Beef Wellington???

AzScott · July 2008

Alright, I'm looking to cook beef wellington for my grandfather's 90th birthday on Sunday. I've always wanted to make it and he's excited about it so I hope someone can steer me towards a great recipe. Anyone have one that will work well on the egg??

Thanks!

Celtic Wolf · July 2008

AlaskaC Did one that used Mushrooms instead of Fois Gras..

BENTE · July 2008

this looks like what you are looking for

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Beef, Tenderloin, Wellington, Irishrog

I cooked a Beef Wellington for a competition here in Ireland about 5 years ago, and got second prize for Beef.I'll remember the details as far as possible.

1 The fillet was a centre cut of Angus Beef, about 4 inches thick, and 12 inches long and even thickness the whole way for even cooking.
2 The pate was a rough country pate, with mushrooms, and was made almost like a terrine, with minced pork, pork fat, plenty of garlic, and seasoning. (I made the pate at home, cooked it in the EGG, and brought it with me.) There is too much work in making pate at a competition, unless you have about 3 days.
3 Anyway, I heated the EGG to about 750 F and seared my fillet, to seal in all the juices. When the fillet was sealed I cooled it down rapidly , and closed up the EGG to bring down the temperature to 325F.
4 I stabelised the EGG at 325F and put on my Pizza Stone to heat. I then prepared my Wellington.
5 I used a bought (prefrozen & defrosted) Puff Pastry which I rolled out to the thickness of coin.
6 I spread my pate on top of the puff pastry, and then laid the cold fillet on top. I coated the fillet with grain mustard, and sprinkled liberally with crushed mixed pepper corns. I then put a layer of pate on top, and folded over my puff pastry to make a parcel and seal in the beef.
7 I brushed the pastry all over with beaten egg yolk, which gives a lovely glaze when the wellington is cooked.
8 Anyway,
9 I floured the pizza stone, to stop the pastry from sticking, put on the wellington and cooked the lot for I think about 35/40 minutes. (I like my beef with plenty of natural colour).
10 The result was a delightful meal for the judges, and plenty of takers at the stand for what was left.
11 That is my memory of my beef wellington, which I hope helps.
12 Very important, it must be washed down with a good cold beer, or three, like any good BBQ.

Recipe Type
Beef, Main Dish

Recipe Source
Author: Irishrog

Source: BGE Forum, Irishrog, 05/16/05

stike · July 2008

there are variations, but there's really only one recipe.

It's a tenderloin wrapped with a duxelle in puff pastry. sounds easy, and it is easy IN CONCEPT. but it takes time.

i seared the tenderloin (after marinating) very quickly over high heat. took it off and immediately put it in the fridge to cool. made the duxelles, wrapped it up, and roasted it in the egg.

first time we did it (two tears ago), it was a little wet. the duxelles needs to be fairly dry, and it takes time to get the shrooms to give up the moisture.

here's one we did for christmas.

tenderloin on the left (grass fed, grain finished), the duxelles in a pan with the pate' ready to go.

made a pan sauce.

good god. i could drink this all by itself. this is what took so long, i kept having to re-reduce it. and there was scotch involved (in me, not the pan sauce).

here's the thing wrapped in pastry.

some fancy holly crap on it. almost looks like a yule log. this got some laughs and yucks from some of the "tough" guys on the forum, but i haven't seen one done by anyone else since, so make sure you post pics.

here's the thing when finish roasted (RARE! otherwise you wasted all your time and money). serve it by candle light if some guests are pansies about red meat. they'll never know.

i think doing the whole tenderloin was marginally easier than doing the individual kind. i did some a while back in phyllo. unh uh. you want puff pastry. still. damn good.

same recipe, just filets.

find any "classic" recipe for wellington. marinate, then sear the tenderloin for color/flavor). wrap it and roast it and you are done.

Unknown · July 2008

Now that really is a work of art.

You seared it on the BGE. Did you also bake it?

DynaGreaseball · July 2008

Nice work. Did you have a mold for the decorative work, or did you do it freehand?

I've only done Wellingtons where I seared the meat on my egg, and then finished them in my oven. I found out I can keep the puff pastry a little bit dryer on the bottom if I wrap prosciutto ham around the meat and duxelles. Here's one of mine being plated.

Bacchus · July 2008

Wow Stike, that is a SERIOUS bottle of vino there alongside your B.W......1966 Chateau Pape Clement. Was it a prop for the pic or did you really open it?

Fidel · July 2008

You know your wines Ron...don't ask him about the bordeaux in the candlelight photo (4th down)...you'll just hate yourself.

Hint - it is older than you, me, and stike. If memory serves, that was a '57...

stike · July 2008

those pics are a helluva lot nicer than the ones of mine plated! mine look goodwhile i'm making them, then i just slap them on the plate.

i gotta party with you. that's great looking food.

i flirted with finishing in the oven, because i was wondering about smoke vs. the pastry. but it was good.

can't say enough, that's a damn good looking plate of food.

i cut those things freehand. had been drinking scotch all day (christmas day, first time in 20 years i could stay home in a bathrobe with a fire and the boys and wife). if something is worth doing, it's worth overdoing! (you see my house number? seven years to carve a frikkin house number.... yeesh. what a tool i yam). still... never run-of-the-mill.

looks like that might be your motto too.

stike · July 2008

ha.
you can't see the one by the wellington. it was a '57 Ch. Lafite. (fancy f*ckers we are la di dah!) it was a little past, but hell, whattaya want? hahaha

i'll tell you, that Pape clement was the best of the bunch. in truth, that pic shows my lunch the day AFTER we had my parents down for my 40th birthday. and i didn't drink the Pape for lunch. that Pape Clement was the fallback bottle in case the other one was corked, but we didn't need to open it. the 'other' one was a '66 lafite.

it was good (but a little feminine). i like the bigger ones. we had the Pape the next week, and about 4 others i think, over the next weeks following.

i think those days are over, by the way. stike doesn't have pantloads of $$$$ to dedicate to wine. that was just a splurge for our 40ths. if i get a break today, i'll send you (offline) the list of wines we drank that month. one a week, with guests, for our 40th birthdays.

stike · July 2008

yes. that was one of the '57s.
heh heh heh

stike · July 2008

thank you. yes, i seared it fast as i could, pulled it, cooled it. after making the wellington, i put it on parchment paper on the stone.

i'll be honest, looking back, it seemed the easiest thing in the world. i have no idea why it was such a production (other than the fancy cut out stuff). it's making the duxelles and reducing the pan sauce that took time really.

it is an amazing cook. tenderloin is frankly otherwise flavorless, but the cognac marinade and the duxelles make this eye-rollingly good.

DynaGreaseball · July 2008

Man, you've made my day. I consider that a huge compliment, coming from you.

Little Steven · July 2008

I agree with Stike. The prociutto is a great idea. Westphalian ham would work well too.

Steve

Beef Wellington???

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