Beef Wellington
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Beef Wellington

Gordon Ramsay's version of the classic steak dish - a show-stopping centrepiece on a special occasion

Difficulty and servings

For the keen cook

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Cook time

Cook 1 hr - 2 hrs

Freezable

Method

  1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Sit the 1kg beef fillet on a roasting tray, brush with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with pepper, then roast for 15 mins for medium-rare or 20 mins for medium. When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven to cool, then chill in the fridge for about 20 mins.
  2. While the beef is cooling, chop 250g chestnut (and wild, if you like) mushrooms as finely as possible so they have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor to do this, but make sure you pulse-chop the mushrooms so they don't become a slurry.
  3. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil and 50g butter in a large pan and fry the mushrooms on a medium heat, with 1 large sprig fresh thyme, for about 10 mins stirring often, until you have a softened mixture. Season the mushroom mixture, pour over 100ml dry white wine and cook for about 10 mins until all the wine has been absorbed. The mixture should hold its shape when stirred. Remove the mushroom duxelle from the pan to cool and discard the thyme.
  4. Overlap two pieces of cling film over a large chopping board. Lay 12 slices prosciutto on the cling film, slightly overlapping, in a double row. Spread half the duxelles over the prosciutto, then sit the fillet on it and spread the remaining duxelles over. Use the cling film's edges to draw the prosciutto around the fillet, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of cling film to tighten it as you go. Chill the fillet while you roll out the pastry.
  5. Dust your work surface with a little flour. Roll out a third of the 500g pack of puff pastry to a 18 x 30cm strip and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Roll out the remainder of the 500g pack of puff pastry to about 28 x 36cm. Unravel the fillet from the cling film and sit it in the centre of the smaller strip of pastry. Beat the 2 egg yolks with 1 tsp water and brush the pastry's edges, and the top and sides of the wrapped fillet. Using a rolling pin, carefully lift and drape the larger piece of pastry over the fillet, pressing well into the sides. Trim the joins to about a 4cm rim. Seal the rim with the edge of a fork or spoon handle. Glaze all over with more egg yolk and, using the back of a knife, mark the beef Wellington with long diagonal lines taking care not to cut into the pastry. Chill for at least 30 mins and up to 24 hrs.
  6. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Brush the Wellington with a little more egg yolk and cook until golden and crisp - 20-25 mins for medium-rare beef, 30 mins for medium. Allow to stand for 10 mins before serving in thick slices.
Try

Trim carefully

Lower the chances of the edges separating by giving yourself lots of room - and don't trim the pastry too close to the meat.

Gordon's tips

Brush the meat as well as the pastry with egg wash. This will make the top layer of pastry stick to the meat and stop it from rising and leaving a gap.

Use up leftover pastry

Any leftover pastry is fine to use for something else, even if covered in egg. Simply roll it into a ball and refrigerate until needed.

Sealing the pastry

Use the rounded end of a fork or spoon handle to seal the edges rather than the prongs of a fork - using the prongs will only pierce the pastry rather than joining it.

Keep it air-free

Drape over the top layer of pastry very carefully, smoothing it down with your hands as you go. You don't want any air trapped between the pastry and the meat.

763 kcalories, protein 50g, carbohydrate 32g, fat 48 g, saturated fat 20g, fibre 0g, salt 2.46 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2004.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 181-200

  • Binder photo Macarooner

    20 November 2012

    Macarooner rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Macarooner

    20 November 2012

    Macarooner rated this recipe

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  • Binder photo cupcakeprincess2

    15 December 2012

    cupcakeprincess2 commented on this recipe

    After receiving CPR in the butchers when they told me how much this cut of meat was (not really !!) I went ahead, after all it was for a Special Occassion. This recipe is brilliant and so easy. I prepared it a few hours in advance and it was perfect. There were gasps when I got it out of the oven , and I said a prayer that it was ok on the inside. I cooked it for 35 minutes and it was medium rare, which is just how everyone liked it. I did it with Dauphinoise potatoes (recipe also off Good Food , and they were lovely, but quite rich. I cant wait to have an excuse to cook this again.

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  • Binder photo Lexie

    26 December 2012

    Lexie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    So easy to make and it sat in the fridge on Christmas Eve ready for cooking on Christmas Day. The small piece left was cut into thick slices and grilled one minute on each side. Served it with risoti cake and red wine sauce. Great food. Thank you.

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  • Binder photo AllieB

    26 December 2012

    AllieB rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My husband and I prepared this on Christmas Eve - it took some time but all we had to do on Christmas day was bake it. It looked fantastic coming out of the oven and the beef melted in the mouth. I bought one kilo of beef fillet and it served 4 adults and 2 children with enough left over for another 2 adults easily. I forgot to add the wine to the mushroom mixture but I didn't realise until I had wrapped it in the pastry! We will definitely make again for a special occaison. It is much easier that Gordon's other Beef Wellington recipe where he wraps the beef fillet in pancakes.

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  • Binder photo Pandypop

    28 December 2012

    Pandypop rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this for Boxing day and it went down a storm!! Actually very easy to make despite the many steps - just follow the recipe!! This will definitely become a family favourite!!!

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  • Binder photo oddspod

    28 December 2012

    oddspod rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very nice. Used Bernard Matthews turkey ham instead pig, and it worked very well. (I have also tried this recipe using pastrami in place of the prosciutto, and that didn't work so well...)

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  • Binder photo Hoiho

    20 January 2013

    Hoiho commented on this recipe

    Loved this recipe, first time I made it and it was a hit with the family, didn't quite turn out like the one pictured above it turned out better. I used streaky bacon instead of prosciutto due to the price of prosciutto and it was wickedly delicious. Armature, beginner or novice cooks could pull this one off. Highly recommended.

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  • Binder photo Mulsh

    21 January 2013

    Mulsh commented on this recipe

    Blew my mind! 30 mins was perfect. red juicy rare but not blue.

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  • Binder photo Mulsh

    21 January 2013

    Mulsh commented on this recipe

    I should add.. This was a 1kg fillet of beef which would easily have fed 6 people, however it was taken down by four hungry adults in one sitting!

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  • Binder photo Sarah

    31 January 2013

    Sarah commented on this recipe

    I read all the other reviews and decided to give this recipe a go on New Year's Eve. My filet was 1.5k, so I upped the cooking times slightly. I was really worried when I took it out of the oven after 30 minutes to find it had shrunk so much and even thought I had over cooked it..I needn't have worried as after following the rest of the instructions, and baking for 15 minutes longer than stated for the smaller piece, I took it to the table with a flourish..then I tried to serve it and discovered when I tried to slice it that it was still practically mooing!! I rescued it by slicing nearly all the way through, opening out into a fan shape, covering with foil and putting it back in the oven for another 35 minutes (while we ate the left over pre dinner nibbles). Once finally cooked, it was delicious and the foil saved the pastry which didn't go soggy at all from the extra cooking

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  • Binder photo Sarah

    31 January 2013

    Sarah rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    forgot to rate before!

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  • Binder photo Miley

    02 February 2013

    Miley rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Heidibxl

    06 February 2013

    Heidibxl rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this for guests coming over for Sunday dinner. It turned out perfectly and was if I say so myself... Out of this world!!!

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  • Binder photo Robecla

    06 March 2013

    Robecla commented on this recipe

    Is I half this recipe do I have to change the cooking time?

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  • Binder photo Robecla

    06 March 2013

    Robecla commented on this recipe

    Is I half this recipe do I have to change the cooking time?

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  • Binder photo myszasta

    27 March 2013

    myszasta rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    It was amazing! I reccomend it event it doesn't look easly for some of you!

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  • Binder photo Dawn Hollingworth

    01 April 2013

    Dawn Hollingworth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Takes a long time to make but was certainly worth the effort. It was superb!

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  • Binder photo suzy

    11 April 2013

    suzy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this for a dinner party it was delicious,but I did need to cook it for an extra 10-15 minutes and it was still rare/medium

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  • Binder photo J-R

    16 April 2013

    J-R rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I usually am really bad at cooking (can't properly cook something harder than pancakes...), but for my wife's birthday I decided to make her a dish, stopped my choice on that one. It was a complete success, everything went as planned and we both LOVED it! Great recipe! :)

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Difficulty and servings

For the keen cook

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking times

Cook time

Cook 1 hr - 2 hrs

Freezable

Ingredients

  • a good beef fillet (preferably Aberdeen Angus) of around 1kg/2lb 4oz
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 250g/ 9oz chestnut mushroom , include some wild ones if you like
  • 50g/ 2oz butter
  • 1 large sprig fresh thyme
  • 100ml/ 3.5 fl oz dry white wine
  • 12 slices prosciutto
  • 500g/1lb 2oz pack puff pastry , thawed if frozen
  • a little flour , for dusting
  • 2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tsp water
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763 kcalories, protein 50g, carbohydrate 32g, fat 48 g, saturated fat 20g, fibre 0g, salt 2.46 g

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