Beef Wellington is a classic Christmas recipe. But does it have to be Christmas to make this dish? Certainly not in our opinion. Because what a delicious recipe it is!
What is Beef Wellington?
Beef Wellington is a cylindrical shape consisting of a crispy, golden brown puff pastry crust topped with a pinch of sea salt. The inside consists of several layers with a piece of meat.
The first layer you encounter when you cut the dough are the slices of prosciutto. Then you come across a mixture of mushrooms. Underneath is the tenderloin that is rubbed with mustard and pâté.
Het vlees
The meat that we use is tenderloin. In this recipe we will cook a kilo. We cut off the thin piece (used for tenderloin tips) because a whole tenderloin weighs much more than a kilo. We used the rest, which refers to the filet mignon and chateaubriand.
A tenderloin is a fairly lean piece of meat. It contains little fat and therefore has a slightly less pronounced flavor than, for example, sirloin steak, which does contain a lot of fat. On the other hand, a tenderloin is incredibly tender and that is perfectly reflected in this recipe.
We add flavor to the meat by first smearing it with mustard. Then we grease it with fresh pâté. In addition, we make a mixture of mushrooms that also gives off a lot of flavor.
The mushroom mixture
We make a thick, tasty mixture from the mushrooms. We use a mix of both white and chestnut mushrooms, but that can also be shiitake and portobello mushrooms.
Here we add shallots, thyme and garlic. The purpose of the mixture is that it dries out. The mushrooms are first fried in butter to release the moisture. Then this moisture evaporates and the other ingredients are added. Then we deglaze it with cognac for an even more luscious taste.
Finally, we add a dash of cooking cream so that the mixture binds and a thick paste is created.
The patterns
You often see different types of Beef Wellington in beautiful patterns. Let your creativity run wild and make something beautiful out of it. We carved a diamond pattern into the dough with a small sharp knife.
Beef Wellington with tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 kg tenderloin
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 400 gr mixed mushrooms such as white and chestnut
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 2 tsp thyme finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 80 ml cognac
- a dash of cooking cream
- 10 slices prosciutto
- 70 gr pate
- 375 gr puff pastry
- 2 egg yolks
- sea salt
- olive oil
Instructions
- Let the tenderloin reach room temperature an hour in advance.
- Heat a dash of olive oil in a (cast iron) frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Bake the meat for 6-8 minutes until it is nicely browned all over. Stir regularly.
- Place the tenderloin on a plate and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Smear it with the dijon mustard and then put it in the fridge.
- Meanwhile, place the mushrooms in a food processor and grind everything finely. Make sure they retain some texture.
- Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat until it foams. Then add the mushrooms and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Fry the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes, while stirring, until they begin to lose their moisture. Then bake them for another 4-5 minutes until the moisture starts to evaporate and they start to brown.
- Then add the shallots, thyme and garlic and cook this mixture for 2-3 minutes until everything starts to soften.
- Then add the cognac and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Put a dash of cooking cream in the pan and let it simmer until the mixture starts to dry out.
- Put the mixture in a bowl and let it cool in the fridge.
- Place a piece of baking paper on the work surface. Arrange the prosciutto slices in a rectangle. Let the slices overlap. Make a rectangle the length of the tenderloin and large enough to completely enclose the tenderloin. Spread the mushroom mixture over the prosciutto rectangle.
- Remove the tenderloin from the refrigerator and coat it with the pâté.
- Place the tenderloin on top of the rectangle. Then roll it until it’s completely covered. You can use parchment paper for this. Make sure that the meat is completely enclosed.
- Then remove the baking paper and wrap the whole thing with plastic or aluminum foil. Then put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Roll out the puff pastry and make a square of about 30x40cm. Most fresh rolls of puff pastry are 40x24cm and that’s fine too. Mix the egg yolk with a spoonful of water in a bowl.
- Place the wrapped tenderloin on the long side of the puff pastry. Brush the edges of the dough with the egg yolk. Then roll the thing into a cylinder shape and place the roll on the seam side on the baking paper. Pinch the ends of the dough together and cut off the excess dough.
- Coat the roll completely with the egg yolk. Then you can work different patterns into the dough with a small sharp knife. Then put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 210 °C. Sprinkle the dough with some sea salt and bake it for 20 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare. The puff pastry should turn golden brown.
- Then let it rest for 10 minutes. Cut it into slices and enjoy.
