Beef Wellington

What kind of meat do you use for beef wellington?

Beef wellington is classically made with fillet steak, as this is a very lean cut of meat. As it's being cooked inside a pastry case, a cut with too much fat wouldn’t render and could be tough and fatty. The leanness of fillet means that the slower cooking will give you a tender piece of meat.

How do I cook a beef wellington?

Start by searing your steak on all sides in a hot pan. This is the only caramelisation the steak will get, so this will ensure a more delicious wellington. Remove from the pan and cook finely chopped shallots and finely chopped mushrooms until all of their water has been released and evaporated, and the mix is very dry – this is known as a ‘farce’. Cool this completely.

Roll out your puff pastry, lay out some slices of parma ham and then add a layer of mushroom farce, then your steak. Wrap the farce all the way around, and then encase completely in parma ham and puff pastry. Lightly score the pastry with the back of a knife, just for decoration and brush really well with beaten egg. Cook at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 – different fillet/steak sizes will require different timings.

Tips for making beef wellington

Chill your wellingtons before cooking. Cold pastry, filling and steak will ensure you get the best results – your steak is more likely to be medium rare when cooking from cold, as it will take longer to overcook. Pastry is always better cooked from chilled, this will ensure crisp pastry.

Traditionally wellingtons were wrapped in a thin pancake instead of parma ham. This acts like a thin sponge, to soak up any juices that leak out when cooking or resting, so there’s no chance of a soggy bottom. Swap in thin pancakes instead of parma ham for extra security.

Rest the wellington well. If it's cut into too soon, juice from the meat will flood out and soak straight into your pastry.