Beef Wellington

WVU-Egg

My wife, now thinks anything can be cooked on the egg, but who am I to disagree? She asked last night if I could give Beef Wellington a try. She said get on that message board and see if anyone has ever tried it on the egg before.[p]Thus, I am asking. Has anyone tried it? If so, any tips, recommendations, etc.? [p]Thanks in advance.

irishrog

WVU_EGG,
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.
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.
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.
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.
I stabelised the EGG at 325F and put on my Pizza Stone to heat. I then prepared my Wellington.
I used a bought (prefrozen & defrosted) Puff Pastry which I rolled out to the thickness of coin.
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.
I brushed the pastry all over with beaten egg yolk, which gives a lovely glaze when the wellington is cooked.
Anyway,
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).
The result was a delightful meal for the judges, and plenty of takers at the stand for what was left.
That is my memory of my beef wellington, which I hope helps.
Very important, it must be washed down with a good cold beer, or three, like any good BBQ.[p]

stike

irishrog,
wow.[p]this is a must-do.[p]coupla questions.[p]1. how'd you quick-cool the beef?
2. i'd imagine that pulling the beef off and cooling it precludes any use of an internal meat thermometer after that point to determine done-ness. and the beef is wrapped, so you can't really go by touch. how do you know when it is 'done' to the preferred level?[p]my mouth is watering just reading the recipe....

WVU-Egg

irishrog,
thanks for the recipe and comments. I'll have to give it a try. Never hurts to try.[p]Maybe we need to have an Eggfest in Ireland!!

ChefRD

WVU_EGG,
If you do have a fest in Ireland, count me in!
later,
ChefRD.

irishrog

stike,
I cooled the fillet by putting it into the icebox, wrapped in wax paper. There is no exact science to judging doneness, I have always cooked by instinct, and only use an internal thermometer for large pieces like 20+ lbs turkeys. However, when you feel that the wellington is approaching doneness you could probe through the end of the wrap, where the indent will be least obvious when you present the finished dish, before carving it.

dublin

ChefRD,
yeah...i'm in too :-)