Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington is a preparation of filet steak coated with pâté (often pâté de foie gras) and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. Some recipes include wrapping the coated meat in acrêpe to retain the moisture and prevent it making the pastry soggy.

A whole tenderloin may be wrapped and baked, and then sliced for serving, or the tenderloin may be sliced into individual portions prior to wrapping and baking. Many spices may be added to enhance the flavour; some examples are curry, allspice, any grilling mix or ginger.

The origin of the name ‘beef wellington‘is unclear. There are theories that suggest that beef Wellington is named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Some theories go a step further and suggest this was due to his love of a dish of beef, truffles, mushrooms, Madeira wine, and pâté cooked in pastry, but there is a noted lack of evidence supporting this. In addition to the dearth of evidence attaching this dish to the famous Duke, the earliest recorded recipe to bear this name appeared in a 1966 cookbook. Other accounts simply credit the name to a patriotic chef wanting to give an English name to a variation on theFrench filet de bœuf en croûte during the Napoleonic Wars. Still another theory is that the dish is not named after the Duke himself, but rather that the finished joint was thought to resemble one of the brown shiny military boots which were named after him.

In introducing a recipe for beef Wellington, Clarissa Dickson Wright claims “This dish has nothing to do with that splendid hero, the Duke of Wellington; it was invented for a civic reception in Wellington, New Zealand, but it is a splendid addition to any party.”

“Wellington” is sometimes informally used to describe other dishes in which meat is baked in a puff pastry; the most common variations are sausage Wellington, lamb Wellington and salmon Wellington.

BEEF WELLINGTON

1kg piece beef eye-fillet
2 tablespoons oil
200g pate
375g packet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten

MUSHROOM FILLING

30g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
400g mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons plain flour

SAUCE

1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Tie beef with string at 3cm intervals. Heat oil in pan, add beef, cook until well browned all over; cool. Remove string from beef. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons pan juices for sauce. Spread pate all over beef, then spread with mushroom filling.

Roll pastry on floured surface to a rectangle Iarge enough to enclose beef. Lightly brush edges of pastry with egg. Wrap pastry around beef, press edges to seal, place seam side down on greased oven tray, decorate with pastry leaves, if desired; brush with remaining egg. Bake in hot oven 10 minutes, reduce heat to moderate, bake further 30 minutes or until beef is cooked as desired. Serve beef sliced with sauce.

Mushroom Filling: Heat butter in pan, add onion, cook, stirring, until soft. Add mushrooms and wine, cook, stirring, until mushrooms are soft and liquid is evaporated. Add flour, cook, stirring, until mixture is thickened; cool.

Sauce: Heat reserved pan juices in pan, add flour, stir over heat until browned. Remove from heat, gradually stir in wine, stock and sauce. Stir over heat until sauce boils and thickens; strain.

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