Resolution #1 — post more.
So, here we go. This was our stay at home, New Year’s Eve meal. Yep, instead of going out, we opted to stay in and eat a lot of beef. Mmmmm… I’ve wanted to make beef wellingtons for quite a while and finally, the time was right. Oh, was it right. Deliciously right.
In the original recipe, this was paired with a Madeira, beef demi-glace sauce but I just opted to use some tawny port that I already had and some beef broth. In a pinch, I would think you could also just use a cabernet in the sauce as well. Also, I heeded the advice of those on Epicurious who came before me and instead of pre-baking the beef (seriously?), I just seared it first in a pan. That was great advice and worked quite well.
The best thing about this recipe, though, is it’s make-ahead-ability. We came home from the store on Dec 30th and put the wellingtons together and kept them in the fridge until New Year’s Eve night. Tackling it that way, I’d think this would even be a great main course for a big dinner party. If you’re into sharing your beef wellingtons like that…
Beef Wellingtons with Gorgonzola & Mushrooms
Adapted from Gourmet magazine
2 center-cut beef tenderloins or filet mignons to the fancy-pants (about 6-8 ounces each)
1 tbsp canola oil
4 large mushrooms (about 1/4 pound total)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot
1 tbsp tawny port
1 clove minced garlic
1 large egg
1 puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry), thawed
2 tbsp Gorgonzola cheese
Heat the tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet and get it really hot. Salt and pepper each piece of meat and sear the steaks about 60-90 seconds on each side (salt and pepper the other side before turning over). Remove from the pan and let cool down a bit.
Thinly slice the mushrooms for the beef wellington and in a heavy skillet cook in butter with shallot, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, until mushrooms are lightly browned. Add the port and stir until it has mostly evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl to cool completely. In a small bowl lightly beat egg to make an egg wash.
On a lightly floured surface roll out puff pastry sheet into a square. Cut in half and roll out a bit more as needed to make it big enough to fit each tenderloin.
Put a nice layer of mushroom mixture and about 1 tablespoon Gorgonzola in center of each square. Top mushroom mixture with a piece of beef, pressing it down gently, and wrap 2 opposite corners of puff pastry over the beef, overlapping them. Seal seam with egg wash or just dip your finger in a little water and seal that way.
Wrap remaining 2 corners of pastry over the beef and seal in same manner. Seal any gaps with egg wash and press pastry around the beefy goodness to enclose completely. Chances are, this will not work out exactly as described. There will be some wrapping and then perhaps a pause for a few sketches, calculations or whatnot and more wrapping and eventually, you will end up with a nicely enclosed beef wellington. Hang in there, it’ll happen.
Use any leftover pastry scraps and cookie cutter (or just mad knife skillz) to decorate the top. jwa made a giant eyeball on his.
Wrap up the beef wellingtons for chilling. I set them on a plate that I had lightly floured and covered with plastic wrap. Chill at least one hour and up to one day. Like I mentioned in the intro, we did these the day before and that worked really well.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees with your baking sheet in the oven. When you are ready to bake the wellingtons, arrange them, seam side down, on the hot baking sheet. Brush top and sides of each beef Wellington with some egg wash (you can save your leftover egg wash from the day before) and bake 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden. Twenty minutes should yield beef that is medium rare. You will have to adjust this time based on your doneness preference and the size of your wellington. If in doubt, medium rare is 145 degrees, just give it a quick check with the meat thermometer.
For sauce
5 mushrooms (button or crimini)
1 shallot, diced
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup Madeira (you can also use plain red wine here or a port)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leave
To make the sauce (and this is doable the day before too), heat a pan with a little oil. If you are super smart, you can make the sauce in the same pan that you seared the beef in. Alas, I did not think of this at the time. I am sad.
Anyway, saute the shallot and mushrooms until soft and add the wine of your choice to deglaze the pan. Next add the broth and reduce by about half, 15-20 minutes. Stir in the thyme; salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate (if you are making this ahead of time) and reheat with the beef as needed.
Other Optional Condiment
1 tbsp horseradish
1 cup Greek yogurt (regular yogurt will work too — the Greek kind is just extra creamy)
Mix and serve on the side. The sauce was very tasty but I think the horseradish-yogurt was my favorite. What else did we have on the side? Well, scalloped potatoes and braised Brussels sprouts. Then we retired to the couch and rang in the New Year with some season one Buffy.
Yum! I had beef wellington once at a restaurant and didn’t care for it. This sounds easy, I’d try this. We stayed home and ate beef on new years too 🙂
Oh YUM! I am speechless. Edie
OHMYGOD, I am so making this. Thanks for sharing!
The beef wellington looks fantastic. It is one of those dishes that I would only eat if I or a trusted friend made it. To much room for short cuts and hiding unsavory bits in it!
ok, you love buffy and aqua teen. you’re just too awesome in my book. oh, and the beef wellington looks reeeeeally good.
So sinful.
Thanks for the post! I’ve always wanted to make beef wellington. Your photos and clear directions gave me the courage to give it a try. It was a hit at my little dinner party this weekend.