Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington is a dish made of beef fillet coated with a savoury layer, typically duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry and baked.

Beef Wellington is a British main dish made of beef fillet coated with mushroom duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry, and baked. It is often served as a sliced roast for festive or formal meals.

What it is

Beef Wellington consists of a whole beef fillet seared and coated with a savoury layer, typically mushroom duxelles, then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. Many recipes also include a layer of ham or prosciutto between the beef and pastry. The dish is cooked to keep the beef tender, often served medium-rare, and is considered a high-end or special-occasion dish.

Key details

Classic versions use seared beef fillet coated with mustard and duxelles, then wrapped in prosciutto and puff pastry. The assembled roast is chilled before baking to help the pastry hold its shape. Recipes commonly call for searing the beef before wrapping, then baking the pastry until golden while monitoring the meat’s internal temperature. Many modern recipes recommend resting the Wellington before slicing.

Serving and presentation

Beef Wellington is usually sliced into thick portions and served as a centrepiece dish. It is often presented at formal dinners, holidays, and celebratory meals. In Canada, it is popular in home cooking, restaurants, and holiday menus, and is a familiar dish in Canadian English-language food writing and television cooking.