Best Ever Beef Wellington Recipe - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

How do you make Beef Wellington without a soggy bottom? ›

Immediately before cooking, remove the Wellington from the fridge and give it final egg wash then sprinkle with sea salt. Again, don't let the egg wash pool inside the diamonds. Using the parchment paper, lift the Wellington and carefully transfer to the hot tray. This will help avoid a soggy bottom.

Consider Crepes In Your Beef Wellington Crust

Nigella Lawson proposes a different though equally effective solution involving par-baking an extra layer of puff pastry and putting it at the bottom to absorb any stray juices.

Beef wellington is not an easy dish to prepare with perfection. For starters, getting the tenderloin steak right is a challenge in itself. It has to be tender on the inside but decently firm on the outside, so it doesn't get mushed inside. The pâté and the duxelles are like preparing two individual dishes themselves.

Browning the beef gives it complexity and meaty depth. Tying the tenderloin improves both the appearance of the final dish, and leads to more even cooking. Phyllo provides a moisture barrier, preventing the puff pastry from getting soggy. A double layer of plastic wrap makes it easier to wrap up the tenderloin.

You can prepare the Wellington up to 24 hours in advance at this point, but make sure you remove it from the fridge 30-40 minutes before the final bake.

To avoid a 'soggy bottom' place the Wellington seal-side down on a pre-heated roasting tray. This means the pastry starts cooking right away. OR, you can put the roasting tray onto the hob for a couple of minutes before putting into the over to cook.

I think you could do most of prep the day before: pastry, and duxelle (mushroom, shallot and thyme). Assemble and cook on the day. Yes, you can prepare Beef Wellington ahead of time. You can assemble the Wellington, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight.

Tenderize the sirloin by pounding with a meat mallet for several minutes (we're trying to simulate a filet here). In a medium-hot pan, sear the steak on all sides, about 30 seconds per side. The steak should still be rare inside at this point. Refrigerate until ready to use again.

Cut 4 (2-inch) vents in top of pastry. Cook's Tip: Use any excess dough to decorate Wellington. Bake in 425°F oven 35 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 135°F for medium rare; 150°F for medium. Transfer Beef Wellington to carving board.

2) The crepes protect the pastry from excess moisture as the beef cooks, and also helps the beef stay joicy and tender once cooked. 3) Be very careful to tightly wrap your beef – the tighter the wrapping, the better the shape, which will result in more even cooking.

Should you cook Beef Wellington on a wire rack? ›

Prepare the beef

Using kitchen twine, tie tenderloin crosswise at 2-inch intervals, starting from center and working out to ends. Sprinkle beef all over with salt and pepper. Place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet.

A traditional Beef Wellington consists of a beef tenderloin wrapped in layers of pâté, duxelles (a finely chopped mushroom mixture), parma ham, and puff pastry, then baked. Rumor has it that Beef Wellington got its name from Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, who counted the dish among his favorite recipes.

For extra protection from overcooking, do as we recommend in our other tenderloin post, and chill the beef before searing. Kenji's recipe calls for slices of seared whole foie gras, but that's not an ingredient that is easy to come by in most markets. We substituted pre-made pâté made with foie gras.

Beat the 2 egg yolks with 1 tsp water and brush the pastry's edges, and the top and sides of the wrapped fillet. Using a rolling pin, carefully lift and drape the larger piece of pastry over the fillet, pressing well into the sides.

Cut the slices around an inch thick

Though you might have different preferences for slice thickness when dealing with other types of meat, when it comes to Beef Wellington, very thin slices are prone to falling apart, and very thick slices will be too filling and lose the delicate look and feel of a Beef Wellington.

Beef Wellington is a dish that is rated under the “top 10 hardest dishes to make”, at number 4. One of the hardest parts of this dish is cooking the meat correctly, and not over cooking it. Typically a beef wellington's tenderloin should be at a medium rare – which is not always an easy feat to achieve.

Bake in 425°F oven 35 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 135°F for medium rare; 150°F for medium.