Traditional Beef Wellington is the ultimate
indulgence. The perfectly cooked beef tenderloin
is smothered in mustard, earthy mushroom
duxelles and salty prosciutto, and encased in a
beautiful lattice blanket of flaky puff pastry. Don’t
be daunted by this recipe – all the elements can
be made ahead of time and assembled just before
cooking, making you look like a Masterchef and
impressing your family this Christmas!
Serves: 6
Prep/Cook Time: 2Hr 30Mins
Ingredients
• 2 (375g packets)
Carême All Butter Puff Pastry,
defrosted (or 1 if not making lattice)
• 650g beef tenderloin (even thick
centre cut), room temperature
• 6-8 slices of good quality prosciutto
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (or other
high temp cooking oil)
• ¼ Cup Dijon mustard
• 2 Egg yolks, lightly whisked
• Flaked sea salt, for baking
• Salt and pepper, to taste
For the mushroom duxelles
1 – 500g swiss brown mushrooms, finely
chopped
• 2 French shallots, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons whiskey (optional)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
• Salt and pepper, to taste.
For the crepes
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- • 300ml full cream milk
- • 2 eggs
- • Salt, to taste.
Method
For the mushroom duxelles:
1 – In a large pan, combine the olive oil, shallots
and garlic over a medium-low heat, cooking
for a few minutes until translucent. Add the
mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
Cook until the mushrooms have released and
reabsorbed their liquid (about 6-8 minutes),
stirring regularly throughout.
2 – Add the whiskey and thyme leaves, then cook for
a further 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set
aside to cool completely.
For the beef:
3 – In a large pan, add the canola oil and preheat on
medium-high. Pat the beef tenderloin with some
paper towel to dry it, and liberally season all
sides and ends of the beef with salt and pepper.
4 – When the pan is extremely hot, sear the
tenderloin on all sides and ends for 1-2 minutes
each, until the outside is caramelised and golden
(the fillet will cook through in the oven after it is
wrapped in pastry).
5 – Once golden, remove the beef from the pan
and place it onto a board. While it is still hot,
brush all sides generously with the mustard (do
this while the beef is hot so that the mustard
absorbs into the fillet as it cools). Set the beef
aside to cool.
For the crepes:
6 – Combine the flour, milk and egg in a bowl and
season with a pinch of salt, then whisk until
completely smooth.
7 – In a medium non-stick pan, preheat on medium,
then add just enough butter to coat the base.
Pour in ¼ cup of the batter and swirl the pan
immediately to ensure the mixture evenly coats
the bottom. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then gently flip
the crepe and cook the other side for a further
minute, then remove it and place it onto a plate.
8 – Repeat with the remaining batter, buttering the
pan for every second crepe
To complete the dish:
9 – On a clean benchtop or large board, slightly
overlap 3-4 crepes in a line, ensuring they
will completely encase the beef. Cover
the bottom two thirds of the crepes with
prosciutto slices, slightly overlapped, then
top the prosciutto with an even layer of the
cooled duxelles.
10 – Place the beef at the bottom edge of
the mushroom duxelles, then gently and
slowly roll the crepes and toppings up over
the beef, rolling the sides inwards and
upwards to completely encase the beef
within the crepes.
11 – Place the roll on a large sheet of cling film,
then roll it up firmly, leaving enough cling
film on either side of the roll to hold onto,
then twist the sides to tighten the wrap
(almost like a bon bon wrapper). To do this,
hold the sides of the cling film, then roll
it on your bench a couple of times until it
tightens around the beef. Place in the fridge
to firm up for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
12 – Unroll the first sheet of pastry, place it onto
a lightly dusted work surface and brush
the entire sheet with beaten egg. Remove
the crepe-covered beef from the fridge and
unwrap it from the cling film. Place the beef
roll in the middle of the short edge of the
pastry, just above the bottom, then slowly
roll the pastry around your entire wellington
until the edges meet. Pinch and tuck the
pastry sides underneath the wellington,
ensuring there are no gaps and the pastry is
completely enclosed. Brush the surface of
the pastry with egg wash again. If you are
not making the lattice top (see next step),
you can cook the wellington at this point.
13 – To make the lattice topping, unroll the
second sheet of pastry and cut it with a
lattice pastry roller. Gently tease the lattice
apart, then drape it over the wrapped
wellington. Cut the edges and tuck the
lattice underneath the wellington, then
brush the lattice topping very gently with
more egg wash and season with generously
with flaked sea salt.
14 – Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced (220°C
conventional). Transfer the beef wellington
to a lined baking tray and bake for 45-55
minutes until the beef reaches an internal
temperature of 56°C for medium rare (we
use a digital thermometer to cook our
wellington perfectly).
Serving Instructions: Rest the beef for 10-15
minutes. Serve in thick slices with a rich beef jus
TIP: The crepes provide protection for
the pastry, preventing it from coming into
contact with the beef juices during cooking
and ensuring the pastry remains crisp, which
makes them an integral part of this recipe.
If you’re not confident in making crepes
yourself, you can use store-bought versions.
Make sure to cook your mushrooms slowly –
if the process is rushed, the mushrooms will
turn mushy.
Many elements of this dish can be prepared
in advance. We recommend the following:
• 2 days prior to serving, make the duxelles
and crepes, and store them in the fridge.
• 1 day prior to serving, sear the beef, wrap
it in the crepes, duxelles and prosciutto,
and set it in shape with the cling film,
then store it in the fridge.
• On the morning you are serving the dish,
wrap it in the pastry and lattice topping,
cover it in glad wrap and store it in the
fridge until ready to bake.
Original Recipe: Careme Pastry
