Beef Wellington

Directions

• Season the fillet generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a large pan on high heat.
• Sear the fillet in the pan on all sides until well browned
• Remove the filet from the pan and let cool. Once cooled, brush the fillet on all sides with mustard.
• Preparing and Cooking the Chicken Livers
• Using a sharp knife or even kitchen scissors trim off any fat, grizzle, sinew or green bits so that you have a nice clean liver.
• In the same pan as you seared the Filet, bring the pan back to high heat and add a touch of oil.
• Roughly chop the livers and add to the frying pan season with a little salt and pepper,
• Cook the livers out for about 5 minutes turning regularly, until they turn a golden colour and cooked right through, try not to overcook them.
• Set aside to cool off. Once cooled place on a large chopping board and finely chop
• Place in a large bowl
• Preparing the Mushroom Duxelles
• Either finely chop the mushrooms or blitz them in a food processor to get a rustic finish.
• Don’t over blitz them, you need the mushrooms to have a fairly coarse texture
• Heat a large frying pan with the oil.
• Heat the pan until hot, then add the mushrooms, shallots and thyme and stir to coat with the oil.
• Season with salt and pepper, lower the heat and continue to cook until the liquid the mushrooms produce has evaporated and the pan starts to look dry.
• Continue to cook until the mixture is lightly browned
• Deglaze the pan with the wine, and let the liquid cook off until the pan is dry again, stirring the pan to coat the mushrooms with the juices.
• Once the mushroom mixture has cooled, add it to the chicken livers and mix together to form a paste type consistency
• Puttin it all Together
• Roll out a 2 large pieces of cling film, at least 3″ wider each side of the filet
• Layout the slices of ham on the cling film 1″ wider than the filet, so that they overlap and spread the mushroom mixture over the ham.
• Place the beef filet in the middle and roll the mushroom and ham over the fillet using the cling film, so that it is tightly wrapped, use the overlapping ham to seal then ends.
• Twist the ends of the cling film to secure the filet in a barrel shape and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Gas Mark 6
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry sheet to 2″ wider than the rolled beef fillet.
• Cut off 2 rolls of cling film again 2 ” wider than the pastry and place the pastry on the cling film
• Unwrap the fillet from the plastic wrap and place in the middle of the pastry.
• Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg yolks.
• Place the filet in the middle of the pastry
• Using the same method you used to roll up the beef and parma ham, tightly fold the pastry around the fillet leaving a minimal overlap. Discard any surplus pastry.
• Make sure the ends are completely sealed
• Brush beaten egg yolks all over the top and sides.
• Sprinkle the top with rock salt and chill for 5-10 minutes.
• Place the fillet on a baking pan and with the back of a knife score the top at an angle. (Just let the weight of the knife score the pastry, you are not looking to cut right through the pastry)
• Turn the filet around and score again at an angle, so you finish with a criss-cross design
• Score the top with the back of a knife
• Bake at 400°F for 25-35 minutes.
• The pastry should be nicely golden when done.
• Test the meat at 25 minutes with a meat thermometer, For a perfect Beef Wellington you should be looking at Medium Rare, and the inside temperature should read around 130°F.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving with Madeira Sauce