Mom’s Traditional Beef Wellington with Liverwurst

My mother started making Beef Wellington for me when I was still in high school. I love the delicious rare meat with the duxelles juxtaposed against the flaky but tender puff pastry. I want to remark this is a complex process, and I’ve done my best to illustrate every step. If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment and I will get back to you when I can.

I always use frozen puff pastry for Beef Wellington. If I’m feeling extremely adventurous, sometimes I will make it from scratch, but it takes a while! For the sauce, I use Kendall Jackson Cabernet Sauvignon Vitner’s Reserve. I have always used this wine and I think it gives the sauce a rich flavor.

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Mom’s Beef Wellington

Author: Victoria
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 4 1x

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Description

The pictures below this recipe are very helpful, if you want to take a look!

**** I salt and pepper liberally throughout the entire process. Never, ever use Iodized salt. EVER.

Ingredients

Scale

1 package frozen puff pastry (usually comes with 2 sheets which you will need)
Olive Oil (Used throughout the process)
About 5 tbsp of butter (divided throughout recipe for use)
1 package of Baby Bella Mushrooms diced finely
4 medium-sized shallots diced finely
5 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed
4 angus grade filet mignons
1/2 cup Cabernet Sauvignon (I use a decent $20 dollar bottle such as Kendall Jackson.)
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
1 tbsp. of flour plus a touch more for dusting the work surface to roll out puff pastry
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 tsp. of kitchen bouquet (I like to add this to darken the color of the sauce)
Liverwurst (John Morrel or the like. Can be found in the bacon section of your grocery store.)
1 egg, whisked
Sea Salt and Pepper

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Instructions

Take puff pastry out of the freezer and let thaw completely. Sooner is better than later, because you want it to cook through completely.
Liberally salt and pepper the beef. If you think you’ve salted it enough, add more salt still.
Add 1-2 tbsp. olive oil, 1-2 tbsp. butter, and mushrooms into a large pan. Cook mushrooms for about 1 minute on medium high heat. Then add in about 3/4 of the diced shallots and thyme. Cook on low heat until shallots are translucent and fragrant. Salt and Pepper the mixture. Put aside in bowl and refrigerate.
Add another tbsp. of butter into the pan. Make sure the pan is nice and hot. Sear the filets on each side on high heat for about 30 seconds or until nicely browned. (You really want a very fast sear because the filets will be cooking again in the oven.) Set aside on separate plate and refrigerate until further use. Refrigeration is key to making sure that you end up with a medium rare temperature at the end of the process.
Time to make the sauce! In the same pan, add 1-2 tbsp. of olive oil, the rest of the shallots and thyme. Cook on low heat. When shallots are translucent, turn the heat up high. Add the wine. Let reduce for a couple of minutes, just to cook off the alcohol. (You don’t want to reduce all the way.)
Add beef broth. And let simmer for about 3-4 minutes.
To thicken, mix 1 tbsp. of flour with one tbsp. of butter in a separate bowl. Keep working the flour into the softened butter until the flour and butter are one ball of goodness. Take little pieces of that concoction and whisk briskly into the sauce until desired consistency is reached. (This method is important so that you don’t wind up with a lumpy sauce. Ensure that you don’t add the entire mixture at once, or your sauce will come out with a salsa consistency. Add a little at a time.) I usually like it thick enough so that when you run your spoon through it, it will separate for a moment or two, but not too thick so that it is sludgy. And not too thin where it is runny.
Add a couple drops of Worcestershire sauce and Kitchen Bouquet.
Salt and Pepper to taste. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lightly dust rolling pin and working surface with flour. Roll out puff pastry.
Place beef about 1-2 inches from the edge of the pastry closest to you. (This will allow you to fold it over the beef).
Place a thin slice of liverwurst on top of the beef. Top with a heaping portion of the mushroom/shallot/thyme mixture (duxelles) you made in the beginning.
Fold the puff pastry over the top of the beef and seal the edges with your fingers and a fork.
Brush egg lightly over the surface of the Beef Wellington. Poke 2 tiny holes on the top to let air escape when cooking.
Repeat for remaining 3 filets.
Place in oven. Cook for about 15 minutes for rare or until puff pastry is nicely browned and visibly cooked. Cook about 20-25 minutes for medium rare, and so on and so forth. (All depends on the size of the filet, so you can add or subtract time accordingly). This is always the trickiest step in my opinion. I like mine rare. Thus, I refrigerate the beef, so that it remains cool, while the puff pastry is warming up to room temperature. These steps are vital to achieving rare meat in a Beef Wellington.
Remove from oven. Let rest for 5 minutes. ( I usually serve this dish with oven-roasted asparagus. (Asparagus, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, at 400 degrees for about 25. minutes or until the tops are crispy!)
Enjoy!

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cuisine: British