Beef Wellington Recipe

Beef Wellington is one of those special gourmet dishes that you make for fancy occasions. My family occasionally will even make beef Wellington in lieu of turkey for Thanksgiving, just because it’s a special meal that can feed a lot of people.

The key to a great Beef Wellington is to get a great beef tenderloin that is seared before wrapped in Braunschweiger and puffed pastry.

Ingredients

• 16 oz beef tenderloin
• 1 case Braunschweiger (a German variety of smoked liverwurst) or liver pate
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sheets thawed puffed pastry (from the freezer aisle)
• One egg
• A liberal amount of salt and pepper

How-to Prepare the Beef

1. Trim the fat off of your beef tenderloin so that you have a cylindrical log. You want this to be relatively symmetrical so that your beef cooks evenly.
2. Sprinkle the outside liberally with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. This will season the meat and create a nice crust.
3. On a hot grill or an oiled skillet you want to brown the outside layer of the meat. Turn the heat up extremely high, and then put your meat on for less than a minute per side – enough to create a browned crust.
4. Set your beef aside to rest. You don’t want to cook your beef all the way or else it will be overcooked in the oven.

Assembling the Beef Wellington

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mix the Worcestershire sauce, chopped green onions, and Braunschweiger (or liver pate, whatever you have – Braunschweiger is just less expensive) together until it has an even consistency.
3. Roll out your puffed pastry dough on a floured surface. Cover up to 1 inch around the edges with your liver pate mixture.
4. Set your cooled beef tenderloin in the middle of the layers upside down (you will flip your beef Wellington later) and wrap it evenly with the puffed pastry.
5. Cut and discard any extra puffed pastry or else it won’t cook all the way through.
6. Flip over so the seam is on the bottom. Beat your eggs, and brush the surface of the puffed pastry so that it will turn golden brown.
7. Cut a small vents (slits) in the top so that the steam doesn’t cause your puffed pastry to puff too much.
8. Sprinkle with coarse salt, and put into the oven on a lined cookie sheet for 25-35 minutes, until the interior of the meat is at 135 degrees for medium rare.

Serving the Beef Wellington

When you are serving your Beef Wellington you want to keep it as simple as possible. I prefer to let my Wellington rest, and then cut it into thick slices based on how many guests you have (thinner slices make it go a longer way in terms of feeding multiple guests). Place it on the plate so that you can see the layers, and garnish with a sprig of parsley. My favorite side dishes to serve this with are sauteed green beans and roasted fingerling potatoes. Bon appetit!