Celebrating over the holiday season doesn’t necessarily mean you need to serve roast turkey or ham. In fact, for many people, serving a decadent beef dish – such as prime rib or Beef Wellington – is an essential part of the annual family menu.
There are many things about Canadian beef to love.
For instance, according to the second National Beef Sustainability Assessment (NBSA), the land that is used for raising beef cattle provides the “majority of vital habitat that wildlife needs for both reproduction (74%) and to find food (55%).” Also, raising beef “enriches the economies of many Canadian rural communities.” There are 60,697* farms and ranches across Canada.
Which grade and cut of beef to use for Beef Wellington.
The best cut of beef to make a delicious Beef Wellington is a piece of trimmed centre-cut Beef Tenderloin Premium Oven Roast, about 2 1/2 lb. and 4 inches in diameter.
In Canada, there is a beef grading system to help you choose what grade of beef you should buy.
In the case of Beef Wellington, you would be looking for a Canada Prime cut because of its abundance of marbling. Of all the grades of Canada Beef, Canada Prime Grade has the highest level of marbling. With plenty of rich, fatty flecks, Canada Prime is the most tender and juicy and is always flavourful. Make sure to order from your butcher or grocery store meat department ahead of time – due to limited availability at grocery stores for cooking at home, this is the beef to buy for that gourmet recipe, including this Ultimate Beef Wellington.
How to make Beef Wellington.
We went to the experts at Canada Beef to find out how they made their Beef Wellington, and the recipe they shared with ELLE Gourmet does not disappoint. One thing we love about this recipe is the ultimate time-saving hack: Swap out shortcut pastry for store-bought puff pastry. No one will know the pastry isn’t homemade.
Ultimate Beef Wellington
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lb 1.13 kg trimmed centre-cut Beef Tenderloin Premium Oven Roast, about 4-inches (10 cm) in diameter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Coarsely ground salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 shallots finely sliced
- 1 green onion finely sliced
- 2 cups mushrooms finely chopped
- 1 pkg 397 g puff-pastry dough thawed
- 2 ½ oz chicken or duck liver paté (foie gras) thinly sliced
- 1 egg beaten
- Madeira Mushroom Sauce recipe follows
Madeira Mushroom Sauce
- 4 cups beef broth or 1 L container
- 1 cup Madeira wine
- generous splash of whipping cream
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- cold water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If roast is tied, remove twine. Rub and season all over with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of the butter with the vegetable oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat; brown meat on all sides, about 8 minutes. Set aside.
- In same skillet, melt remaining butter; add shallots and onion and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until softened for about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until there is no liquid from the mushrooms remaining, about 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste and set pan aside to use for the Madeira Mushroom Sauce
- Pat reserved tenderloin dry with paper towel; top with pâté slices and mushroom mixture, pressing mixture onto tenderloin to hold. Set aside. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper; spray lightly with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Roll out the package puff pastry dough on lightly floured board, on its underside, into a 13 x 12-inch (32 x 30 cm) rectangle, rolling over the seam to hold the 2 squares together. Place oven tenderloin and tuck dough around the sides and ends.
- Gently turn over, wrapping dough around underside and ends of tenderloin to fully enclose; brush some beaten egg along edges of seams where dough overlaps, pressing gently to seal.
- Place seam side down onto baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. (If refrigerated 1 hour, let the Wellington sit at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.)
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450°F (230°C) oven. (NOTE: The Beef Wellington is roasted on the lowest rack of a very hot oven to help create a crispy crust.) Cut 3 slits across the top of pastry to allow steam to escape while baking; brush all over with beaten egg.
- Bake Wellington until golden brown (shielding with loose cover of aluminum foil if getting to brown), and digital instant read thermometer inserted into centre of roast reads 145°F (63°C) for medium-rare doneness, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes and transfer to carving platter. Carve into thick slices and serve with Madeira Mushroom Sauce.
Madeira Sauce
- Place skillet used to make mushrooms over medium-high heat; stir in beef broth, stirring up brown bits from bottom of pan. Bring to boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes to reduce to 1-2/3 cups. Stir in Madeira and continue to boil until liquid is reduced again to 1-2/3 cups about 5 minutes. Stir in whipping cream to finish. If desired, thicken by stirring in corn starch mixture; cook 3 to 4 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into gravy boat to serve.
