We have always been fascinated when the contestants in Hell's Kitchen stuff up Gordon Ramsay's beef wellington. Of course we were intrigued as to how they could mess up something as simple as cooking a piece of meat wrapped up in pastry.
It is actually not hard to make but the trick is to cook the meat just right. In fact we love it so much that I am always on the lookout for mushrooms on special. I prefer to make our own flaky pastry as it is far less fattening than puff pastry.
A 5-star restaurant meal for a fraction of the cost.
It is actually not hard to make but the trick is to cook the meat just right. In fact we love it so much that I am always on the lookout for mushrooms on special. I prefer to make our own flaky pastry as it is far less fattening than puff pastry.
A 5-star restaurant meal for a fraction of the cost.
Ingredients
400g mushroom
¼ onion
350g beef sirloin or scotch (or any tender cut)
2 slices bacon or parma ham
300g homemade flaky pastry or puff pastry
salt and pepper
mustard
egg yolk or beaten egg
Method
1. Prepare flaky pastry or if using bought puff pastry jump to step 2.
2. Blend mushroom and onion until mushy. Season with salt. Saute in cast iron pan until moisture have evaporated (about 10 minutes). Remove and leave to cool.
3. Season meat with salt and pepper. In a very hot pan with a bit of oil, sear the meat quickly on all sides. Set aside to cool.
4. Brush meat with mustard.
5. Lay bacon on gladwrap. Spread a thin layer of mushroom evenly over bacon.
6. Place meat on top of the mushroom and wrap bacon over the beef. Wrap tightly with glad wrap, twist the ends and chill for at least ½ hour.
7. Roll pastry until big enough to cover the meat. (Roll the edges thinner so the fold ends are not so thick when folded over.)
8. Unwrap the meat from the clingwrap and place on top of pastry.
9. Brush pastry with egg yolk (or beaten egg). Cover the meat with the pastry, tucking the sides securely and sniping off any excess pastry at the ends. Rest in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.
10. Brush with egg wash, score and sprinkle some rock salt over pastry.
11. Grease the baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven 190-200C for 20-30 mins. Rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into thick slices. Serve with crispy fried potatoes and vegies or salad.
We got a bit carried away with mushrooms on the above pic !
Tip
1. Watch this video of the great master Gordon Ramsay making his infamous beef wellington.
2. Cast iron pan is best for cooking the mushroom as the moisture evaporates without burning.
3. Make sure your bacon is the type that does not ooze out a lot of moisture (or the pastry bottom will get soggy from the liquid). I prefer the Aussie bacon (from Countdown) which is dryer.
4. Parma ham would be best but because it is so overpriced here, I have replaced it with bacon. The other alternative would be to use ordinary thinly sliced ham.
5. If you need to increase servings, best (and easier) to make 2 or 3 individual wellingtons instead of making one huge one.
This is a great walkthrough! I've always been curious about beef wellington, but have never tried it. Now there is no excuse no to!
ReplyDeleteDrooling! Drooling! Drooling! So Yummy!! Another to be added to my "To-Do List"!!! Have to wait till the beef goes on sale!
ReplyDeleteAs always, "Thanks" for sharing the delicious recipes!
so gorgeous! It looks perfect.
ReplyDeleteHi sinner,
ReplyDeleteTried making this and it's really delicious! However, my BW is really wet....I'm sure the moisture is not from the mushroom, could be from the beef. I used sirloin instead of tenderloin. Will it matters if the beef is too marbled?
Hi Favbabe,
ReplyDeleteDid you use bacon or parma ham? I don't think the marbling is the cause of it being wet.
Did your pastry split open at the bottom-side or your whole pastry turned out soggy ?
The pastry did not split open. More like it's soaked wet when i cut it open....not as nice as the one shown in your picture. I used parma ham...
ReplyDeleteI have this vision of Ramsay picking up the BW, crook his finger "Come here you" and yells "This is soggy !" and then flings it ;) lol. Sorry couldn't help it.
ReplyDeleteI have only had one instant when the pastry turned out with a bit more moisture than usual with a section of the bottom-side split open as well. It was when I used some cheaper moisture laden bacon (bought those for pies). Didn't think but I know better now.
There was once when we didn't rest the BW and cut it immediately and there was liquid oozing out. Nowadays we make sure we rest it before cutting to allow the meat a chance to reabsorb the juice.
I usually buy Aged sirloin if they are more or less the same price. Fresh meat is more bloody and produces more liquid during the cooking process. Aged meat is more tender and tend to ooze less liquid.
Don't know much about Parma ham so can't really comment whether it could be a cause.
Did you make your own pastry or use a ready made puff pastry?
Not much help as I can only go by our own experience. But glad your BW still turned out delicious though.