Whenever I think of a fancy “let’s go out” date night restaurant meal, beef wellington is an old school classic that is on top of my list. Everything about this dish screams indulgence; tender and juicy pan seared filet mignon topped with a savory mushroom duxelle, wrapped in proscuitto, and then wrapped again in a blanket of golden brown crispy puff pastry, drool!
After watching one too many episodes of Hell’s Kitchen when every cook finds a way to ruin those beautiful pastry packages of meat, I knew I had to get off of my couch and get in the kitchen. I needed to make this delicacy at home for me and the hubby since going out for an expensive meal is not on the radar anytime soon. Life choices… day care or fancy restaurant..hmm. I decided to take some time to make us some delicious individual beef wellington with mushroom sauce right in our own home! Thank goodness I didn’t have Gordon Ramsey peaking over my shoulder, just baby James!
Whenever I’ve had the chance to order beef wellington at a restaurant and it arrives to the table, I get a huge grin on my face because I can’t wait to cut into that flaky crust and take my first bite. It’s got that oh my gosh, I feel so guilty yet happy experience, give me more!
But why don’t we make this decadent meal at home? It may take a little more preparation but guess what, it’s not as hard as you might think! It just requires a few steps, but once you’ve gotten over your fear of overcooking the meat and just go for it, you won’t have to spend a big chunk of your pay check to dine out when you can make it right at home.
I made my version pretty traditional because I like how all the flavors merry together just right. There is no need to make puff pastry from scratch, I use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets, and need only one sheet to make 2 portions. I get that defrosted at room temperature on a sheet tray while I prep the meat and filling.
When searing the filet mignon, you want a really hot surface so the outside just kisses the pan for 2 minutes on each side to brown the meat, ideally after the wellingtons are baked in the oven, you want a medium rare piece of steak on the inside. Now comes the layering; the steaks are brushed with a little bit of Dijon mustard for a bit of tanginess, topped with a savory mushroom filling, and then rolled up in a proscuitto wrap, yum!
The last step is to gently roll out your defrosted puff pastry and wrap the steaks snuggly into the dough. You don’t want too much excess pastry because it will be too thick and doughy when you bite into it, so trim off the excess. The beef wellington’s are scored on the top, bushed with an egg wash, sprinkled with kosher salt and then baked at high temperatures of 400°F for about 20 to 30 minutes.
It’s a beautiful thing when you peek into the oven and the tops of those individual beef wellington’s are a gorgeous golden, shiny package of awesomeness. You just want to jump for joy and dig in, but you have to have a little patience and let the meat rest for 10 minutes.
You must have a sauce when enjoying this meal fit for royalty. I like to make a quick red wine mushroom sauce, so velvety and rich, a perfect compliment to the tender beef and crispy pastry. I like to serve this dish with either herb roasted potatoes or whipped mashed potatoes and some fresh harivot verts with caramelized onions. I am salivating while writing this, I need to make this again soon. Good thing Valentine’s day is coming up, the perfect excuse to treat your sweetie to an impressive meal!
TIP: What is the best way to work with frozen Puff Pastry?
Working with frozen puff pastry takes a little planning. The quickest way to thaw puff pastry is to separate the sheets (but do not unfold), transfer to a sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature (away from a hot oven or sunny window) for about 30 to 40 minutes. You can also thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator by following the same method above, however letting it defrost for about 4 hours in the fridge. It’s best to work with the puff pastry when it’s cold and easy to manipulate. Just pop the sheets back in the fridge to chill if it gets to room temperature, or as you are cutting and working with your sheets, and right before baking so the butter can firm up again for a few minutes.
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Individual Beef Wellington with Mushroom Sauce
Author: Jessica Gavin
Prep time:
1 hour 30 mins
Cook time:
45 mins
Total time:
2 hours 15 mins
Serves: 2 servings
Tender filet mignon is wrapped in golden puff pastry for a delicious individual beef wellington with mushroom sauce recipe for your next special occasion!
Ingredients
Beef-
2 beef tenderloin steaks (1-1/4 to 2 inches thick, 8 ounce portions each)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 ounces prosciutto (8 slices)
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1/2 pound dough), thawed
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk
Kosher salt, for sprinkling on top of beef wellingtons
Mushroom Filling-
8 ounces brown mushrooms
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 sprig thyme
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Mushroom Sauce-
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup red wine
¼ cup diced shallots
1 tablespoon flour
1 ½ cup beef stock
3 ounces brown mushrooms, ¼-inch thick slices
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Puff Pastry-
Defrost 1 sheet of puff pastry at room temperature on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper for 40 minutes, or until pliable yet cool. Refrigerate covered with plastic wrap if defrosted and not using immediately.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Begin making mushroom filling.
Mushroom Filling-
Add mushrooms to a food processor, blender, or chop as finely as possible. The texture should be similar to coarse bread crumbs, you do not want them to become a slurry.
Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat and add teaspoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Add mushrooms and 1 sprig of fresh thyme, sauté for about 10 minutes until mixture is softened and moist of the moisture has evaporated. Season mushroom mixture with ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper. Remove and discard thyme sprig and transfer mushrooms to a bowl to cool, refrigerate.
Preparing the Beef-
Trim any excess fat or silver skin from the meat. You can reform the steaks into rounds by tying the steaks with butchers twine so that it holds shape as it cooks in the pan. Pat dry the steaks with paper towel and season each side generously with salt and black pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil, you want the pan really hot before adding the steaks. When the oil begins to smoke, add the filets to the pan, and brown for 2 minutes on each side. Quickly sear the raw edges of the meat so that the red turns to brown on the surface. Remove the steaks from the pan and place on a plate to cool. Turn off the heat and save the pan with the drippings for the red wine mushrooms sauce.
Cut off the butchers twine if using. Brush about 1 ½ teaspoons of Dijon mustard over the surface of each filet while still warm. Set aside.
Rolling the Beef Wellingtons-
On a large cutting board, place a large piece of plastic wrap. Lay 4 slices of prosciutto on the film, slightly overlapping each piece about ¼ inches to create a row. Spread half of the mushrooms filling over the prosciutto, leaving about a ½ inch border along the sides of the prosciutto. The layered prosciutto slices will resemble the shape of a rectangle; place the seared filet in the center of the prosciutto and mushroom layer (if the beef in more rectangular in shape, than lay the beef so that the length lines up with the longer sides of the prosciutto layer). Use the plastic wrap to draw the prosciutto around the filet, covering all sides of the filet. Roll up and twist the ends of the film to tighten. Chill the filet and repeat process with the remaining filet.
Place a large piece of plastic wrap on a cutting board or smooth surface, roll the defrosted pastry sheet in to a 11 inch by 11 inch square. You can lightly dust the surface of the pastry with flour if it sticks to your rolling pin. Cut pastry in half into two 5.5 inch by 11 inch rectangles. Place the beef fillets covered in prosciutto in the center of each pastry. If the filets are rectangular, line up the long sides with the longer sides of the pastry. Lightly brush the pastry edges with water. Starting at the longer sides, bring opposite corners of the pastry over steak, lightly stretching the dough if needed; press seems to seal tightly. Fold the shorter sides up to enclose the other side of the filets, they will not reach the center, just make sure to press sides to seal the pastry. Repeat wrapping with other filet.
Use a piece of plastic wrap to tightly seal each pastry wrapped beef filet, and refrigerate about 5 minutes to allow the pastry to firm up again.
In a small bowl, mix together egg yolk and milk.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Remove wellingtons from the refrigerator, remove plastic wrap, and lay the filets seam-side down on the baking sheet. Brush the top and sides of each puff pastry with the egg wash. If desired, use the back of the knife of pizza cutter to create long diagonal lines on the pastry surface, taking care to not cut into the pastry. Sprinkle kosher salt on top of each pastry.
Bake in the upper middle portion of the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the steak reaches 125°F for medium rare, or until the desired doneness is reached. The pastry should also be golden brown on the surface. Remove the wellingtons from the oven and allow to rest on the sheet pan for at least 10 minutes before slicing into medallions, or serve whole to each guest. Make the red wine mushroom sauce while the wellingtons are baking.
Mushroom Sauce-
Using the pan with the steak drippings, heat over medium heat. If you did not save the pan, use a new pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil added to the pan.
Add the red wine to the pan, and whisk to deglaze and remove the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped shallots, stirring until the wine has reduced until you cannot smell the alcohol, reduced to about half.
A 1 tablespoon flour and whisk from one minute. Slowly add the beef stock by whisking in about a ¼ cup at a time, until 1 cup has been added and sauce has thinned to a spoonable consistency.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the sauce, and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked and tender. Whisk in additional beef stock if needed to thin the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm on low heat until ready to serve.
To Serve-
Once beef wellingtons have rested for 10 minutes, slice into medallions or serve whole with the mushroom sauce on the side. Enjoy!
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