Beef Wellington

For Christmas Eve, I wanted to be adventurous. So I picked one of the most renowned dishes to make. I promise you, Beef Wellington is not as intimidating as it sounds!

I started by gathering the ingredients for the Duxelles (the filling around the filet mignon):

• 2 pints (~1 pound) of baby portobello mushrooms. You could also use white button mushrooms.
• 2 shallots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 springs fresh thyme

All chopped up!

I put the mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and leaves of the thyme in a food processor.

I had to scrape the sides a few times to get everything blended.

In a large non-stick skillet, I melted 2 tbsp of unsalted butter and added 2 tbsp of olive oil. I then added the mushroom mix. I cooked the mushrooms over medium heat for about 10 minutes. The goal here is to remove any moisture from the mushrooms so that your Duxelles isn't soggy.

After it was done, I put it in a bowl to cool down.

 

While it was cooling, I got started on the beef! You want to buy center cut filet mignon (pricey -- but worth it! This is the most tender cut of beef).

I got about 4 pounds of beef and cut it in half to make two Beef Wellingtons.

I then used kitchen twine to secure the parts of the meat that needed to be more cylindrical.

I sprinkled the cuts of beef with salt and pepper and seared the sides and ends in a hot skillet with olive oil.

After it was seared, Will brushed Dijon mustard on every side. Then, I set it aside to cool.

On plastic wrap, I shingled about 12 slices of prosciutto. I then grinded some pepper on the prosciutto but no salt because it is a salty lunchmeat.

I spread a thin layer of the cooled Duxelles, leaving about a 1 inch border.

I then added the beef.

I carefully wrapped the prosciutto around the beef and twisted the ends. Make sure you remove the twine if you used any!

Both done!

I placed the beef in the fridge for 30 minutes and the got the puff pastry ready.

I set out another layer of plastic wrap and sprinkled flour on it.

I then laid the puff pastry down and sprinkled more flour on top.

I rolled it out to about a 1/4 inch thickness, or to how large I needed it to encompass the meat.

I laid the meat upside down on the puff pastry...

... and then carefully rolled it around the meat.

I made sure it was tightly wrapped and then tightened the ends. I made these the day before serving so all I had to do was place them on a baking sheet, brush them with egg yolk, and sprinkle them with salt before throwing them in the oven.

After brushing them with egg yolk and sprinkling some salt, I gently scored the top with the back of my knife to create a beautiful pattern on top.

I baked them in a 425 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 125 degrees.

I let the meat reast for about 10 minuted before serving.

Perfect!

We had an amazing Christmas Eve dinner with homemade tortellini and pesto, brussel sprouts, risotto, and eggnog creme brulee (compliments of Chris Davis!).

>> If you end up making this for dinner, tag me in an Instagram post -- @marriedtodavis or #marriedtodavis