Classic Beef Wellington (Print View)

Beef fillet wrapped in mushrooms, prosciutto, and golden puff pastry - an elegant showstopper for celebrations.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Beef

01 - 2 lb beef tenderloin, trimmed
02 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
03 - 2 tbsp vegetable oil

→ Mushroom Duxelles

04 - 1 lb cremini or button mushrooms, finely chopped
05 - 2 shallots, minced
06 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
07 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter
08 - 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
09 - Salt and pepper to taste

→ Assembly

10 - 10 slices prosciutto
11 - 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
12 - 1 sheet puff pastry (14 oz), thawed if frozen
13 - 1 large egg, beaten for egg wash
14 - Flour for dusting

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F.
02 - Season beef tenderloin with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over high heat. Sear beef on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per side, until browned. Remove and let cool completely.
03 - In the same skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, sauté for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and cook until all moisture evaporates and mixture reaches paste-like consistency, approximately 10 minutes. Let cool.
04 - Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a work surface. Arrange prosciutto slices in a slightly overlapping layer to form a rectangle just larger than the beef.
05 - Spread mushroom duxelles evenly over the prosciutto.
06 - Brush the cooled beef with Dijon mustard. Place beef on the duxelles-covered prosciutto.
07 - Using the plastic wrap, roll prosciutto and mushrooms around the beef into a tight log. Twist ends to seal and chill for 20 minutes.
08 - Roll out puff pastry on a floured surface to a rectangle large enough to fully encase the beef. Unwrap beef from plastic and place in the center of the pastry.
09 - Fold pastry over beef, trimming excess. Seal edges and place seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
10 - Brush pastry with egg wash. Decorate with pastry scraps if desired. Chill for 10 minutes.
11 - Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the beef reads 120°F for rare or 130°F for medium-rare.
12 - Let rest 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It looks like something from a fancy restaurant but you can absolutely make it at home without culinary school.
  • The layers of flavor from the mushrooms, prosciutto, and mustard make every bite interesting and rich.
  • Leftovers (if you're lucky enough to have any) make the most incredible cold sandwiches the next day.
02 -
  • If your mushroom duxelles is too wet, the pastry will turn soggy and limp, so cook it until it's almost dry and paste-like.
  • Chilling the wrapped beef before you encase it in pastry makes it so much easier to handle and helps everything hold its shape.
  • Use an instant-read thermometer because guessing the doneness through all those layers is nearly impossible and you don't want to slice into it early and lose all the drama.
03 -
  • Pat the beef completely dry with paper towels before searing so you get a deep crust instead of steaming it.
  • If you brush a thin layer of pâté on the beef before wrapping, it adds an extra layer of richness that makes the whole thing taste even more luxurious.
  • Score the top of the pastry lightly with a sharp knife in a decorative pattern before baking, it looks gorgeous and helps the pastry puff evenly.
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