Beef Wellington

SERVES: 6 PREP: 30 minutes TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 30 minutes (with chilling and baking time)

Beef Wellington

SERVES: 6 PREP: 30 minutes TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 30 minutes (with chilling and baking time)

What’s better than meat and mushrooms wrapped in crispy dough?

Beef Wellington is everything! It’s named after a British duke, but I love it so much maybe we start calling it Beef Teigenton? Yes, there are a few more steps than your average recipe and you need to leave some time between them, but this is a holiday project worth taking on because bringing this to the table and slicing into shroomy-bacony-perfectly rare-pink beef wrapped in puff pastry is essentially like graduating from culinary school all on one dish and yes you CAN do it! Try it!

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INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

1 (2-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced shallots
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 sprigs rosemary
½ cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10-15 slices of prosciutto or Spanish jamon
1 (17.3-ounce) box of frozen puff pastry, defrosted to room temperature
1 egg, beaten
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Maldon sea salt
Store-bought horseradish cream

Cut four pieces of kitchen twine so they are each around 12-inches long. Tie the tenderloin at regular intervals so it forms an even cylinder, pulling a little tighter where the tenderloin is fatter so the cylinder is uniform and keeps its shape during searing. If there is thinner tail on one end, cut it off or wrap it under before tying it (you want the tenderloin to be an even width all the way across). Season with salt and pepper on all sides and let rest at room temperature while you make the mushroom paste.
In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and rosemary, then add the white wine and cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates and the mushrooms have become rehydrated, 2 to 3 minutes. Let cool for a minute, transfer to a blender, and blend into a paste, adding a drop of water if needed to get the mixture going. You want it to be spreadable, not pourable.
Heat the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium high-heat. Add the beef and sear on all sides, including the short ends, until browned, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate to rest.
Arrange two 8-inch long rectangles of plastic wrap next to each other on a flat surface just slightly overlapping to form one piece. Layer the prosciutto out over the plastic wrap like overlapping shingles wide enough to cover the surface of the entire tenderloin.
Spread the mushroom paste over the prosciutto shingles. Remove the twine from the tenderloin and arrange it in the middle of the mushroom paste-covered prosciutto shingles. Wrap, twisting the ends of your plastic wrap to seal. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 435°F.
Unroll the puff pastry on a flat surface; if necessary, use a rolling pin to roll it out a bit so it is longer than the tenderloin by a few inches on each side. Remove the plastic wrap from the tenderloin; it should be completely wrapped in prosciutto. Place the tenderloin centered at one edge of the puff pastry, then gently roll to wrap the tenderloin in dough.
To seal the ends, fold them down like you’re wrapping a present, tucking the flaps under and cutting off any extra dough if need be. Brush the seams with a beaten egg and press to seal, then turn it around so the seam is on the bottom and brush the whole top with a light coating of beaten egg.
Sprinkle with maldon sea salt and bake until the center reaches 125°F on a meat thermometer, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 7 minutes. Slice into 1-inch thick slices and serve with horseradish cream (like this one).