The Ultimate Beef Wellington
Chef Tyler Florence’s five-star recipe makes for a restaurant-worthy centerpiece on your holiday table.
Article by Layla Khoury-Hanold
Beef wellington, a dish of pastry-wrapped beef tenderloin, is the kind of fancy restaurant dish that isn't as hard to make at home as you might think. With Tyler’s simple beef wellington recipe, you’ll learn the best beef to use, how to build savory depth, how long to cook it for a perfect medium rare finish and how to make a flavorful sauce to serve with it.
How to Make Beef Wellington Like a Pro
Reach for beef tenderloin. The best beef for beef wellington is beef tenderloin. Tyler opts for Chateaubriand, a large, thick cut from the center of the beef tenderloin.
Don’t over-sear the beef. Sear the outside of the tenderloin until brown on all sides (the interior will be raw). This ensures that when the beef wellington bakes, the beef will achieve a medium rare finish.
Save the beef drippings. Tyler makes a flavorful sauce by sautéing shallots, garlic and fresh thyme in the rendered beef drippings, then deglazes it with brandy before reducing the mixture with beef stock for deep beefy flavor, heavy cream for a silky texture and grainy mustard for kick, plus zingy green peppercorns.
Cook mushrooms duxelles until moisture has evaporated. Cooking the finely chopped button mushrooms and shallots mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated ensures a concentrated flavor, a paste-like texture and prevents the puff pastry from getting soggy during baking.
Enhance the beef with flavor boosters. After brushing beef tenderloin with piquant Dijon mustard, Tyler spreads the mushroom duxelles over prosciutto slices for added savory depth.
Shingle the prosciutto. On a piece of plastic wrap, arrange slices of prosciutto slightly overlapping like shingles to ensure a cohesive layer that will hold its structure.
Use plastic wrap as a tool for rolling a tight beef bundle. Once the prosciutto slices are spread with the mushroom duxelles, place the beef tenderloin on top and roll it slightly forward away from the plastic wrap, like you're rolling sushi, tucking in the ends of the prosciutto. Roll the bundle up into a tight log inside the plastic wrap. Take ends of the plastic wrap and twist, going from one end to another to get a perfect cylinder.
Chill the beef to ensure it holds its shape. Tyler chills the prosciutto-wrapped tenderloin for a half-hour to make sure that it holds its shape during the baking process.
Glaze the puff pastry. Brushing the exterior of the pastry with an egg wash before baking yields a beautiful mahogany color.
Bake beef wellington seam side down. This ensures that the pastry-encrusted beef package holds its shape and makes for a more aesthetically pleasing finish.
Cut slits in the top of the pastry. This creates vents that allow the steam to escape when cooking and prevents the wrapped beef tenderloin from bursting.
Cook until meat reaches medium-rare temperature. Baking the beef wellington at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, then allowing it to rest is ideal for achieving a medium-rare finish that showcases the tenderness and rich flavor of the beef tenderloin. Take the guesswork out by using a digital instant-read thermometer.
Slice the beef wellington into slices for serving. Slicing the beef tenderloin into slices reveals the meat’s rosy-pink center and layers within and makes portioning the beef easier for individual servings.
What Is Beef Wellington?
Beef wellington is a traditional English dish derived from the French technique of wrapping beef in puff pastry, a dish known as filet de boeuf en croûte. Beef wellington is made by wrapping a seared beef tenderloin with mushroom duxelles (finely minced mushrooms, shallots, garlic and herbs cooked down to a pâté-like consistency), ham and puff pastry. The wrapped beef tenderloin is then baked until the pastry is dark-golden brown outside, and the meat’s internal temperature reaches medium rare. Beef wellington is sliced into individual portions for serving and is often served with potatoes, vegetables and a gravy made with beef drippings.
Who Created Beef Wellington?
Although it is unclear who invented beef wellington, most people believe that the iconic dish was created to celebrate Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, and his victory at the Battle of Waterloo.
What to Serve with Beef Wellington
Serve beef wellington with gravy (ideally made from the beef drippings) or sauce and hearty side dishes such as mashed or roasted potatoes, roasted vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts and green beans or a green salad. For this recipe, Tyler recommends serving beef wellington with Warm Wilted Winter Greens, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs and Garlic and a Green Peppercorn Sauce.
The Ultimate Beef Wellington
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 7 hr
- Prep: 1 hr
- Cook: 6 hr
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 7 hr
- Prep: 1 hr
- Cook: 6 hr
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
For the Duxelles:
For the Beef:
Green Peppercorn Sauce:
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs and Garlic:
Warm Wilted Winter Greens:
Directions
- For the Duxelles:
- To make the Duxelles: Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
- For the Beef:
- To prepare the beef: Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting board. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to encompass the entire filet of beef. Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together. Remove beef from refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides, brushing with egg wash to seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Top with coarse sea salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.
- Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife ¿ this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices. Garnish with minced chives, and serve with Green Peppercorn Sauce, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs and Garlic, and Warm Wilted Winter Greens.
Green Peppercorn Sauce:
- Add olive oil to pan after removing beef. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme; saute for 1 to 2 minutes, then, off heat, add brandy and flambe using a long kitchen match. After flame dies down, return to the heat, add stock and reduce by about half. Strain out solids, then add 2 cups cream and mustard. Reduce by half again, then shut off heat and add green peppercorns.
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs and Garlic:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F and place a baking sheet inside to heat.
- Add potatoes, rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic to a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Remove sheet pan from oven, lightly coat with olive oil, and pour potatoes onto pan. Place potatoes in oven and reduce heat to 425 degrees F. Roast for 20 minutes, or until crispy on outside and tender on inside.
Warm Wilted Winter Greens:
- Cook honey and balsamic together over medium-high heat in a large saute pan, about 5 minutes. Toast walnuts in a small skillet; set aside to cool.
- Pile greens on a platter. Stir mustard into balsamic-honey dressing, then whisk in about 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil; pour over greens. Season greens with salt and pepper and garnish with walnuts, pomegranate seeds, shavings of Parmesan, and shallot.
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Recipe Review Highlights
People noted that the dish has incredible flavors and layers, with the duxelles and sauce being standout components. The meat tends to be tender and juicy, with a crispy and golden pastry exterior.
People made various substitutions, including using black peppercorns instead of green, mushroom substitutes like artichokes or walnuts, and even different types of meat such as filet mignon or venison backstrap. Common tweaks included adjusting the salt and not over-salting the meat, using alternative pastry options, and omitting the sauce when preferred.
This recipe is frequently used for Christmas, New Year's Eve, and other special holiday dinners, as well as for birthday celebrations, dinner parties, and Valentine's Day.
