The Ultimate Beef Wellington

I'm not a red meat person. Never have been. I was picking hamburger off of the bun when I was 10 and out of my spaghetti sauce when I was 5. It's just not my thing.
Until now.
Prepare yourself for the most amazing dish I think I have ever experienced: Tyler Florence's Ultimate Beef Wellington. Many people know that I have a culinary crush on Tyler Florence, as in, I could marry his recipes. This one was no exception. Truly, this will be the dish that I serve for company, for Christmas, basically whenever I need a show-stopper. I can't get over the layer upon delicious layer of flavor. I couldn't believe how it just melted in my mouth. And I can't believe that I was able to pull it off! If this recipe makes it look like I know what I'm doing with red meat, then this recipe really is the "Ultimate".

My favorite part is that you can stop at the refrigeration portion and let it sit for the afternoon. That way, if you have company coming, you can get everything ready in the morning and go about your business until the evening when you just complete the last 2 steps or so and throw it in the oven only to be fresh-faced and calm as guests arrive.(making the duxelles or mushroom mixture)

My husband and I made this for ourselves for Valentine's Day (awww), so we did modify it a little in that we just used 2 filet mignons instead of an entire beefsteak and scaled down everything else a little. I also used a different recipe for peppercorn sauce (recipe below) and used apricot nectar mixed with a little balsamic vinegar instead of cognac.(using the prosciutto shingling method as described in the recipe)

Really, you'll never have another piece of meat melt in your mouth the way this one does. I feel like my entire culinary experience up until has been lacking after trying this dish. Simply amazing.

Lastly, you'll want to adjust your cooking time accordingly if you are scaling it down.
Bon apetit!

Tyler Florence's Ultimate Beef Wellington

Ingredients

For the Duxelles:

• 3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms
• 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Beef:

• 1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 thin slices prosciutto
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
• 1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• Minced chives, for garnish
• Green Peppercorn Sauce, recipe follows
• Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
• Warm Wilted Winter Greens, recipe follows

Directions

To make the Duxelles: Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

To prepare the beef: Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting board. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to encompass the entire filet of beef. Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together. Remove beef from refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides, brushing with egg wash to seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Top with coarse sea salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.

Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices. Garnish with minced chives, and serve with Green Peppercorn Sauce, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, and Warm Wilted Winter Greens.

Peppercorn Sauce

Ingredients

• Pan juices from steak
• 4 steaks 1-1 1/2 inches
• 1/3 cup minced shallot
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 2 cups brown stock or canned beef broth
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorn, coarsely crushed
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions

Cook steaks and keep them in one layer in skillet. Remove steaks from skillet and skim all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan juices in the skillet. To skillet add, shallots and minced garlic and cook them for 1 to 2 minutes until softened. Deglaze with Cognac, scraping up bits which cling to skillet. Add stock or canned beef broth and peppercorns. In a small bowl combine cup heavy cream and cornstarch. Whisk cornstarch mixture into sauce and simmer until lightly thickened. Whisk in mustard and pour juices from plate into pan.

5 stars? Absolutely.