Whether you’re having family or friends over for Sunday dinner or a special anniversary meal, Beef Wellington is always the star of the show! My easy Beef Wellington recipe is ready in about an hour and a half. It’s perfect for holidays like Christmas and Easter, as well as weekend family dinners!.
Beef wellington is a timeless classic that combines tender filet mignon wrapped in puff pastry and baked to golden perfection. However, its elaborate construction can make it an intimidating dish to prepare. Many home cooks wonder – how far in advance can you make beef wellington?
With smart planning and proper storage beef wellington can actually be made 1-2 days ahead. This allows you to get components ready early avoiding a stressful last minute prep crunch.
In this guide, we’ll explore top tips for advance preparation of beef wellington. With the right approach you can relax and enjoy the delightful finished dish with your guests.
Key Benefits of Advance Preparation
Making beef wellington ahead delivers some great advantages:
-
Saves time day-of – Get components ready in advance so all you have to do is assemble and bake the day you serve it.
-
Allows flavors to meld – The filling and sauces develop even more flavor overnight when made ahead.
-
Reduces stress – Avoid a frantic cooking day by spacing out the steps over 1-2 days
-
Better time management – Make components that hold well ahead so you can focus on those best made just before serving.
-
Lets you buy quality ingredients – Spreading preparation over 2 days allows you to source the best ingredients from butchers and specialty stores.
How Far in Advance Can it be Made?
Beef wellington can be prepared 1-2 days in advance with proper storage between steps. Here’s an overview:
-
2 days before: Purchase high quality beef fillet and puff pastry. Make duxelles filling.
-
1 day before: Sear beef fillet. Make sauce base. Assemble wellington. Refrigerate overnight.
-
Day of: Remove wellington from fridge and allow to come to room temp. Bake and serve.
Now let’s break it down step-by-step.
2 Days Before: Shop and Make Filling
Buy quality ingredients: Two days out, purchase your beef tenderloin filet and puff pastry dough from a trusted butcher and bakery. This scheduling allows you to get the best ingredients.
Make duxelles: The flavorful mushroom and shallot duxelles filling can be made 2 days in advance. Sauté the mushroom mixture, then cool, cover, and refrigerate.
Prep other components: Clean and chop prosciutto and herbs for wrapping the wellington.
1 Day Before: Sear Beef and Assemble
Sear beef: Season the tenderloin filet with salt and pepper then quickly sear all over in a hot pan. Allow to cool completely.
Make sauce base: Simmer demi-glace and wine to make your sauce base a day ahead.
Assemble wellington: On a sheet of puff pastry, layer prosciutto, duxelles, and seared beef. Wrap tightly in the pastry.
Refrigerate: Cover assembled wellington tightly and refrigerate overnight.
Day Of: Bake and Final Steps
Remove from fridge: Take wrapped wellington out of fridge about 1 hour before baking so it can come closer to room temp.
Brush with egg wash: Just before baking, brush with egg wash for golden pastry. Score top decoratively.
Bake: Bake at 400°F until pastry is browned and beef reaches desired doneness, about 30-40 mins.
Make final sauce: Finish sauce to serve with the wellington just before serving.
Rest and slice: Let rest 10 minutes after baking then slice into servings.
Handy Storage Tips
Use these tips for properly storing components as you prep ahead:
-
Beef: Tightly wrap seared, cooled beef in plastic wrap. Refrigerate.
-
Duxelles: Place cooled duxelles mixture into airtight container. Refrigerate.
-
Assembled wellington: Wrap assembled wellington tightly in plastic wrap and foil. Refrigerate.
-
Sauce base: Transfer cooled sauce base to airtight container. Refrigerate.
-
Puff pastry: If made ahead, wrap extra puff pastry well and freeze it. Thaw overnight in fridge before using.
Expert Tips for Success
Follow these pro tips when planning your advance beef wellington prep:
-
Don’t overcook beef – It will continue cooking in the oven, so sear it rare initially.
-
Keep it chilled – Refrigerate components after each stage to prevent spoilage.
-
Label everything – Use labels and dates so you know what’s what.
-
Check temps – Use a meat thermometer to track doneness and prevent overcooking.
-
Time the final bake – Account for thawing time so the wellington finishes baking when you’re ready to eat.
-
Let it rest – Allow to rest at least 10 minutes after baking so the filling sets.
Make It a Stress-Free Process
Planning and proper storage are the secrets to getting a head start on your beef wellington. Now you can impress dinner guests with this spectacular centerpiece without all the last minute hustle.
By tackling steps like making the duxelles and sauce base ahead, the day-of cooking moves along at a relaxed pace. You just have to assemble, bake, and enjoy basking in the compliments on your sensational beef wellington!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I freeze assembled beef wellington?
Yes, fully assembled beef wellington can be well wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
- Should I make the puff pastry from scratch in advance?
Homemade puff pastry can be made ahead and frozen. However, when time is limited, use a high quality store-bought puff pastry.
- How long will the duxelles filling keep in the fridge?
The cooked mushroom duxelles will keep for 3-4 days well sealed in the refrigerator.
- Can I prepare the entire dish a full day ahead?
It’s best to sear the tenderloin and assemble the Wellington the day before serving to keep the beef at its most moist and tender.
- Can I make mini beef wellingtons ahead of time?
You can make individual sized beef wellingtons 1-2 days in advance with the same storage methods. Adjust cooking times when baking.
How to Make Beef Wellington
Anybody can make Beef Wellington. Seriously. People are both scared and impressed by this dish, but it only requires simple cooking skills like sear and sautéing (which I will explain in case you are still feeling scared!)
- Trim, tie, and season. First, get the beef tenderloin ready by trimming off any extra fat and silverskin. Then, tie the meat together with butcher’s twine every inch. If you ask, your butcher can do this for you, which will save you a lot of time. Add a lot of salt and pepper to the beef all over. For every pound of meat, use about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
- Sear. Next, put the olive oil in a large skillet and heat it over high heat until it’s smoking hot. When the pan is hot, sear the tenderloin all over for about two minutes on each side until it is well browned. Don’t move the meat around in the pan until you’re ready to use tongs to turn it over. This way, all sides, even the ends, will get a nice sear. This helps seal in the juices.
3. Brush with mustard. Next, remove the seared tenderloin from the pan and cut off the twine. Brush it on all sides with the dijon mustard while the meat is still warm. Set aside.
- Pulse the ingredients in a food processor . First, put half of the mushrooms, shallots, thyme leaves, and garlic in a large food processor. Next, pulse the food processor about 10-15 times to make small, even pieces of mushrooms. Do this again with the rest of the garlic, shallots, mushrooms, and thyme.
2. Melt butter. Then, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in the same pan that you used to sear the tenderloin. 3. Cook the duxelles. Next, add the mushroom mixture to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released most of their liquid, about 8-10 minutes. Continue to cook the mushroom mixture and 4-5 minutes to brown the mushrooms. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Best Beef Wellington ingredients
The list of ingredients isn’t all that long for any part of the recipe. When you have a great-tasting cut of meat like beef tenderloin, you want the recipe to focus on the meat itself, not on any other parts. This is because the other parts are meant to complement and show off the tenderness of this premium cut.
- Beef tenderloin: This is the same as filet mignon, but it is roasted for a long time. It’s very soft and buttery even though it doesn’t have marbling, but it needs extra care to be just right, which is why it works well in this recipe. My beef tenderloin weighed about 2-3 lbs. I cut off the fat and silverskin and tied it with butcher’s twine about every inch to help it keep its shape while it’s being seared.
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. This is especially important at this point because we don’t want a bland beef wellington!
- Olive oil: Cooking the beef tenderloin in olive oil makes it sear perfectly.
- Mustard: To add a little extra flavor, I brushed the beef tenderloin with Dijon mustard right after searing it while it was still warm. This is a trick I learned from Mr. Ramsey himself many years ago after seeing him scold Masterchef contestants for skipping or messing up that step.
- Many types of mushrooms can be used, such as button, cremini, shiitake, portabello, or a mix of these. They are chopped so small and cooked until they are almost a paste that even people who really don’t like mushrooms don’t seem to notice what they are eating unless you tell them. But they add fantastic umami to the finished dish!.
- Butter: Butter gives the duxelles a wonderful, rich smell and also makes them a little easier to spread.
- Herbs
- Prosciutto: I used about ¼ pound of prosciutto. Bacon-like this helps keep the mushroom layer on top of the beef tenderloin so it doesn’t fall apart.
- Flaky puff pastry surrounds the tenderloin, duxelles, and prosciutto. It tastes so good! I’ve always wanted to make my own, but for now I only buy Pepperidge Farms on the freezer aisle.
- Egg: To make the puff pastry look beautiful, I brushed an egg wash over it. It also helps the beef wellington stay sealed after you roll it up!
- Add some garnishes to finish off this dish. I put chives and flaky (or coarse) sea salt like Maldon or fleur de sel on top of the beef Wellington before serving.