Why Do People Eat the Beef Wellington

Three Reasons That Make Beef Wellington The Only Logical Choice For Your Christmas Meal

Why switching turkey for a weird, complicated, bizzaro-land dish was entirely sensible (for us).

A few years ago we decided, as a family, to drop the traditional Christmas lunch of turkey and all the trimmings and look for something to replace it. And somehow we ended up with Beef Wellington. Beef bloody Wellington.

But wait! There was logic. And, I'll be honest, none of it was really about turkey or commercialism or farming methods or all that kind of blahblahblah. It all happened because I moved country, had a child, and realized that I was fairly average in the kitchen.

Here's what I mean.

Being an immigrant means you look back at your own culture and get a new perspective on it. What's good? What's bad? What's just plain weird? There are so many things we just take for granted when we're living inside our own culture, so many things that just seem normal. Food is a big one. British food culture gets a bad rep for the most part: It's full of pastry, strange meats, baked goods, . Those things can be disappointing — limp, flavorless, pallid sausage rolls or bad cakes. But they can be great, when they're done well.

Being a parent means you look back at the things you consider family traditions and suddenly realize you're making those traditions right now. Remember Monday nights when you always get takeout, because it's how you always did it as a kid? Or how you cook pancakes for breakfast on weekends because that's what your Dad did, and that's what weekends feel like? Kids turn the smallest things into rituals, which means all those things you do for the most boring reasons as a parent suddenly become imbued with a kind of unexpected power. It doesn't matter whether Monday night takeout is because you had tired, busy parents who decided to opt out of cooking after an exhausting start to the week; or maybe weekends start with pancakes because the only thing your Dad knew how to cook was pancakes. Those things become real in the minds of your kids.

Being a mediocre cook means you look back at things you managed to make well and think of them fondly — more fondly than you probably should. Returning again and again to a meal you know you can do, especially a theoretically fancy dish, feels like the kind of thing you do when you are a pretty average kitcheneer.

And that's how we landed on Beef Wellington for Christmas dinner.

We'd never been fans of turkey, and when we moved to America it became apparent that the combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas meant there was a distinct possibility we'd end up having to make/eat two huge and basically similar meals twice inside a month. This could not stand.

We wanted something that felt big, and different. Something we could pass along. Something that would make our son (now nearly four) think "It's Christmas!".

Beef Wellington is a Very English Dish. It's meat wrapped in pastry. It's gamey.

It's CALLED WELLINGTON FFS.

It's fairly unusual, and damn tasty. You can eat the leftovers for days, in sandwiches, on its own, hot, cold, all that jazz. And then, when we cooked it for the first time, we realized: It's not really that hard, people just overcomplicate it. In fact, the ratio of how-hard-it-is to how-hard-people-think-it-is means it's actually perfect for the mediocre cook! Just practice, particularly with your pastry, and make sure you're on top of things and you'll have people thinking you're way better than you are.

So Beef Wellington it is. From now on, Christmas won't be the same without it.

BEEF WELLINGTON

This is Gordon Ramsay's recipe. It works pretty well, although I don't eat dairy so I substitute out those elements (butter, milk).

For mushroom duxelles:
1 pound cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For herb crepe:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chives, minced
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more if needed for pans

For beef Wellington:
2 pounds filet mignon
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup whole-grain Dijon mustard
1/2 pound prosciutto di Parma
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon whole milk

DIRECTIONS

1. To make mushroom duxelles: Add mushrooms to a food processor and process until completely smooth. The consistency is similar to wet hummus.
2. In a pan over medium heat, add mushroom paste, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly over the surface and cook on a medium-low heat until the moisture in the paste has reduced and the mixture has the consistency of a spreadable pâté. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. To make herb crepes: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and chives. Whisk in milk, water, and 1 tablespoon of melted butter, until smooth and emulsified.
4. Heat a crepe pan or large skillet over medium heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Add 1/4 cup of the batter. Rotate pan in a circular motion over the heat to completely cover the surface with the batter. The edges of the crepe will begin to curl slightly as the crepe cooks. Cook for approximately 45 to 60 seconds, then flip crepe to cook the other side. Each side should be a pale golden brown. Remove from heat. Add more butter if needed to the pan and repeat process with the remaining batter. Set crepes aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 400º F.
6. To make steaks: Pat filet mignon dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and black pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When the oil begins to smoke, add the filet mignon and brown from 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. You want to create a nice sear on the outside of the steak but leave the inside raw. Remove from heat and place on a cutting board to cool.
7. Cover cooled filet with Dijon mustard.
8. To roll the beef Wellingtons: On a cutting board, lay out a long piece of plastic wrap. In the middle of the wrap, lay out a crepe. Spread mushroom duxelles over the crepe. Lay out the prosciutto on top of the duxelles. Place filet in the center of the crepe and gently wrap the crepe around the filet. Trim off any excess and use the plastic wrap to tightly wrap the steak.
9. Lay out a clean, long piece of plastic wrap. Gently roll out puff pastry until it is a 1/4-inch thin. Place the wrapped steak on one end of the puff pastry and wrap. Pinch the ends closed and trim off any excess puff pastry. Use the plastic wrap to tightly seal the puff pastry. Pop it in the fridge for about 5 minutes to let it firm up again.
10. In a bowl, mix together egg yolk and milk.
11. Place a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil on a baking sheet. Remove Wellington from fridge, remove the plastic wrap, and lay the Wellington seam-side down on the baking sheet. Baste the top of the puff pastry with the egg wash and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the steak reaches 125º F, or to whatever temperature you prefer your steak.
12. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing into medallions. Serve warm.

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Source: https://medium.com/@bobbie/three-reasons-that-make-beef-wellington-the-only-logical-choice-for-your-christmas-meal-7ed7078d94e4

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