Beef wellington my Christmas (with pics)

[Zenduri]

Foodies assemble!

I'm planning on doing a beef wellington for Christmas for the first time instead of a Turkey and I welcome any suggestions from the foodies of OCUK specifically as well re the weight of the fillet when feeding 2 people. Going to hit up my butchers in the morning for a nice fillet and while i have the ability to make my own puff pastry i cant be arsed so going to go with premade.

Aside from english mustard on the fillet and some parma ham, any recommendations when prepping the duxelles and or any tips for cooking? (rare obviously)

Side note this will be my first time making a beef wellington and i have a thermometer on the ready so what temps should I be aiming for?

 

[Zenduri]

Cheers for the help guys. picked up a 500g Fillet from the butchers and fought some ******** in sainsburys for the last of the puff pastry this afternoon lol I was using Gordons beef wellington as the basis for my plans. Also havre a thermometer and probe coming form amazon this evening so i can dial in the meat temp when cooking.

Cheers Hilly and Rotty for the temps and timings thats exactly what i was looking for.

 

[Zenduri]

Cheers guys. Picked up all my ingredients and the Amazon drivers just dropped off my thermometer so i'm basically all good to go. I'll try to remember to take a pic once its done and throw it in the now eating thread, fingers crossed i dont mess it up lol

 

[Zenduri]

@Hilly and @Rotty
One quick question when searing the fillet, room temp or fridge temp when searing? Room temp would make sense to bring the outside upto the highest temp sooner to get the sear but also thinking wouldnt fridge temp ensure the core fo the fuillet is starting to cook while searing?

Also im going to sear and wrap christmas eve so im good to go on christmas day so room temp or fridge temp before cooking?

 

[Zenduri]

Cheers again for the advice guys its appreciated. Picture dump of where im at.

Just need to egg wash it and bang it in the over tomorrow and i have the thermometer probe at the ready. Also parboiled some potatoes, parnsips and carrots and roughed them up in ready for roasting them tomorrow.I only have mash potatoes, yorkshire pudding and gravy to do tomorrow and then cook everything else thats prepped.

 

[Zenduri]

Did you put the meat in the oven on low for a bit like it showed in the second link I shared, i think he put it in for 18 mins. Then you cool it then wrap it then cook it for the final time. Unless some other recipe says not to?

Nope seered it in a pan with a little oil then seasoned and applied mustard while it was warm as per Gordon Ramsay

 

[Zenduri]

Welp mixed outcome, looked and tasted amazing but didnt didnt realise how much the temp would rise while resting, took out at 50 but then kept rising to 68 so it turned out a bit overcooked

Cheers for the help @Rotty and @Hilly. Think ill remove it at 40degrees internal temp next time

 

[Zenduri]

looks really good, that seems a big rise when resting which I can't explain

I agree i was expecting it to jump maybe 4-5 degrees but it jumped about 18 and topped about 68.8. I rested it for about 15-20 mins and it increased that much during that time. The only reason i could think is when i took it out the fridge last night and left it in the kitchen that the internal temp didnt get to room temp. When i put it in the oven the internal temp was about 13 degrees (my kitchen is fairly cold) so there could have been a hefty delay in the meat itself getting upto temp. I had it in the over for nearly 50 mins to get to 50 degrees internal so i think because the core temp was fairly low when i put it in, there was a delay in it heating up and therefore a huge delay in the core temp hence the big jump.

Did taste stunning though regardless. Might use Dijon mustard next time though as the english mustard was fairly strong and while i dont mind it, i think it may have been a bit overpowering.

Ended up having it with some roast potatoes, mustard mash, roast parsnips and carrots, roast potatoes and a couple of small yorkshire puddings. Best christmas dinner i think ive had so far!

 

[Zenduri]

I've never seen any meet rise 18 degrees! Only explanation is maybe the probe wasn't all the way into the centre of the meat upon the first reading?

Either way, it still looks good! Medium rare is perfect for wellington and although yours looks more medium, it still looks epically good!

I had a bit of a sweat on when i saw it resting and keep rising and rising. Probe was all the way in and center of the fillet and the thermometer was calibrated so i have no idea what happened.

Side note though it was stunning regardless and thanks again for all your help, i have a few things i will do different next time i make one which should just improve it more.