Beef Wellington & Madeira Sauce

Beef Wellington

Although this is an extremely elegant main course, there is no definitive recipe. Like wise there is no true source with which to say the dish was created. Most people assume that the dish is some how related to Arthur Wellesley the 1st Duke of Wellington, and that it comes from some dish he favored. Others theories suggest it was developed by a patriotic chef, another theory invented it in Wellington N.Z. for some occasion. The least favorite theory I find is that it looked, after cooking, like a highly polished “Wellington” boot, Oh so tasty!

About the only two sure things in the recipes is that the beef is en croute, wrapped in puff pastry and it won’t be found in too many French cookbooks. The other ingredients are up for discussion and you can go from a prohibitively expensive dish with foie gras with truffles and a truffle sauce to a more modest version using some form of liver pâté and a more modest sauce. Seemingly a daunting dish to prepare, it is in truth a fairly simple dish that does use slightly expensive ingredients.

The main ingredient is a tenderloin of beef. It can made as one large piece of meat or as individual servings which takes a little more work. The rest of the processes are the same.

Since it is baked in a pastry shell there is no gravy, so a sauce must be prepared and again here you will have a large variety of choices. My two favorites would be Bearnaise or a Madeira sauce, of course you can go with a simple thicken beef gravy, also there are no “laws” or sauce police to prevent you from experimenting.

About the only “must” is to use a piece of meat that is uniform in thickness so that it all cooks evenly.

Ingredients for Beef Wellington

This recipe is for a piece of meat that is 6 -8 inches in length.

1 center cut beef tenderloin 6 -8 ” trimmed of fat and silver-skin
Salt & pepper
2 tbs butter & 2 tbs olive oil
1lbs. button mushrooms
2 large shallots
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp thyme
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 – 2 lbs liver pâté (enough liver pâté to cover the beef but not the ends)
mirepoix of onion chopped, celery chopped and parsley,1 bay leaf and pinch of rosemary

For the Madeira Sauce

2 cups brown sauce (recipe to follow)
1/3 cup Madeira wine

For Brown Sauce

4 cups beef stock
4 tbs butter or beef fat
4 tbs flour
1 onion diced
6 tbs tomato puree

Directions for the Brown Sauce

Making the sauce is the most time consuming part of the recipe and needs to be done well in advance of the actual dish.

In a sauce pan melt the butter and add the onion and cook to softened. Then add the flour and cook until it begins to brown. Once brown add the stock and purée mix well and cook until it’s reduced to about 2 cups.

Directions for Madeira Sauce

Take 2 cups of brown sauce and reduce to about 1 cup, then add 1/3 cup Madeira Wine and increase heat. Do not let sauce come to a boil as this will lessen the flavor of the wine.

Directions for the Beef Wellington

Preheat oven to 450°

Take the tenderloin and season with salt and pepper and in a flat pan roast with the mirepoix sprinkled around it for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Duxelles:

In a food processor place the mushrooms, shallots and garlic and thyme and pulse until you have a finely chopped mixture.

In a frying pan place the butter and olive oil and melt and then cook the mushroom mixture until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool.

Assembly:

When the meat is cool, take the puff pastry and roll out so that it is large enough to encompass the meat.

Take the pâté and spread to completely cover all the sides of the tenderloin, but not the ends. Spread the duxelles out on a large plate and press the duxelles into the pâté covered beef ,covering all the pâté with the duxelles.

Now place the covered meat onto the puff pastry fold over and seal, completely, trimming ends if necessary. Place it seam side down on a sheet pan. Brush egg wash over entire pastry. If you want before placing in oven you can decorate with leftover puff pastry ie. at Christmas perhaps use a tree cookie cutter and press this piece of dough on top and then brush with egg wash.

Bake in a 450° oven for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is brown. Serve the sauce on the side.

Here are a few items to help make this recipe;
Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB Prep 9 9-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless
Sterlingcraft Oblong Serving Tray
Zwilling J.A. Henckels Zwilling Four Star 2-Piece Carving Set

If you enjoy our site and are thinking of purchasing anything from Amazon, please use the link to Amazon from our site. It doesn’t cost you anything and we profit from the ads and purchases .

Please help us keep our blog going by letting your friends know we’re here and by checking out the links on our front page.

Beef Wellington & Madeira Sauce

2013-08-12 02:38:18

Serves 6

A very elegant main course

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Ingredients

This recipe is for a piece of meat that is 6 -8 inches in length.
1 center cut beef tenderloin 6 -8 " trimmed of fat and silver-skin
Salt & pepper
2 tbs butter & 2 tbs olive oil
1lbs. button mushrooms
2 large shallots
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp thyme
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 - 2 lbs liver pâté (enough liver pâté to cover the beef but not the ends)
mirepoix of onion celery and parsley,1 bay leaf and pinch of rosemary
For the Madeira Sauce
2 cups brown sauce (recipe to follow)
1/3 cup Madeira wine
For Brown Sauce
4 cups beef stock
4 tbs butter or beef fat
4 tbs flour
1 onion diced
6 tbs tomato puree

Instructions

Directions for the Brown Sauce
Making the sauce is the most time consuming part of the recipe and needs to be done well in advance of the actual dish.
In a sauce pan melt the butter and add the onion and cook to softened. Then add the flour and cook until it begins to brown. Once brown add the stock and puree mix well and cook until it's reduced to about 2 cups.
Directions for Madeira Sauce
Take 2 cups of brown sauce and reduce to about 1 cup, then add 1/3 cup Madeira Wine and increase heat. Do not let sauce come to a boil as this will lessen the flavor of the wine.
Directions for the Beef Wellington
Preheat oven to 450°
Take the tenderloin and season with salt and pepper and in a flat pan roast with the mirepoix sprinkled around it for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Duxelles

In a food processor place the mushrooms, shallots and garlic and thyme and pulse until you have a finely chopped mixture.
In a frying pan place the butter and olive oil and melt and then cook the mushroom mixture until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool.

Assembly

When the meat is cool, take the puff pastry and roll out so that it is large enough to encompass the meat.
Take the pâté and spread to completely cover all the sides of the tenderloin, but not the ends. Spread the duxelles out on a large plate and press the duxelles into the pâté covered beef ,covering all the pâté with the duxelles.
Now place the covered meat onto the puff pastry fold over and seal, completely, trimming ends if necessary. Place it seam side down on a sheet pan. Brush egg wash over entire pastry. If you want before placing in oven you can decorate with leftover puff pastry ie. at Christmas perhaps use a tree cookie cutter and press this piece of dough on top and then brush with egg wash.
Bake in a 450° oven for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is brown. Serve the sauce on the side.

Rants Raves and Recipes https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/

August 10, 2013November 14, 2014

Steak Au Poivre – Pepper Steak & Cognac Sauce

Steak au Poivre, Pepper Steak

One of the great ways to prepare a steak, with a cognac sauce it is truly a great dish. My recipe has a slight twist to it. As necessity is the mother of invention, one time when making this dish I found that I didn’t have any heavy cream or the time to go get some. So I substituted a little ½ & ½ and sour cream and it worked just fine, the sour cream giving the final sauce a slightly tangy flavor that I think you’ll like. Although the traditional recipe calls for a Filet Mignon, I find that a well cut top sirloin works just as well. I usually buy a whole top sirloin and cut my own steaks, so I know it will come out perfectly. This recipe is for two steaks, if you are cooking for more just increase the quantities. The recipe usually calls for the peppercorns to be crushed, I find that a mill with a coarse grind works quite well.

Ingredients for Steak au Poivre

2 top sirloin steaks trimmed
Freshly cracked black pepper ( approximately 2-3 tbs per steak)
2 tbs butter
1 large shallot diced
1- 2 oz. cognac
¾ – 1 cup good beef stock
5 -6 tbs ½ & ½
5 tbs sour cream or creme fraiche
salt & pepper to taste

Directions for Steak au Poivre

Take the steaks and cover completely both sides with the cracked pepper pressing the pepper lightly into the steaks so that it adheres. You want a nice coating so that when cooked it will produce a spicy crust.

In a saute pan melt the butter and on medium high heat sear the steaks to just slightly less than your desired doneness ( they will continue to cook while you finish the sauce). Remove steaks to warm plate cover with foil and hold in a warm oven until sauce is finished.

If there is a lot of fat in the pan drain most of it out. Add the shallot and cook briefly until softened. When softened take the pan off the heat and add the Cognac, being careful to watch that it does not flame up (if you are comfortable with flambeing, go ahead and light the cognac, but it is not necessary and all the alcohol will cook off). Return the pan to the heat and continue to cook until the cognac is almost completely reduced,

After the cognac is reduced add the beef stock and turn the heat up to high and reduce the sauce until it is thick and syrupy and a spoon dragged through the sauce will leave a momentary clear lane.

*A spoon dragged through the sauce leaves a momentary clear lane*

Once the sauce is thicken to this stage reduce the heat slightly and add the ½ & ½ and the sour cream and stir to combine. When the sauce is well mixed place the steaks with any juices that have accumulated back into the pan and coat with the sauce. Plate, spooning sauce over the top of each steak and serve, placing remaining sauce in a sauce boat on the side.

Here are a few items to help make this recipe:
Trudeau No Mess Adjustable Pepper Mill
WearEver C944S264 Pure Living Nonstick Ceramic Coating PTFE-PFOA-Cadmium Free Dishwasher Safe 10-Inch and 8-Inch Saute Pan / Fry Pan Cookware Set, Champagne Gold

All that great meat, a shame to cover it up , sometimes I really don’t understand humans. Still it is a great recipe so I give it 5 paws

If you enjoy our site and are thinking of purchasing anything from Amazon, please use the link to Amazon from our site. It doesn’t cost you anything and we profit from the ads and purchases .

Please help us keep our blog going by letting your friends know we’re here and by checking out the links on our front page.

Steak Au Poivre

2013-08-09 17:55:15

A fantastic steak recipe

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Ingredients

2 top sirloin steaks trimmed
Freshly cracked black pepper ( approximately 2-3 tbs per steak)
2 tbs butter
1 large shallot diced
1- 2 oz. cognac
¾ - 1 cup good beef stock
5 -6 tbs ½ & ½
5 tbs sour cream or creme fraiche
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Take the steaks and cover completely both sides with the cracked pepper pressing the pepper lightly into the steaks so that it adheres.
In a saute pan melt the butter and on medium high heat sear the steaks to just slightly less than your desired doneness ( they will continue to cook while you finish the sauce). Remove steaks to warm plate cover with foil and hold in a warm oven until sauce is finished.
If there is a lot of fat in the pan drain most of it out. Add the shallot and cook briefly until softened. When softened take the pan off the heat and add the Cognac, being careful to watch that it does not flame up (if you are comfortable with flambeing, go ahead and light the cognac, but it is not necessary and all the alcohol will cook off). Return the pan to the heat and continue to cook until the cognac is almost completely reduced,
After the cognac is reduced add the beef stock and turn the heat up to high and reduce the sauce until it is thick and syrupy and a spoon dragged through the sauce will leave a momentary clear lane.
A spoon dragged through the sauce leaves a momentary clear lane
A spoon dragged through the sauce leaves a momentary clear lane
Once the sauce is thicken to this stage reduce the heat slightly and add the ½ & ½ and the sour cream and stir to combine. When the sauce is well mixed place the steaks with any juices that have accumulated back into the pan and coat with the sauce. Plate, spooning sauce over the top of each steak and serve, placing remaining sauce in a sauce boat on the side.

Notes

recipe is for 2 steaks if making more just increase amounts accordingly

Rants Raves and Recipes https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/

June 16, 2013December 15, 2017

Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)

The Standing Rib Roast (aka Prime Rib)

The term Prime Rib originally meant that the roast served was graded “Prime”. Today with the high cost of beef you’d be lucky to find that even in a restaurant. Only very high end restaurants that charge exorbitant prices can afford to serve “Prime”. The term is now a generic term for a cut of meat and usually does not refer to the grade.

Most of the meat today is “Choice” which is the one grade lower than “prime”. All this means to the consumer is that the meat is a combination of slightly older,and having a little less fat and marbling. The actual determination for the grade of a carcass is made at the 12th rib in a complex formula that we won’t go into here. In fact only about 2% of produced beef qualifies as “prime”, and could retail anywhere from $20 – $40 per pound.

The more common term for this cut of meat is a standing rib roast. While still not cheap even in the choice grade it is the King of beef cuts. You certainly can ask your butcher to special order a Prime cut, but if you do please be sitting down when he tells you how much

There are two ends to a rib roast, the large end and the small end. The large end comes from the ribs closest to the head of the animal and the smaller end comes farther back on the ribs. Which piece you use is a matter of choice. The large end tends to have more fat and the small end a larger eye. As a matter of choice while many say the small end is better, I prefer the large end with more fat, if cooked properly all of the cut is edible and delicious. Fat equals flavor and the more fat in the front end in my opinion equals more flavor.

First step in buying a rib roast is to have a good rapport with your butcher. Unless your fairly confident of your abilities with a knife and know your way around a piece of meat it’s best to leave the prepping of the meat to your butcher. The secret is, less is more, you want to have the bones and the fat layer trimmed as little as possible. Have your butcher trim the bones (which is called “frenching”) and remove the backbone and then tie the ribs back onto the roast. This adds flavor and acts as a natural rack in the oven. I prefer to leave them attached and remove them after the rib is cooked. They make a great lunch treat or if you want to really spoil your four legged children one bone will keep them occupied for a long time.

The less is more theory goes to the cooking of the roast also. There are basically three methods, low and slow, high and fast and a combination of both. With low heat you will get less shrinkage but won’t get the crusty outer layer. High heat you get a delicious crusty layer but the meat tends to shrink more and in my opinion is not as tender. The combination of both seems to work the best.

Finally seasoning, again less is more is the rule.

My Perfect Rib Roast Recipe

Take the meat out of the refrigerator at least 3 hours before your going to cook it. It is important to know the exact weight of the roast.

The approximate cooking times are:

Rare 15-18 minutes per pound
Medium 20-25 minutes per pound
Well 27-30 minutes per pound

You want to bring the meat up to room temperature, this is critical for the best results. Do the math, a 10# roast will take about 3 hours and 20 minutes to cook to medium rare and once done it needs to rest for 30 minutes so if your going to serve dinner at say 5 it should go into the oven around 1 o’clock. In this scenario I would take the roast out at 7 at let it sit till I put it in at 1. I like to pepper it heavily when it comes out of the refrigerator and just before cooking lightly sprinkle with garlic salt.. Don’t over do the seasonings as you want to let the taste of the beef shine through.

Place the roast into a roasting pan that’s slightly larger than the piece of meat. If you intend to utilize a jus or gravy take some sliced up carrot, celery , onion and one clove of garlic and lay them around the pan, not on the meat and let them stew in the juice as it renders from the meat. Preheat the oven to 500°. Place the roasting pan in the lower third of the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Then turn heat down to 325° and continue to cook until the center temperature is at the temperatures stated below. Remember the roast will continue to cook as it rests so you want the temperature slightly below your actual final temperature. About 45 minutes before the roast should be done start checking the temperature.

Cooking times are approximate, the true test is to take the temperature of the roast. A thermometer placed into the center of the eye of the roast should read 120° – 125° for rare, 125° -130° for medium rare , 130° – 140° for medium.

Final temperatures after the roast has rested should be close to:

130° – rare
140° – medium rare
150º – medium
160º – medium well
165°+ – well

In Cooking 4 to 7 ribs I like to run the rare center up to 130º, that way you get a wider variety of doneness choices in the roast after it rests, with the outer pieces medium or slightly better and a descending array of doneness towards the rare at the center. I try and gauge how many guests want cuts more toward medium and if there are more than one or two I cut from both ends working towards the center.

Once the roast is taken out of the oven it should be placed on a warm plate and covered with foil and left to rest for about 30 minutes. During this time you can finish your other food preparations and make the Au Jus.

Place the roasting pan on a burner of the stove top turn to high and when hot add about ¼ cup of good red wine or stock and deglaze the pan. If there does not appear to be enough sauce in the pan you can add more stock after you have deglazed. Let the wine reduce by about ½ and pour everything into a measuring cup straining out the vegetables, by putting into a measuring cup it makes it easier to strain off the fat, then place the Au Jus in a serving boat. Serve on the side.

However for us, a good Horseradish Sauce is a must for the beef. It’s fairly simple to make, take sour cream and add in a good prepared horseradish until you reach the flavor and heat you want, I make it fairly strong the day before and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Make your slices between ½ and 1 inch thick. Follow these simple directions and you’ll have a great meal. This has become a Christmas must for one of our grandchildren who looks forward all year to a roast beast dinner at grandpa’s. Start your own tradition. Enjoy!

Horseradish Sauce

Horseradish sauce is a simple combination of sour cream and Prepared horseradish. Simply mix together and taste when you go from Mmmmm to Whoa! it’ll be about right. Make it as hot or not as your family likes. Roughly 1/2 a container of sour cream to 3/4 of a bottle of prepared horseradish.

Here are a few items to help with this recipe:
Cuisinart 7117-16UR Chef’s Classic Stainless 16-Inch Rectangular Roaster with Rack
Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Four Star 10-Inch High-Carbon Stainless-Steel Granton Roast Beef Slicer

The grand kids aren’t the only ones who look forward to this. I could have this every day of the year! In fact I think I’ll get dad to buy a lottery ticket so that if he wins , I can have it every day! An easy 5 paws for this one!

If you enjoy our site and are thinking of purchasing anything from Amazon, please use the link to Amazon from our site. It doesn’t cost you anything and we profit from the ads and purchases .

Please help us keep our blog going by letting your friends know we’re here and by checking out the links on our front page.

Standing Rib Roast

2013-12-26 22:04:28

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Prep Time

3 hr

Cook Time

3 hr

Total Time

6 hr

Prep Time

3 hr

Cook Time

3 hr

Total Time

6 hr

Ingredients

1. Standing rib roast, figure about 1/2 pound per person
2. garlic salt and pepper

Instructions

Take the meat out of the refrigerator at least 3 hours before your going to cook it. It is important to know the exact weight of the roast.

The approximate cooking times are

Rare 15-18 per pound
Medium 20-25 minutes per pound
Well 27-20 minutes per pound
You want to bring the meat up to room temperature, this is critical for the best results. Do the math, a 10# roast will take about 3 hours and 20 minutes to cook to medium rare and once done it needs to rest for 30 minutes so if your going to serve dinner at say 5 it should go into the oven around 1 o'clock. In this scenario I would take the roast out at 7 at let it sit till I put it in at 1. I like to pepper it heavily when it comes out of the refrigerator and just before cooking lightly sprinkle with garlic salt.. Don't over do the seasonings as you want to let the taste of the beef shine through.
Place the roast into a roasting pan that's slightly larger than the piece of meat. If you intend to utilize a jus or gravy take some sliced up carrot, celery , onion and one clove of garlic and lay them around the pan, not on the meat and let them stew in the juice as it renders from the meat. Preheat the oven to 500°. Place the roasting pan in the lower third of the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Then turn heat down to 325° and continue to cook until the center temperature is at the temperatures stated below. Remember the roast will continue to cook as it rests so you want the temperature slightly below your actual final temperature. About 45 minutes before the roast should be done start checking the temperature.
Cooking times are approximate, the true test is to take the temperature of the roast. A thermometer placed into the center of the eye of the roast should read 120° - 125° for rare, 125° -130° for medium rare , 130° - 140° for medium.

Final temperatures after the roast has rested should be close to

130° - rare
140° - medium rare
150º - medium
160º - medium well
165°+ - well
In Cooking 4 to 7 ribs I like to run the rare center up to 130º, that way you get a wider variety of doneness choices in the roast after it rests, with the outer pieces medium or slightly better and a descending array of doneness towards the rare at the center. I try and gauge how many guests want cuts more toward medium and if there are more than one or two I cut from both ends working towards the center.
Once the roast is taken out of the oven it should be placed on a warm plate and covered with foil and left to rest for about 30 minutes. During this time you can finish your other food preparations and make the Au Jus.
Place the roasting pan on a burner of the stove top turn to high and when hot add about ¼ cup of good red wine or stock and deglaze the pan. If there does not appear to be enough sauce in the pan you can add more stock after you have deglazed. Let the wine reduce by about ½ and pour everything into a measuring cup straining out the vegetables, by putting into a measuring cup it makes it easier to strain off the fat, then place the Au Jus in a serving boat. Serve on the side.
However for us, a good Horseradish Sauce is a must for the beef. It's fairly simple to make, take sour cream and add in a good prepared horseradish until you reach the flavor and heat you want, I make it fairly strong the day before and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator.
Make your slices between ½ and 1 inch thick. Follow these simple directions and you'll have a great meal.

Rants Raves and Recipes https://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/