Beef Wellington – Make Ahead Technique via Sous Vide

Individual beef Wellingtons are a special treat I usually reserve for holidays. They do take some extra effort but thankfully much of the work can be done a day or so before, if you have a sous vide immersion circulator. 

In this recipe I pre-brown and then cook the beef fillets in the sous vide bath until they are rare. We prepare the mushroom mixture (duxelles) while the fillets are cooking as well as the Madeira sauce. On the serving day you just assemble them in the purchased puff pastry with a few other ingredients and warm them quickly in the oven. Everyone will think you are a Master Chef! 

Cut 8 Squares from the 2 Sheets of Pastry

Place sous vide beef on 4 and top with 4 remaining sheets.
Seal tightly. 

One of the primary reasons for partially cooking the beef ahead is to insure that you don't end up with a bloody bottom pastry crust, which no one enjoys. The pre-cooking permits the meat to rest and retain the juices, although it will not provide as 'juicy' a recipe as will one that skips the pre-cooking. You can skip the sous vide and still follow the rest of the instructions as written if you prefer. 

Many original recipes also include duck/goose liver pate, mixed into the mushroom base. I have tried this and while it tastes good, it makes for an exceedingly rich meal so we prefer it without. If you want you may add 1/4 cup of soft, room temperature pate to the mushroom mixture just before placing it into the pastry. 

Ingredients (serves 4)
4, center-cut filet mignons, about 1.5-2 inches thick
2 teaspoons canola oil
Salt and pepper
16 ounces cremini mushrooms*, trimmed and halved

1 small onion or shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
3 tablespoons Madeira, port or dry sherry wine

2 teaspoons dried thyme, minced
2 sheets puff pastry

   (usually 1 box, approx. 9 x 9 inches each sheet) 
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large egg, lightly beaten

*Mushrooms: you can substitute any combination of fresh mushrooms like baby bella, shitake or white button if you are unable to get the cremini.

Sauce

4 cups beef stock
1 cup Madeira
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

Instructions

12-24 Hours In Advance

Fillets: Set your sous vide circulator in water and heat to 122F degrees. Dry the beef fillets with a paper towel, brush with canola oil and very quickly sear on all sides in a hot skillet, 2-3 minutes total cooking time. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in air-tight bags with air removed and cook in the sous vide tank for 1.5-2.5 hours depending on thickness of fillets. Consult your sous vide immersion circulator guide for more specific timing. 

Remove the fillets from the sous vide after cooking, remove from bags and dry with paper towels. Set aside to cool completely. Dry again and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  

Duxelles: (This is term used in fine cooking for the mushroom mixture.) Process the mushrooms, onion/shallots and garlic in a food processor until roughly chopped, about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Transfer half to another bowl. Pulse the mushrooms in the processor again about 10 times until they resemble couscous. Remove from processor and do the same with the remaining mushrooms until all have the same finely chopped consistency.  

In the skillet where the fillets were browned, set the temperature to medium-high and add the butter. When butter is done foaming add the mushroom mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook and stir frequently until the mushrooms are reduced to about half, have lost their liquid and are starting to stick to the pan; about 30-45 minutes. Add wine and cook stirring constantly until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in the thyme. Let cool completely and refrigerate in airtight container overnight. 

Sauce: Bring the beef stock to a boil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and boil until reduced to about 2 cups, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the Madeira and continue boiling until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, approximately 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.

Serving Day

2 1/2 hours before serving, remove the mushroom mixture (duxelles) and the fillets from the refrigerator and set on the counter to warm slightly. If the puff pastry is frozen, also remove to the counter to thaw. (If pastry is thawed, leave in refrigerator until 15 minutes before using. It should be pliable but chilled when used.)

After 40 minutes of room temperature warming, roll each of the two sheets of puff pastry into 11-inch square on lightly floured surface. Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 equal squares (so you have 8 squares total).

Place 4 pastry squares on a baking sheet lined with parchment and spread a thin layer of mushroom mixture in a circle on the center of each, to about same diameter as fillets, leaving at least a1-inch border of uncoated pastry. Spread a coating of mustard onto the bottom of each fillet as you place them one at a time on each mushroom-coated square. Spread additional mushroom mixture on top of each filet. Stretch remaining pastry squares over the top and sides of filets to meet bottom pastry squares. Cup your hands around filets to create tight shape with the top pastry. Trim excess pastry to form circle, leaving 1/2-inch border around the bottom of the fillet. Using a wet finger, run it along the edge of the crust where you will pinch the top and bottom pastry squares together to seal. The moisture will help them seal together completely. Push the sealed pastry edge together with the bottom of the pastry so as not to leave a small shelf.   

Refrigerate the prepared Wellingtons uncovered for about 30-60 minutes on the baking sheet to re-chill the pastry.

Warm the sauce over medium-low heat. Check the thickness. It should coat the back of a spoon. If it does not, you may thicken it with a little corn-starch slurry (corn starch in a little cold water.) When slightly thickened and warmed through whisk in two tablespoons of butter until just melted. Reduce temperature to very low to keep warm. Taste one last time and adjust salt/pepper if needed. 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425F degrees (using the Convect Bake function if available). If no convection is available set to temperature to bake at 450F. 

Remove Wellingtons from refrigerator and brush tops and sides with the egg wash and bake until an instant read thermometer registers 85-90F degrees, about 10-15 minutes. Check at 10 minutes and be careful not to overcook. Remember, the meat it is already partially cooked. Transfer to a wire rack and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Temperature of the beef will continue to rise as it rests and should plateau around 130F-135F, medium-rare when ready to serve. 

Plate and pass the sauce at table to apply after cutting.