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Beef Wellington
Fillet of beef wrapped in mushroom duxelles, cured ham and golden puff pastry — the great celebration centrepiece, back on Britain’s most-cooked list for every special occasion.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 85 min
- Yield
- Serves 6
- Difficulty
- Involved
- Era
- Regency revival
Ingredients
- 900g centre-cut beef fillet
- 2 tbsp oil; 1 tbsp English mustard
- Duxelles: 750g chestnut mushrooms, 50g butter, 1 sprig thyme
- 8 slices prosciutto or Parma ham
- 500g all-butter puff pastry
- 2 egg yolks, beaten, for glazing
- Madeira or red wine gravy, to serve
Method
Oven200°C400°FFan 180°CGas 6
- Sear the fillet in smoking-hot oil for 2 minutes per side until browned all over. Brush with mustard and cool completely.
- Blitz the mushrooms and fry hard in butter with thyme for 10 minutes until completely dry. Cool.
- Lay clingfilm on the worktop, arrange the ham, spread over the duxelles, and roll tightly round the fillet. Chill 30 minutes.
- Roll the pastry into a rectangle, unwrap the beef onto it and seal it inside. Chill another 30 minutes — a cold Wellington keeps its shape.
- Brush with egg yolk, score lightly, and bake at 200°C / 400°F (fan 180°C, gas 6) for 35–40 minutes for medium-rare (50°C / 122°F in the centre).
- Rest 15 minutes, carve into thick slices with a serrated knife, and serve with Madeira gravy.
Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.