How To Make A Classic Beef Wellington

Nothing says autumnal feasting quite like a beef wellington with its hunk of beef fillet wrapped in golden flaky pastry – complete with plenty of buttered greens and a rich red wine jus, of course. 

It’s a dish that has been loved throughout the centuries, and across countries. While its exact origins differ slightly, one theory cites its creation by the Duke of Wellington’s chef for him to eat on marches (the pastry making it portable in those days), and others say it was an ode to the duke and his victory at the Battle of Waterloo in the 1800s (a patriotic renaming of the French filet de boeuf en croute). A favoured dish in Europe, it gained traction in the US thanks to Julia Child and her best-selling recipe book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961) in which the French version was featured and the Americans immediately loved it.

Universally delicious, it’s a crowd-pleaser of a dish. If in central London, chef Sam White’s beef wellington is a must-order from 45 Jermyn St., or there’s the ready-to-cook version from butcher The Ginger Pig, famous for its high welfare meat and its pastry goods. Ellie Morris, Seasonal Recipe Developer at The Ginger Pig says: ‘Handcrafted by the talented ladies in our Marylebone shop, the Ginger Pig Beef Wellingtons are beautiful fillets of beef, sheathed in a mushroom duxelle and Serrano ham, wrapped in a wonderfully flaky puff pastry, they are a work of art.’

If you fancy giving it a go at home, The Ginger Pig has shared its beloved recipe, made with mushrooms and parma ham.

Recipe: Classic Beef Wellington

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1kg beef fillet centre cut/Chateaubriand
• 200g duxelles mushrooms
• Chicken liver paté
• 150g parma ham slices
• Puff pastry sheets
• Egg yolk

Method:

1. Seal the beef fillet in a hot frying pan and set aside to cool.
2. Finely chop the mushrooms and fry in butter and herbs to make the duxelles and set aside to cool.
3. Cut a piece of clingfilm, set it on the worktop and lay the Parma ham slices out (enough to cover the fillet once rolled).
4. Spread a 5mm to 1cm layer of chicken liver paté over the Parma ham, depending on how much you like.
5. Add a layer of duxelles mushrooms on top.
6. Place the fillet in the middle, and roll the ham, paté and mushrooms around it.
7. Set the rolled fillet in the middle of the puff pastry sheet, leaving about 3-4cm pastry spare around the edges.
8. Place another puff pastry sheet on top of the fillet (as the cover) and fold the overhanging bottom pastry up around the edges so it’s all sealed.
9. Brush the pastry with egg yolk.
10. Cook at 180C for 45 minutes.
11. Rest for 15 minutes.

Top tip: Use a meat thermometer for perfect cooking. 50C for rare, 60C for medium.

Recipe taken from The Ginger Pig