Beef Wellington
One of the most impressive dishes you'll ever make is a Beef Wellington. This traditional recipe is made with a flavorful beef tenderloin, coated with mushroom duxelles, wrapped in prosciutto and a puff pastry crust. The layers of flavor are incredible and the presentation is stunning!
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Ingredients
- 2 pound center-cut beef tenderloin, trimmed
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 pounds baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 shallot, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 12 thin slices prosciutto
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, for dusting
- 17.3 ounce package frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
Beef Tenderloin
- Season the beef tenderloin with 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 2 teaspoons ground black pepper on all sides.
- Coat the bottom of a cast iron, or heavy skillet, with the olive oil. Turn the heat on the stove to high.
- Once the pan is very hot, add the seasoned tenderloin to the skillet.
- Sear the tenderloin until browned on all sides, including the ends. This should take about 2 minutes per side, approximately 12 minutes total.
- Remove the tenderloin from the skillet and place on a cutting board.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then use a pastry brush to brush dijon mustard on all sides of the tenderloin, including the ends.
- Place the mustard-coated tenderloin in the refrigerator to cool.
Duxelles
- While the tenderloin is cooling, prepare the duxelles.
- Add the roughly chopped mushrooms, shallots, garlic and thyme leaves to a food processor. Depending on how large your food processor is, you might have to do this in 2-3 batches.
- Pulse the vegetables and herbs in the food processor until they’re very finely chopped, but before it becomes a paste.
- Add butter to a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Once the butter has melted, add the duxelles mixture from the food processor.
- Season with 1 teaspoon salt. This will help pull the liquid from the vegetables.
- Let the mixture simmer on the stove for at least 25-30 minutes, or until the liquid has cooked off and you’re left with a paste.
- The mixture should be stirred only occasionally during the 25-30 minutes.
- Once the duxelles has turned into a paste, remove it from the stove and transfer it from the skillet into a bowl.
- Place the bowl of duxelles in the refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes.
Beef Wellington
- Once the duxelles mixture is chilled to room temperature, or below, it’s time for the first step in assembling the beef wellington.
- Place two pieces of plastic wrap down on a work surface, overlapping so that it’s twice the length and width of the tenderloin.
- Lay the slices of prosciutto in two rows, slightly overlapping, in the middle of the plastic wrap.
- Spread the duxelles in an even layer over the prosciutto, leaving about a 1 inch edge around the prosciutto.
- Place the tenderloin at the bottom of the duxelles topped prosciutto.
- Roll the meat up in the duxelles and prosciutto, using the plastic wrap to help you tightly wrap it up along the way.
- Tuck in the ends of prosciutto as you roll it up.
- Once the tenderloin is fully wrapped in the prosciutto, wrap the entire thing up in the plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. This will help it maintain it’s shape.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Unroll the puff pastry dough onto a floured surface.
- If working with two sheets of dough, overlap them slightly in the middle. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle, that’s about 4 inches wider than the beef tenderloin.
- Remove the prosciutto wrapped tenderloin from the plastic wrap and place it about 2 inches from the bottom of the puff pastry dough, right in the middle, with about 2 inches on both sides.
- Whisk an egg in a small bowl, then brush the whisked egg on the top and down the sides of the puff pastry.
- Place the remaining whisked egg in the refrigerator, as you’ll use that on top of the beef wellington, as well.
- Tightly roll the puff pastry dough over the tenderloin. Tuck the sides of the puff pastry down and use a fork to help seal the sides of the dough.
- Wrap the beef wellington up tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
- Remove the plastic wrap and place the beef wellington on a non-stick baking sheet, or a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil or parchment paper.
- Brush the remaining whisked egg on top and on all sides of the beef wellington.
- Use a paring knife to score the top of the puff pastry with two rows of diagonal lines.
- Sprinkle sea salt flakes over the beef wellington.
- Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the center of the beef tenderloin registers 125°F for medium-rare.
- Let the meat rest for at least 10 minutes before transferring it to a cutting board to slice and serve.
Notes
- To reheat beef wellington, you want to heat up the beef, without overcooking it, while not letting the puff pastry get soggy. For this reason, I never recommend reheating beef wellington in the microwave. If you’re in a hurry, you can pan sear slices of beef wellington over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes per side. But the best way to reheat it is in the oven following these 3 simple steps.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Place slices of beef wellington on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Cover loosely with foil.
- Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
- The duxelles mixture can be made up to two days in advance. And I actually recommend this, if you have the time. It will make the beef wellington come together so much quicker, having the duxelles already made and chilled in the refrigerator. After making this recipe the first couple of times, I started doing this and it made the process go so much quicker!
- The beef wellington can be made up to 6 hours ahead of time and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to bake in the oven. If you want to make it up to 24 hours in advance, you can do this, just do not wrap it in the puff pastry yet. An hour before you want to bake the beef wellington, remove the puff pastry from the freezer and from the packaging. After 25-30 minutes, remove the prepared beef tenderloin from the refrigerator and wrap it in the puff pastry. Place back into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill before baking.
- This recipe will serve 8 people, when it's cut into approximately 1 inch slices. For slightly larger slices, that are closer to 1 1/2 inches thick, this recipe will serve 6 people.
- I recommend pairing the beef wellington with a dry, medium-bodied red wine to pair with the rich, umami flavors in the wellington. I recommend a bordeaux, pinot noir, chianti or syrah.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 1037kcal (52%)Carbohydrates 45g (15%)Protein 40g (80%)Fat 78g (120%)Saturated Fat 27g (135%)Polyunsaturated Fat 7gMonounsaturated Fat 38gTrans Fat 1gCholesterol 154mg (51%)Sodium 2009mg (84%)Potassium 1102mg (31%)Fiber 2g (8%)Sugar 3g (3%)Vitamin A 186mg (4%)Vitamin C 2mg (2%)Calcium 59mg (6%)Iron 7mg (39%)
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