Julia Childs Beef Wellington Food

BEEF WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Place all marinade ingredients (except salt, vermouth and cognac) in a small saucepan.
• Cook slowly until vegetables are tender.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Season filets with salt; place in ziplock bag; add marinade mixture; pour on the wine and cognac.
• Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.
• Remove from marinade.
• Pat dry.
• Heat 1 T oil in a heavy duty saute pan over high heat.
• Add filet and sear briefly on all sides.
• Return to refrigerator until ready to assemble the Wellingtons.
• Reserve marinade for sauce.
• Mince mushrooms in food processor until very small.
• In the corner of a clean kitchen towel, twist the mushrooms a handful at a time to extract as much of the mushroom juices as possible.
• I usually dampen the towel first so it won't absorb the juices of the mushrooms.
• Reserve the juices for the sauce.
• Saute mushrooms and shallots in butter 7 or 8 minutes or so until the mushroom pieces separate from each other and begin to look dry.
• Add the madeira and boil until liquid has evaporated.
• Season to taste and stir in the pate or foie gras.
• Simmer marinade ingredients and mushroom juices with 2 cups beef broth and 1 T tomato paste for 1 hour or so until reduced to 2 cups.
• Degrease, season and thicken with 2 Tbs.
• cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup Madeira.
• All of these steps can be prepared well in advance and even frozen in separate containers.
• Simply thaw everything before proceeding.
• I usually get two Wellingtons out of each sheet of puff pastry.
• It depends on the size of the steaks.
• Roll out each sheet a little to accomodate the size of the filet.
• Cut sheet in half.
• Lay one sheet of Prosciutto on each half.
• Place a spoonful of mushrooms on top; place a filet on top of mushrooms; spoon a little more mushrooms on top of filet; wrap filet in pastry.
• Pinch to seal.
• If you have any pastry left over, be creative and decorate the Wellingtons to fit the occasion.
• Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
• Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake.
• Preheat oven to 375^F.
• Egg wash the tops of the Wellingtons.
• Bake until golden brown.
• About 25 minutes.
• Use an instant read thermometer to insure that the meat is done to your liking.
• If Wellingtons start to brown too much before the meat is ready, cover with foil and cook until it is done.
• Serve with the Madeira sauce spooned on top.

BEEF WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Using kitchen twine, tie the tenderloin into a 12-inch log, folding the thinner end onto itself. (Use your hands to squeeze the meat into a log. You can be aggressive here.)
• Place pancetta in a cold 12-inch skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pancetta starts to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add butter, raise heat to high, and stir in mushrooms and shallot. Cook until the liquid released by the mushrooms has cooked off, 4 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until mushrooms are browned, stirring frequently, another 18 to 23 minutes. (Take your time here, you want a deep golden color for the best flavor.) Scrape bottom of the skillet as necessary to prevent burning.
• If the pan looks dry, drizzle in a little olive oil, then stir in garlic and thyme leaves. Cook until fragrant, another 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in sherry, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Scrape mixture into a medium bowl to cool. (Do not add salt at this point.)
• In the same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Season beef generously with salt and pepper, then sear on all sides until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, and cool slightly. Remove any twine. Brush meat all over with mustard.
• On a clean work surface, overlap long sheets of plastic wrap (about 15-by-15 inches). Place prosciutto slices on top to make about a 14-by-7-inch rectangle, arranging them in an even layer and overlapping the pieces slightly. Spread cooled mushroom mixture on top.
• Place beef along one long end of the prosciutto slices, and roll prosciutto tightly around beef. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, twisting both ends like a candy wrapper. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees, and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and 1 teaspoon water. Lay puff pastry out on the prepared baking sheet, lightly draping over edges. (The pastry needs to be at least 14-inches long and 13-inches wide to cover the beef; if not, roll it out as needed.)
• Carefully unwrap and place chilled log along the edge of one long side of puff pastry. Roll beef up tightly, then place it seam-side down on the baking sheet. Tuck puff pastry over the ends of the beef to cover them, pinching to seal and folding underneath. Brush top and sides of pastry with egg wash, and use a small sharp knife to cut a few slits into the top of the pastry.
• Bake until a thermometer inserted in the center reads 115 degrees for rare, 25 to 35 minutes. (This timing will yield rare pieces at the thicker end and medium done pieces at the thinner end of the loin.) Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve while warm.