons, but my advice? Forget it. This recipe is best done on a large scale. Minimum four servings because it is almost impossible to cook a small piece of beef properly. This will serve 6.
Essential tools
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John Boos 18-Inch Square Chinese Chopping Block, Maple
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Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned 15 Inch Cast-Iron Skillet
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You will need:
Equipment:- A skillet
- A sharp knife
- A cutting board
- A roasting tin
- A saucepan
- A wooden spoon
- 8 oz plain flour
- 5 oz margarine
- cold water
- 2 lb beef fillet
- ¼ lb foie gras pate
- 1 lb cep mushrooms
- 1 medium onion
- 2 oz butter
- splash of brandy
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
First, make the pastry and place in a plastic bag in the fridge until needed. Pre heat the oven to 375F. Now, take the fillet and trim any excess fat or gristle off. Keep the pieces, we will use them in the gravy. Put the skillet over a medium heat and add a little butter. While the skillet is heating, rub the fillet with a little brandy, then butter then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Now place the meat in the skillet and fry the outside quickly until brown. Now, put the skillet in the oven and cook the meat for 30 minutes.
While the meat is cooking, chop the onion and mushrooms. Finely. Very finely. Really, really finely. Put a knob of butter in a saucepan and add the onion. Fry for about 5 minutes until it is going soft. Add the mushrooms and cook on a low heat for about 15 minutes. We do not want any moisture left, so if there is any after 15 minutes, pour into a bowl and keep for the gravy. Put the mushrooms and onion in another bowl and mix with the pate. Put aside.
When the meat is finished cooking, remove from the oven and place on a baking rack to cool. When the meat is cool, take the pastry out of the fridge and lay out on a chopping board sprinkled with flour. In the middle of the pastry, spread out half the mushroom and foie gras pate mix. Place the fillet on top. Spread the rest of the foie gras over the beef. Now fold the pastry over and seal the edges with a little beaten egg. Brush the pastry with the rest of the egg and place on a baking tray. Put back in the oven and cook for another 30 minutes. Beef Wellington should be served rare, but the ends will be more well-done, so there should be something for everyone. If your guests prefer well-done beef, the extra cooking should be done the first time in the oven.
I often see Beef Wellington served in pretentious restaurants with lightweight vegetables like wilted lettuce. (see photo) My response to that is , NO, NO, NO. This should be served with roast potatoes, green beans, carrots and sprouts; a red wine gravy and a heavy red wine. Nothing else will do. When the Wellington is ready, cut into thick slices at the table. Not only does this recipe taste great and smell great, it looks good too and is an impressive sight on the table. Bon Apetit!
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Comments
I have never eaten this, now I am inspired.
My wife makes individual mini-Wellingtons with individual filets. This makes the dish cheaper to make. A ham pate also makes a nice topping instead foie Gras that helps to cheapen up the dish.
Thans for the commenst guys - enjoy.
Glenn - I am not sure what the point of making this cheaply is - there are plenty of alternative dishes that are less expensive - I would save money by making the pastry myself an using duck or chicken liver pate rather than ham - and I have always found buying a large piece of fillet cheaper than single steaks.
I am making this for my boyfriend and me tomorrow and if successful will unveil to the rest of my family. I have looked at countless recipies online and this looked the best - wish me luck!
You don't need luck :)
Follow the instructions and you will do just fine. Enjoy......
I have prepared this meal once and I must say that was MARVELOUS! If you haven't tried this, it's a must for a special occassion. I'm an amateur chef and I had no problem preparing this meal. I served with roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted asparagus with fresh grated parmigano cheese. I topped the Beef with green peppercorn sauce. I served chocolate mint cheesecake as dessert. The wine was Mirassou Pinot Noir chilled to 68 deg.
Thanks Mark!
I've been looking for a fairly detailed recipe for wellie. Thanks, I'll let you know how it turns out!
Thanks guys.
Hi, I read and re-read - when does the foie gras get added?
Scratch that - I re-read AGAIN! Can't wait to try this. It was the main course at a wedding in France a couple of weeks ago.
LOL - I should have been more clear - I will edit that to mushroom/foie gras mix :)
I will have more guests that enjoy their meat medium-well. Will I have better success if I do individual filets rather than one large tenderloin or should I just plan to pre-cook for longer. Mark, do you have a time suggestion or temperature suggestion for the pre-cook to yield medium or medium-well?
Thanks,
Teri - One large usually works better - but that means the interior is less well cooked. You will have to experiment - 30 minutes pre cooking at 375 should give to medium in the medium on the ends to medium/rare in the middle - but it depends on the actual size of the joint and the oven.
Better under than over and remember that the ends will be more well done.












Angela Harris says:
2 years ago
Ooh, this sounds divine. I have never attempted Beef Wellington. This may give me the confidence to attempt it.