Freezing Makes The Perfect Beef Wellington Foolproof & Easy

Ice is the ultimate insulator, and makes baking the perfect beef Wellington easy and foolproof.

PRODUCT LINKS

RECIPE
Center-cut beef tenderloin, ~900g
Puff pastry sheets, two ~400g sheets
Cremeni mushrooms, ~600g
Shallots, ~200g
Lardo, ~32 thin-slices
Dijon mustard, ~25g
Whole egg, 1
Thyme, ~8 to 10 sprigs
Oregano, ~4 to 5 sprigs
Rosemary, ~4 sprigs
Maderia, ~100g
Salt, as needed
Black pepper, as needed
Beef tallow, as need for frying (optional)
Canola oil, as needed for frying
All purpose flour, as needed
Non-stick parchment paper
Plastic wrap

Steps
1. PREPARE THE BEEF by trimming and season with 1% of its weight in salt. Wrap the meat and salt tightly in plastic wrap, package for sous vide, cook at 130°F (55°C) for 3 hours, and then refrigerate until cold. Shallow-fry in an oil at 400°F (205°C) for 60 to 90 seconds to develop a medium-brown crust. Blot off excess oil, then chill and keep refrigerated until needed.

2. PREPARE THE DUXELLES by finely chop the shallots and mushrooms. Cook the mushroom and shallots together over medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add sprigs of thyme and oregano and cook until the mixture looks dry. Deglaze with Maderia and continue cooking until mixture is dry.

3. PREPARE THE CURED-MEAT WRAPPER by laying out the slices of lardo (or prosciutto) on nonstick parchment. Work left to right and then bottom to top, and overlap each slice so they'll hold together as a solid sheet.

4. SPREAD THE DUXELLES LAYER over the cured meat sheet using an offset spatula to make an even layer about 0.25in / 6mm thick. Leave about an inch of the cured meat uncovered at the top of the sheet so that it can close the wrapping.

5. WRAP THE BEEF using a long sheet of plastic wrap.Use two overlapping sheets of plastic wrap for enough width if necessary. Coat the beef tenderloin with a thin layer of mustard, and then place it onto the duxelles about one-third of the way up. Use the plastic wrap to roll things up. As you do, peel back some of the parchment paper so that the other end of the cured meat will overlap onto itself and seal the roll closed. Use the plastic to wrap tighten the roll, and refrigerate while preparing the puff pastry.

6. WRAP IN SHEET OF PUFF PASTRY a few inches wider than the meat roll, and long enough to wrap around the meat roll. Brush the sheet with egg wash, then wrap the pastry tightly around the meat roll. Pinch the ends closed and trim as necessary. Egg wash the surface and cover with the puff pastry lattice (optional). Make a hole for a wireless thermometer (optional) and wiggle the probe to make the hole a bit oversized (it will shrink during freezing! Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to cook and serve.

7. BAKE THE WELLINGTON's CRUST in a convection oven preheated to 450°F (230°C). Unwrap the Wellington, let the pastry thaw for a few minutes and then brush with egg wash. Add rosemary sprigs to the lattice windows if you want. REINSERT the Predictive Thermometer into the hole and then bake until the crust is dark golden brown and the surface sensor just beneath the crust has reached 190 °F (88°C), which means the crust has cooked through. This takes about 40 minutes. Note, rotate the Wellington as needed for even browning and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) if the crust is starting to look too dark too quickly.

8 FINISH HEATING THE BEEF once the crust is fully baked. Crack the oven door and reduce the oven temperature to below 200°F (93°C), and ideally close to 150 °F (65 °C). Let the meat continue to heat through until the core is at least 105 °F (40 °C), which will take another 40 minutes.

Use advanced mode on the Predictive Thermometer to see the temperatures from all 8 sensors to get a sense of the different temps inside the Wellington. Don't let the surface of the meat exceed 120°F (49°C) during this step, as it will continue to heat to about 130°F (55°C) while the Beef Wellington rests before slicing.

8. SLICE AND SERVE the Beef Wellington!

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PAST WORK

[augustsmith]

You do a good job of "mentioning" your product without "pushing" it.
I find that respectful and keeps me watching other videos because I don't feel like a "tool."
That is your best bet to get me to see you "mentioning" your product again!


Get it? :)

[MichaelWBauer]

Chris, this year for Christmas I made my usual beef Wellington recipe (mostly Kenji’s with a few modifications) but cooked it using your technique. I’ve made a Wellington for probably five or six years in a row for my family, and this is the best it has ever turned out from a meat cooking perspective. I was a bit nervous while monitoring the temp, as it took a long time to raise back from frozen to 32 degrees at the core, but as soon as it climbed past 32 it rose to 100 internal very quickly. I made two, one was slightly thicker, and we took the thinner one out and domed it in foil before the thicker one was done. The pastry stayed crisp, the meat stayed rare, and everything was warm. We’ll be using your technique from now on!

[bretr]

Cooked the beef a few days ago week and brought the frozen wellington two states away and finished it today. Came out beautifully and it takes the time pressure out of making it. Such a foolproof method. Thanks for sharing!

[peterbuisseret]

I've been agonizing over doing a Beef Wellington for years. But having learned so much already from Chris, this has given me the confidence to try it, at last! Huge fan, thanks so much for all of your fantastic videos.

[Riocynn]

So! I just made it, came back from my parents' place. It was great! Worked like a charm. I worked as a butcher for almost 8 years, and I DREADED making a Beef Wellington. Your Video changed everything... I watched your videos for a year almost and well, as a Christmas gift for myself, I ordered the thermometer...hope it'll arrive soon.

Right, so I used a bigger cut of Tenderloin...roughly 1.2 Kilos. The Baking phase worked like a charm, but the thawing phase took almost 3 hours (Kept it around 60 degrees Celsius ... I guess because my meat was a bit thicker, haha. But we had Eggnog and good cheer, so it was all good.

Thank you for the recipe, Chris, and I hope you have a wonderful Christmastime and a good start to the new year!

[dkoppe]

This must be one of the best cooking channels out there just lowkey doing amazing tutorials with a tier cinematics

[nvj]

Love these videos. Shots of the Joule in an Anova container, mentioning the benefits of the Combustion thermometer yet providing alternatives. Open and honest. You’ve perfected the art of selling by not selling!

[secrtasianman]

I have just been defeated by a Wellington, but stumbled upon this video and u have reinvigorated my Wellington passion

[Pathgn]

I did a trial run of this technique today before Christmas. It was the most perfect beef Wellington I've ever done. I've used multiple instant thermometers instead and kept a close eye to oven temp as well (not set temp because that may vary)
It turned out perfect

[rickuncles]

This guy's videos are always class, keep it up.

[ShovelChef]

You probably released this video THE MINUTE that I was planning my Wellington yesterday, AND when I was considering chilling the meat overnight before baking the crust, there you are, confirming my instincts. I even considered putting the meat in a seasoned ice bath. 😂 Unbelievably good timing. Great video as always.

[dansklrvids]

Good grief, the quality of these videos is amazing.

[aquaphazed]

Followed your recipe for Christmas dinner and it went phenomenal!!! There were 5 of us and we all lost our minds it was so good. I cooked the tenderloin sous vide, assembled in advance, and froze. The pastry came out perfect and the meat core reheated to 110 degrees was outstanding serving temp.

I have bookmarked and shared this video. Will continue to.

You made our Christmas, Sir! Thank you! 🎄☃️

[bretburns]

Please don’t ever stop making videos. MOOOORE!

[jimmysoerel]

Simply the best technique and end result

[sheilam]

I instantly smiled when you appeared in your Xmas sweater. For such a complex dish this makes it look so easy and well worth a try. Thx for filming this and sharing it with us. 👍👍👍👍👍

[TooGoodForYoutube]

I did this for christmas this year and it was wonderful. It was the third Wellington I cooked in my homecook-life but preparing everything a day before took the stress out of christmas cooking. Thank you!

[deltaunder]

You're the man. I just got asked to make this because "I watch all these cooking and BBQ videos". Thanks for saving the day man, and I'll watch this again during the process to keep me in line.

[suebarto]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I was a bit worried because I was making it for Christmas dinner and have never attempted it before. I followed your recipe exactly, making one med rare and one med well (I know, what a waste of a good cut of meat!) Sous viding the meat first allowed that to be done perfectly! Took my time with all of the steps and it was absolutely perfect! I got rave reviews and will never try it any other way! I can make it in advance and freeze it and enjoy my guests on the day of the meal. Something that rarely happens with such an intricate meal! Paired it with some Gruyere Potatoes Au Gratin, roasted asparagus and a chocolate lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream and my guest were blown away from beginning to end! Take my word for it if you're hesitant .... give this a try, you won't be disappointed!!

[kdngourmet]

Just did an event for 40 pp, using a Wolf home oven, with your Beef Wellington as the star!!!
I was a nervous wrecks!!!
Even though I am a trained cook, but this a dish I have not done for a long time.
And the result was supreme!!!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, truly, that what my team were exclaimed.
Thank you Chef Young 🙏😘🙏