Easy Elegant Beef Wellington, seared in herbs, encased in mushroom pate and an herb crepe, wrapped in puff pastry and roasted to perfection. A classic dish to serve for all your special occasions.
Easy Beef Wellington
While a classic beef Wellington is easy to make, it does require several steps in the preparation. Despite the beef that is herb seared, a mushroom pate to be made, then herb crepes and finally a puff pastry to wrap before roasting; each is easy.
Those layers of flavor and prior preparation are what contribute to the elegance reserved for the most special of occasions.
The Elegance Of A Wellington
If you want a dish that is fit for royalty, this is your ‘piece de resistance’! Every slice tantalizes with its beauty and perfection.
But, if you are pressed for time and still want an impressive beef dish, Mediterranean Beef Shank is the another option for you.
While Beef Wellington may appear to be a difficult dish to perfect, I promise you, it is not. There are several steps in preparing this beauty, and each step can be done in advance, except the final roasting time.
What is Beef Wellington?
Beef Wellington is absolutely the most decadent, beautiful, showstopper meal you can ever serve!
It’s like that perfectly wrapped gift box that someone gives to you, with another perfectly wrapped box inside, with another inside until you reach the final box with a gorgeous diamond inside!
It was the entertainment extravaganza of the 60’s and has definitely made a come back!
Easy Elegant Beef Wellington From A Master
I first learned to make Beef Wellington from Gordon Ramsay in his Master Class presentation, at the onset of the pandemic.
The steps were easy to follow and the results were impressive. I did, however, make a few changes. Shhhh don’t tell him!
Another Beef Cooking Master
My son is a fabulous Executive Chef and his real forte is meat and seafood. I was not happy with the timing on cooking the beef and found Gordon’s instructions leaving me with beef that was just not cooked enough.
Maybe it was the layers that added thickness, therefore not allowing the heat to penetrate, but my son gave me a few pointers and now my Beef Wellington is absolutely perfect ever time!
Despite any suggested amount of time required to roast this elegant bundle, a meat thermometer is going to be your true time guide.
Perfectly Cooked Beef Wellington
A perfectly salted and herb seared tenderloin, will require more of each than you might normally do, when cooking beef. Those flavors help to enhance the natural flavor of a good tenderloin.
Unlike a hearty Beef Stew, which is far more forgiving since it is often simmer low and slow in a tenderizing wine sauce.
Why wrapped the beef in a pate? Occasionally, a Wellington is wrapped in chicken liver pate. As for me, I didn’t want to detract from the flavor of beef, as chicken pate is strong.
Next, is the second wrapping which is held in with prosciutto; which doesn’t detract from flavor but adds fat.
After that, the next wrap will be with a beautiful herb crepe, and trust me, this step really holds it all together.
Finally wrapped in a buttery puff pastry, this elegant bundle goes into a hot oven to roast. Of course it will be baked to perfection and served with applause!
Too Much Work For An Elegant Wellington?
Sound like a lot of work? Here’s the good news, each wrapping can be done a day in advance.
The final wrapping of the herb crepe, around all the goodies inside, gets wrapped tight in plastic wrap for a few hours, if not over night.
With all you best efforts you do not want to skip the crepe because it is loaded with eggs which helps to hold it all together while roasting.
Consequently, the only real work, the day of serving, is to wrap the puff pastry and bake. Easy!
Beef Tenderloin
As you may know, beef tenderloin is also the cut of a filet mignon as well as the cut used in a Wellington.
You may also know that the tenderloin cut has the least amount of flavor of any other cut of beef. Tender? Totally! Flavorful? Nope! Why? Little to no fat.
Fat is what imparts much of the flavor in the meats we cook. While the filet, or tenderloin is a beautiful cut of meat, it really does need help with taste.
Should you decide to serve a different elegant showstopper of beef for a special occasion, then the Mediterranean Beef Shank will also impress!
Flavor Help For Beef Tenderloin
For this reason, when we prepare a Beef Wellington, the meat is seared first, in a hot iron pan with olive oil, butter, herbs and lots of course sea salt.
Flavor surrounds the meat, its juices become secured inside by searing the outside of the beef and already the first phase of layering flavor to a beautiful cut of meat has begun.
Pate
While goose, duck or chicken liver pate is what is often used to cover the beef, then wrap in bacon, I just felt it was too many conflicting flavors.
Chicken liver pate, to me, has a strong flavor, as does faux gras (which, I’m sorry, I just don’t like), and so I opted for mushroom pate.
Easy Mushroom Pate
Who doesn’t love the earthy flavor of mushrooms with beef anyway! Homemade mushroom pate is so easy to make, you will wonder why you don’t make it often for a variety of other dishes.
A huge, like really huge, heap of mushrooms gets tossed into a big pot with a little butter, garlic a drizzle of wine and herbs. This step is then simmered down and pureed!
That’s it. Don’t forget to set some aside (freeze if need be), to toss into many of your winter soups, particularly a soup from homemade Bone Broth, for winter’s immune boost.
Elegant Herb Crepes
Why use crepes in the making of Beef Wellington? Several reasons. First, the herb crepes are a batter of eggs, milk and flour and that contribute to the firmness to hold the pate and prosciutto in place.
Another brilliant reason is that the crepe is what lays next to the puff pastry and not the pate or meat.
This layer helps protect the puff pastry from getting soggy when it bakes, as many have complained about the making of Beef Wellington.
Let’s Make Easy Elegant Beef Wellington
Ready to put this together and wow your dinner guests every time?
Yes, there are several steps, but as I said, nearly all of them can be done in advance.
Lots of photos included here to give you the confidence to see what yours should look like, along the way.
Ingredients Needed
- Beef Tenderloin
- Salt and Pepper
- Fresh Thyme
- Olive oil
- Dijon mustard
- Prosciutto
- Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Butter
- Puff Pastry
- Egg yolks
- Flour – for dusting
- Savory herb crepes
Equipment Needed
- Large Saute pan
- Cutting board
- Chopping knife
- Tongs
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Meat thermometer
- Basting brush
- Metal spatula
- Stovetop or burner
- Oven
Easy Elegant Beef Wellington
Ingredients
- Beef tenderloin – 1 (2 lb.) center-cut, trimmed
- Coarse salt and pepper to taste
- Thyme – 1 oz. bundle
- Olive oil – 3 tablespoons
- Dijon mustard – 1 tablespoon
- Prosciutto – 6 slices
- Mushrooms – 1 1/2 lb. finely chopped
- Garlic – 1 clove, finely chopped
- Butter – 2 tablespoons
- Puff pastry – 1 (9 oz.) sheet, thawed
- Egg yolks – 2, whisked and set aside
- Flour for dusting
- – 4 crepes
Instructions
- Beef. Salt and pepper the tenderloin generously. In a heavy skillet over high heat, add olive oil. Once the pan begins to smoke, toss in a few sprigs of thyme and the tenderloin. Sear the tenderloin on all sides until well browned, including ends. Transfer to a plate and brush the mustard generously on all sides. Let it cool in the fridge.
- Mushrooms. Pulse mushrooms, salt/pepper to taste, garlic and thyme leaves stripped from its stem, in a processor. In the same skillet, lightly wiped out oil, melt butter and add mushroom mixture. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the fridge.
- Assemble. Place plastic wrap down on a work area, overlapping so it is twice the length and width of the tenderloin. Lay the herb crepes down first, overlapping, then the prosciutto side by side to form a rectangle area able to wrap around the whole tenderloin. Spread the mushroom mixture evenly on top of the prosciutto. Set the tenderloin on top of the mushroom mixture. Bring up one end of the plastic, so as to neatly wrap the mushroom/prosciutto mixture around the meat. Tightly continue to roll until the meat is neatly wrapped, taking care to tuck ends in as well. Tie the ends tightly with twine or wire twists. Place the bundle in the fridge for 30 minutes. This step helps hold the bundle together.
- Heat oven to 425. Lightly flour work surface. Spread thawed puff pastry on floured area and roll it out into a rectangle shape that will cover the tenderloin bundle, with a little extra to seal edges. Remove the tenderloin bundle from plastic wrap and place on bottom end of puff pastry. Brush inside edges of puff pastry with egg yolk, then tightly roll meat bundle into the puff pastry.
- Trim any extra pastry, pinch edges to seal in its contents. Brush egg yolk liberally around the top and sides of the pastry. If you would like to create a little design on top the pastry, or roll out excess pastry and use a cookie cutter to form shapes, now is the time. Lay the shapes on top the pastry and brush with egg yolk again. Sprinkle a little coarse salt on top. Lay a few sprigs of thyme on top. Place this bundle on a parchment paper lined baking tray and pop in the oven.
- Bake until pastry is golden and the center registers 120 for a medium rare beef, about 45 minutes, a little longer for well done. Remove from oven, let it rest 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
