Tips for making Beef Wellington?

Hi, Folks. I’m planning on making my first beef Wellington this weekend. I’m seeking tips and favorite recipes, tweaks, etc. TIA! [cheers.gif]

I’ve made it a couple times (most recently at Christmas) and it is surprisingly easier than it would seem. I’m sure you’ve noticed already that most recipes are very similar.

My tips/tweaks

  • I used a mix of shiitake and button mushrooms with some shallots and thyme for the duxelles.
  • Make sure you tie the tenderloin when you sear it so it holds its shape better
  • You will likely need 2 sheets of puff pastry depending on how big your tenderloin is.
  • I was planning on taking it out at 135, but it missed it and ended up being 142 by the time it came out… and it was still plenty pink and juicy. Even after 30 minutes rest it still had lots of juices run out and the bottom of the crust ended up a bit soggy.

To me, the secret is in the sauce. I used Gordon Ramsey’s red wine sauce once and it was just OK. I tried the Tyler Florence green peppercorn sauce the last time and it was a little over-powering. I do think a sauce similar to Ramsey’s is the “right” sauce foe the dish - just a matter of finding a better one.

Forgot the picture
wellington2.jpg

Awesome…thanks, Ryan.

Follow-up question: could I theoretically make this a bit ahead of time? Sear, cool completely, assemble fully, back in fridge overnight, then bake the evening of?

Yes, that’s how I did it and it turned out great. I’d almost say it’s better to wrap it in puff pastry and then tightly in cling film the night before to let it set nicely. It also gives the puff pastry more time to cook without worrying about over cooking the beef.

I had it done up to the point before wrapping it in puff pastry and done in the fridge for several hours. You need to wrap it in cling film up to that point anyway to get the prosciutto and duxelles wrapped on the beef. I don’t see why you couldn’t take it a step further if you wanted to.

Thanks, Guys.

More questions: I am curious about at what temperature to pull this from the oven to rest. I’m doing two roughly 2.5-3 lb roasts. There is a contingency in this group that prefers rare beef, and one that would be more medium-rare to medium (gasp!). At what temperatures would you pull them separately to achieve those donenesses?

If you’re doing that size roast I think you’ll find that when the center gets to rare to medium rare the slides on the ends will be more well done.

This!

(Or, just don’t invite those “medium” weirdos.)

This forum is so awesome…I have a total jones to make Beef Wellington now! [cheers.gif]

Well, the Beef Wellington turned out pretty well. Next time, though, I’ll account for more carry-over after being pulled from the oven. I think the crust does more to lock in heat and continue cooking than I anticipated, as we pulled them at the right temperature, but they were still overdone. I made the same Ramsey red wine sauce referenced above, but it wasn’t very good until I finished it with some butter, and only after uber-reducing. The NY Times recipe was good. It was mushroom-based, not pate.

What temp did you end up taking it out at? Like I said, I missed it slightly on the temp… but maybe unanticipated carry over was just as much of a factor - I had not considered that.

Where’s the pic?

And don’t say I didn’t warn you on the sauce!

I just thought of this, so stick with me, I’m still working out the details:

Weef Bellington

You did, you did, but I couldn’t find anything else that piqued my interest!

I pulled them at 120.

I did one tonight for the first time, took forever to prep and cook. Never doing this on a work night again. We didn’t eat until 8pm. That’s our bed-time! Came out OK. Had to slice it too soon due to the time or perhaps the color would have been more even. Pulled it @125° as Dava prefers Medium.
Sauce was a simple reduction of red wine, Marsala, chix and beef stock, Thyme, S&P.

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