The Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento - Delicious Beef Wellington Recipe

The Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento - Delicious Beef Wellington Recipe

My mom had nine kids and did not often make really fancy or gourmet meals, but was an excellent chef.  One year for Christmas she made an actual beef wellington with a full prime rib inside a pastry shell.   As a kid, I was amazed and had never seen anything like that before. This recipe from The Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento reminds me of that.

Old Sacramento's finest dining takes place at The Firehouse, the Harvego family's 63-year-old restaurant in a converted fire station. While beef Wellington isn't often listed on The Firehouse's menu these days, the chef can make it upon request, provided customers call at least 48 hours in advance with their number of orders and steak temperature preference. 

You can also make this special dish at home as I have done on a few special occasions. This is the recipe that I used.  I occasionally used pate between the crust and the meat and alternatively cheese and garlic. Cheers! 

TIME: AT LEAST 4 1/2 TO 5 1/2 HOURS 

SERVES 6 

Ingredients 

• Six, 8-ounce filet mignon or tenderloin steaks, cut into medallions 
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms (white button, cremini, shiitake, oyster or a combination of these) 
• 2 small shallots, sliced crosswise into rounds 
• 2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped 
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped 
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, brought to room temperature 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 cup Dijon mustard 
• 1 pound prosciutto 
• 1/4 cup white flour 
• 14 ounces Dufour Pastry Kitchens puff pastry (1 box) 
• 1 large egg 
• 2-4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon water 

Directions 

1. Wash steaks and pat them dry. Season them with salt and pepper. 
2. Heat 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil in a medium or large cast-iron pan on high heat until it just barely begins to smoke. Sear steaks in the cast- iron pan, approximately 30 seconds per side. Set steaks aside to rest. 
3. While the steaks rest, make the mushroom duxelles. Clean and dry the mushrooms. If their sizes vary greatly, cut the larger ones into pieces the size of the smaller ones so all will cook evenly. 
4. Heat another 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until warm, then add mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the residual moisture has dissipated and there is little to none visible in the pan, about 4-6 minutes. 
5. Remove the duxelles from heat and immediately stir in the parsley. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. 
6. Separate the butter into individual tablespoons. Using a food processor or an immersion blender, pulse the butter and duxelles mixture together to form a very rough paste. 
7. Stretch plastic wrap across a medium or large dinner plate. Arrange prosciutto on the plastic wrap in a layer at least as wide as one steak. Add a thin, consistent layer of the mushroom duxelles over the prosciutto. 
8. Brush a steak with Dijon mustard until both sides are lightly coated. Place the steak on top of the prosciutto/mushroom duxelles layer (as pictured at right). You may be able to wrap the entire steak with one layer, or a second layer may be needed in order to get full coverage. 
9. Once the prosciutto/duxelles layer has been wrapped around the steak, pull the plastic wrap up to create a bag-like pouch. Gather the extra plastic wrap at the top and twist it to create a tight ball around the steak. Repeat the process for all 6 steaks. Secure the twisted tops with a strip of tape and put these plastic-wrapped pouches in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up  to 24. 
10. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Crack and whisk the egg with water to make an egg wash. 
11. Lay out the puff pastry sheet on a large cutting board dusted with flour. Cut into 6 equal-sized portions. The individual pastry squares may need to be flattened slightly with a rolling pin to fully wrap around the steaks. 
12. Remove the prosciutto-wrapped steak from its plastic wrap pouch and put it in the middle of the puff pastry square. Brush the interior of the puff pastry not covered by the steak with the egg wash. 
13. Wrap the puff pastry tightly around the prosciutto-wrapped steak. Brush the exterior of the Wellington with the egg wash. 
14. Place a piece of parchment paper in a large sheet pan and lightly coat it with flour. Add the Wellingtons to the pan, spaced at least 1 inch apart from each other. 
15. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 20-45 minutes until the puff pastry is golden-brown. Let rest for 5-7 minutes, then halve and serve with your favorite sauce and side dishes. The Firehouse serves its beef Wellingtons with a beef demi-glace, mashed potatoes and asparagus or green beans.

Chef's Notes

The thicker the steaks are cut, the better the results will be. Baking time will vary significantly based on the temperature of the Wellingtons when they go in the oven and the cooking style of the oven. The colder the Wellingtons are when they go in the oven, the longer they will need to bake. Convection ovens will also cook Wellingtons much faster than traditional ovens.