Beef Wellington Recipe Made Easy and Fun

This recipe comes as close to classic Beef Wellington as any of my variations get here. There is no exact science to this. Follow the recipe as is, or try any of the suggested modifications, or some of your own. Most importantly, have fun with it.

Serves 4
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients for the beef:
* Four fillets mignon, 1-inch thick
* 1/4 pound Foie Gras, sliced into 1-ounce slices
* 1 pound puff pastry thawed out
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons olive oil (butter is fine)
* 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard (yellow or deli mustard is fine)
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or other herbs of your choice)
* 1/2 teaspoon course ground sea salt
* Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the duxelles:
* 1/2 pound mushrooms (button mushrooms or your choice)
* 2 shallots
* 1 small onion
* 4 cloves garlic (I like garlic a lot, and depends on size of the cloves, so use your discretion)
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme (or other herbs of your choice, eg., basil, rosemary, tarragon, etc.)
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional, I personally like the spicy goodness)
* 1/4 cup dry red wine (white wine, sherry, or even brandy is fine, or none)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil (butter is fine)
* Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the duxelles:
Finely chop the mushrooms, onion, shallots and garlic, and mix them together in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushroom mixture and thyme into the skillet, with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir frequently and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and wine (dry red or your choice). Continue stirring frequently, and cook until the liquid has nearly all evaporated, then remove from heat. Transfer the duxelles to a plate lined with a couple of paper towel layers to absorb any excess liquid/oil, set aside, and allow to cool.

Prepare the beef:
Fillets can be of irregular shape, so tie them into a round form with kitchen twine (ordinary cotton string found at a hardware store is fine). Season the fillets with salt and pepper on both sides. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the fillets on both sides until they are browned, about 3 minutes per side, and sear the edges as well. Be careful not to overcook the fillets at this stage. If you have a meat thermometer (I recommend it), the center of the fillets should be about 115 degrees F. Transfer the fillets from the skillet to a plate. After they have cooled a bit, cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for an hour. Chilling them now will prevent them from overcooking during the final stage. After baking, the fillets should come out medium rare. If you like your meat well done, as does my spouse, then you will want to leave the fillets in the skillet a bit longer and, perhaps, skip the chilling step. Next, give the skillet a quick wipe, add another tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, season the foie gras slices with a pinch of salt and pepper each, then sear them for about 30 seconds per side. Transfer the foie gras to a plate lined with a couple of paper towel layers to drain and cool, and set aside for now.

Prepare the pastry:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw the puff pastry according to package instructions (actually, you will want to do that ahead of time). Clear and clean an ample area of counter space, then sprinkle with flour. Be sure to flour your rolling pin, too. Sticking pastry detracts from the fun of this process, so be generous with the flour. Cut the pastry into 4 squares, then roll them out until they are large enough to wrap the fillets. Divide the duxelles into 8 parts, and place 1 part onto the center of each of the 4 pastry squares, and spread out to the diameter of the fillets. If you tied the fillets with kitchen twine, remove it now. Smear each of the fillets lightly with Dijon mustard, then place them onto the pastry squares, on top of the duxelles. Lay one of the 4 foie gras slices on top of each of the fillets, then top them all with the remaining duxelles, and sprinkle on a bit of thyme or other herbs of your choice. Now, it's time to fold the pastry up around the fillets into parcels, sealing the edges. With any leftover pastry, you can decorate the parcels. Place the parcels seam-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Beat the egg thoroughly, and brush the parcels all over with the beaten egg, then sprinkle each with a pinch of the course sea salt. The egg wash will give the pastry a crispy glaze. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Allow them to rest for 5 minutes, then serve with vegetable sides of your choice.

This Beef Wellington recipe, made with fillet mignon and foie gras should be a real crowd-pleaser--it is at my house. If you think the foie gras might be a bit rich for your taste, you can substitute it with prosciutto or parma ham slices, or leave it out altogether. If you like Beef Wellington sauces, they are not hard to find on the net. I personally like Beef Wellington without sauce, but I admit that sauces can add a very nice touch. Please let me know what you think of this recipe. Now, let's try another variation.

This Beef Wellington recipe costs significantly less to prepare than the one above that calls for fillet mignon and foie gras but is, nevertheless, scrumptious. Be sure to use lean ground beef to prevent excessive grease run off when baking and meat shrinkage. Follow the recipe as is, if you wish, but again, engage your creativity with this recipe and have fun tweaking the ingredients at your pleasure. There really is no right or wrong way to do this.

Serves 4
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients for the beef:
* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 1 onion (white or yellow)
* 2 cloves garlic
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves (or other herbs of your choice)
* 2 eggs
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 4 slices of prosciutto or parma ham
* 1 pound puff pastry thawed out
* Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the duxelles:
* 1/2 pound mushrooms (button mushrooms or your choice)
* 1 onion (white or yellow)
* 2 shallots
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme (or other herbs of your choice, eg., oregano, basil, rosemary, etc.)
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup dry red wine (dry vermouth, white wine, or even brandy is fine, or none)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil (butter is fine)
* Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the duxelles:
Finely chop the mushrooms, onion, shallots and garlic, and mix them together in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushroom mixture and thyme into the skillet, with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir frequently and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and wine (dry red or your choice). Continue stirring frequently, and cook until the liquid has nearly all evaporated, then remove from heat. Transfer the duxelles to a plate lined with a couple of paper towel layers to absorb any excess liquid/oil, set aside, and allow to cool.

Prepare the beef:
In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, onion and garlic (both finely chopped), 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of thyme or other herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and one egg. Mix the ingredients thoroughly (hands work great for this step). Form into 4 thick patties about 1 inch thick. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. As with the recipe above, cook the patties on both sides until they are browned, about 3 minutes per side, and sear the edges, too. Again, be careful not to overcook. The center of the patties should be about 115 degrees F at this stage. Transfer the patties from the skillet to a plate. After they have cooled a bit, cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for an hour. Chilling them now will prevent them from overcooking during the final baking stage. After baking, the patties should come out medium rare. If you like your meat well done, then you will want to cook the patties in the skillet a bit longer and skip the chilling step.

Prepare the pastry:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw the puff pastry according to package instructions (actually, you will want to do that ahead of time). Clear and clean an ample area of counter space, then sprinkle with flour. Be sure to flour your rolling pin, too. Sticking pastry detracts from the fun of this process, so be generous with the flour. Cut the pastry into 4 squares, then roll them out until they are large enough to wrap the patties. Divide the duxelles into 8 parts, and place 1 part onto the center of each of the 4 pastry squares, and spread out to the diameter of the patties. Place the patties on top of the duxelles. Lay one of the 4 ham slices on top of each of the stacks, then top them all with the remaining duxelles, and sprinkle a bit of thyme or other herbs over the duxelles. Now, it's time to fold the pastry up around the patties into nice parcels, sealing the edges. Place the parcels seam-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Beat the egg thoroughly, and brush each pastry parcel all over with the beaten egg, then sprinkle each with a pinch of the course sea salt. The egg wash will give the pastry a crispy glaze. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Allow them to rest for 5 minutes, then serve with vegetable sides of your choice.

You may have noticed that the mustard of the first recipe was not included in this variation. If you enjoy the mustard seasoning, then add it by all means. Among other differences, you may also have noticed the similarities that these two Beef Wellington recipes share. While there is ample room for experimentation and variations, certain elements must remain in place if we still want to call it Beef Wellington, and have others know what we are talking about.. Again, this ground beef recipe is always received well at my house, and it's a great, economical alternative to the more expensive fillet mignon recipe above. The next recipe is wonderful for holiday gatherings and parties--Beef Wellington Bites we call it.

Making these Beef Wellington Bites is very similar to using the recipes above, except for ingredient quantities, pastry size, and cooking time. As noted above, these hor d'oeuvres are delicious and very easy to make, and if you have a little help they can be made pretty quickly. Again, feel free to experiment with the ingredients. You may want to try adding a bit of your favorite cheese to them.

Serves 18+ (as hor d'oeuvres)
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients for the beef:
* 1 pound beef tenderloin
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or other herbs of your choice)
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 6 ounces of your favorite cheese (optional)
* 1 pound puff pastry thawed out
* Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the duxelles:
* 1/2 pound mushrooms (button mushrooms or your choice)
* 1 onion (white or yellow)
* 2 shallots
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme (or other herbs of your choice, eg., oregano, basil, rosemary, etc.)
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup dry red wine (dry vermouth, sherry, or even brandy is fine, or none)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil (butter is fine)
* Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the duxelles:
Finely chop the mushrooms, onion, shallots, and garlic, and mix them together in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushroom mixture and thyme into the skillet, with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir frequently and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and wine (dry red or your choice). Continue stirring frequently, and cook until the liquid has nearly all evaporated, then remove from heat. Transfer the duxelles to a plate lined with a couple of paper towel layers to absorb any excess liquid/oil, set aside, and allow to cool.

Prepare the beef:
Cube the beef tenderloin into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces, spread them out on a plate, and season them with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Sear the cubes quickly, about 30 seconds, stirring and turning them constantly. Don't worry if they are not all thoroughly browned. Be especially careful not to overcook them at this stage, as they will finish cooking when the parcels are baked. Transfer the cubes from the skillet to a plate, and set aside to cool.

Prepare the pastry:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Thaw the puff pastry according to package instructions (actually, you will want to do that ahead of time). Clear and clean an ample area of counter space, then sprinkle with flour. Be sure to flour your rolling pin, too. Sticking pastry detracts from the fun of this process, so be generous with the flour. Pepperidge Farm puff pastry comes in sheets that are about 10 in. x 10 in., with two sheets in the 1 pound box. Roll the sheets out until they are about 12 in. x 12 in., and cut them up into 2 in. squares. That will give you 72 small pastry squares. Place a small amount of the duxelles on each square, about 1/2 teaspoon, then place a cube on top of the duxelles. Top that mini-stack with a small piece of cheese of your choice, or foie gras, or a small piece of prosciutto ham if you like, then sprinkle on a pinch of thyme or other herbs of your choice. Now, it's time to fold the pastry up around the cubes into nice parcels, sealing the edges. Place the parcels seam-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Beat the egg thoroughly, and brush each pastry parcel all over with the beaten egg, then sprinkle each with a pinch of the course sea salt. The egg wash will give the pastry a crispy glaze. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Allow them to rest for 5 minutes, then serve.

These Beef Wellington Bites are amazingly delicious, so don't be surprised if they disappear quickly once your guests discover what they are. Have fun!

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