Beef Wellington

It was my Holy Grail, my White Whale, my Golden Fleece.

The quest for a Beef Wellington was not a spontaneous one. Sure, I'd stumbled by chance upon a youtube instructional video with detailed directions and amazing close-ups, but just as quickly I'd decided it would be too much for me. The pastry, the oven: all uncharted territory for humble me. I dismissed such fantasies and whipped up another tuna salad.

It was the TV show Hell's Kitchen that sparked real interest. Nearly every order contained a Beef Wellington! I thought, "If it can be mass made, it must not be that hard." Next, it was my dear friend and classmate who gave me momentum by offering a food processor for a crucial step. Now, another person was invested in the process! Just like that, I was committed: I couldn't turn back now.

Ok let's get something straight: this is NOT an inexpensive recipe. Beef tenderloin is THE MOST EXPENSIVE cut of beef you can find. You know filet mignon? Yeah, that's part of the tenderloin. At Costco, my eyes bulged when I saw the $16.99/lb price tag. Also, prosciutto will set you back about $12.99 a pound. This is a recipe to impress, not a casual Sunday brunch. Yet the high investment gives you all the more reason to rehearse it once.

Tips:
In order of operation: defrost your pastry, reduce the duxelle, sear your meat, assemble, cool, prepare your sides, cook.
Carve out the corners of the pastry for neater folds.
Layout your prosciutto exactly as wide as the tenderloin.
Score gently, not all the way through the pastry.
Next time, I'll bake for 40 minutes at 425F. What you see here is 35 min.

Finely chop your mushrooms.

Garlic Mincing

Medium heat to get rid of the water

There will be a LOT of water. At this point, you can add extras to reduce, like cream and white wine.

Lay out your parma ham/prosciutto.

Roll it up with clingwrap. Depending on your layout, you may need to patch some holes.

Tightly wrapped. Keep it in the fridge.

SCORE! I'll go in a radial pattern next time.

Egg washed

The moment of truth.

Gorgeous.

After 10 min of rest, slice broadly.

Just like a prime rib, the end pieces are more well done.

To share, we prepared these single bites

Leftovers, sliced with the grain

The puff pastry makes the difference

What I love about this recipe is that it's so ingredient focused. Other than salt and pepper, no spices were used. No MSG, no butter, none of the traditional cooking crutches were needed. Just fresh meat, fresh mushrooms and shallots, and, most of all, attention to detail.

This recipe: elite, epitome, epicurean, expensive, AMAZING!