Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumHomemade Individual Serving Beef Wellington Recipe
Last year around this time we did a video about making blitz puff pastry. The thumbnail for that video was a beef wellington that we had made, but we haven't done a video on the wellingtons until today. So here it is! We made a couple of small errors on this. We rolled the dough very slightly too thin, and they could have used just a tiny bit more time in the oven to get a more uniform browning, but they were still crispy and flaky and really delicious.
The real trick here is the Duxelles: The mushroom/onion/shallot combination that is cooked down to a paste. Most people undercook this part. You really want to cook it down a lot. This is your chance to add a lot of very concentrated mushroom flavour. You don't even have to use fancy mushrooms like porcini or morels to get a really intense earthy mushroom flavour from this dish. Regular button mushrooms or cremini will work just fine. And of course we always recommend deglazing your mushrooms with a little splash of cognac or vermouth for a more nuanced flavour. The foie gras is just adding an intense richness to the overall recipe.
viva la
(3,315 posts)I might try a trial run on the duxelles so as not to waste the expensive beef.
Also, you can make the duxelles and set it aside, even overnight if you want. You really want to cook it down until all of the liquid has reduced from the mushrooms and onion/shallot, and it becomes a paste. If you feel like it needs more time to cook and it has already run out of liquid, you can add just a couple tablespoons of water to the hot pan to let them cook a little longer, and then let that water cook away.
stevil
(1,537 posts)I was actually looking for this exact recipe this morning! Perfect. Love your videos.
Yeah, we realized we did the puff recipe, and then never followed through with the actual wellingtons.
Bev54
(10,066 posts)Saviolo
(3,282 posts)In this case, it's a 425F oven for about 15 minutes, depending on the size of your wellington. If you want the outside a little darker, it can go a little longer, but the beef might end up a little more done.
leighbythesea2
(1,200 posts)Am thinking of trying wellington for xmas this year.
Saviolo
(3,282 posts)Hope it turns out well for you! It's a ridiculous dish, but it sure is tasty!
ProfessorGAC
(65,136 posts)And, to further simplify, I used crescent roll sheets.
I took 2 filets, & put them in a very hot pan after the duxelle was done. I just seared the surface and cut 1/4 inch slices.
Put them in the oven until the crescent roll dough was golden brown.
Really worked well. Meat cooked to medium to medium well and was so tender we didn't need a steak knife.
I'd definitely do it again!
The dough takes way longer to cook than what the can calls for because all the mass absorbing heat.
I served it with a red wine & butter, and garlic sauce, with a pinch of flour to help prevent the sauce breaking.
Sides were steamed asparagus & mandolin sliced garlic & parmesan potatoes.
Saviolo
(3,282 posts)These were store bought sheets of puff, and they came out just fine. As I think I said in the video, maybe we rolled them out a tiny bit too thin.
I actually made my first ever attempt at making croissant from scratch a couple of weeks ago, and it turned out really nice! Mistakes were made, I didn't quite get it right, but they were tasty and buttery and crispy, so not bad for a first attempt.
ProfessorGAC
(65,136 posts)Kudos to you on making your own rolls. I don't see my doing that.
I started being a pretend chef after I retired. I'm big on seasoning (assertively) & sauces. Also, presentation gives me a kick. But, I don't follow recipes, so baking would be disastrous for me.
However, my wife & I are considering the Wellington thing again, using the bread machine to make a sweet-ish dough, so all we need to do is roll it thin & wrap the meat & duxelle.
But, the crescent sheets worked so well, I'm hesitant.