I have enjoyed watching Hells Kitchen for years and have always wanted to try making Beef Wellington. I didn’t want to make a ton, so I found a few recipes for Individual Beef Wellington and adapted them to my taste. Now, I’m not a fan of mushrooms so I needed to include a search for an alternative to the mushroom mixture used in most Beef Wellington recipes. Although, after a recent trip to Hilton Head and a fabulous meal at The Lucky Rooster, that may change. I plan to make an umami rub that includes mushrooms and green onions and will experiment with that on this Individual Beef Wellington recipe at a later date.
To make the Individual Beef Wellington, I started with nice, thick filet mignon steaks. You can’t possibly go wrong with those, right?! These steaks were a good 2 inches thick. I purchased filets that were as equally sized as I could so that the cooking time would be even. My goal for the end result was a perfect medium-rare temperature. I liberally seasoned the filets with salt and pepper. Next, I seared them on both sides for approximately 1 minute over high heat. And then set them aside for later.
Since I wanted to avoid mushrooms, I made a mixture of onion, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper as a substitute. Another time I might try adding spinach as well. I chopped up the onions and garlic into chunks and placed the ingredients into a mini food processor. I pulsed the onion mixture so that it was finely chopped. The mixture will be wet and that’s perfectly fine. I sautéed the onion, garlic, thyme mixture in some olive oil and set aside to cool reserving for use during the assembly process.
I opted to use a sheet of store-bought puff pastry. Note: you must be sure to allow enough time for puff pastry to come to room temperature prior to assembling the Individual Beef Wellington. With a light dusting of flour on my counter top, I cut the puff pastry sheet in half. Then I rolled out each piece large enough to cover the filets. I placed a slice of ham on each piece of puff pastry. After which, I layered the onion mixture on top of the ham. I brushed the filets with English mustard…well, the first time I made them (as evidenced in the photo) I forgot this step. This was a recoverable omission as I was able to brush it on the top and sides with no sign of a mistake in the end product. After brushing the filets with the English mustard, I placed them on top of the onion mixture.
Completing the assembly, I wrapped the puff pastry around the filet. I placed them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using the back of a paring knife, I lightly scored a criss-cross pattern on the top of the puff pastry. This step is not necessary, however, I like it for an elegant visual effect. Finally, to achieve a nice golden brown color, I brushed the puff pastry with a light egg wash prior to popping the Individual Beef Wellington into the oven.
I have to admit, the first time I made these, I was really nervous as to how these Individual Beef Wellington would come out. Being all wrapped up, I felt like I had to take a blind leap of faith on the cook temperature. However, we were so pleasantly surprised when we cut into them…pure perfection! We paired the Individual Beef Wellington with a fresh salad and glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. What a wonderful date night dinner!
Individual Beef Wellington
Ingredients
- 2 6-8 ounce filets
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp olive oil separated
- 1 small onion
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 2 slices good deli ham *
- 1-2 Tbsp Coleman's English mustard **
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry ***
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Thaw frozen puff pastry sheet ***
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Season filets liberally with salt and pepper
- Heat olive oil (or other oil of your choosing) in saute pan over high heat, sear filets for 1 minute on each side, and set aside
- Chop onion and garlic into chunks and add to mini food processor with thyme, salt, and pepper
- Pulse onion mixture until finely chopped
- Heat olive oil (or other oil of your choosing) in a saute pan over medium heat, saute onion mixture, set aside for assembly
- Lightly dust work surface with flour, cut puff pastry sheet into two pieces, and roll out to size that will wrap around the assembled filets
- Layer a piece of ham on top of each piece of puff pastry *
- Layer the onion mixture on top of the ham
- Brush the Coleman's English mustard all over the seared filets and place on top of onion mixture **
- Fold puff pastry over the filets and pinch to seal, placing seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- Beat egg and water together and brush over puff pastry
- Using the back of a paring knife, lightly score a criss-cross design in the top of the puff pastry on each Beef Wellington without piercing the pastry (optional)
- Bake in 400 degree oven until the puff pastry is cooked and golden brown, approximately 20 minutes, and the center of the meat registers 120 - 125 degrees on a digital thermometer for medium-rare
- Allow the Individual Beef Wellington to rest for 10 minutes prior to serving
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