Individual Beef Wellington

I am not much of a fan of reality TV. There’s very little that’s real about them, to start.I also don’t like how they’re intended to play the audience like a violin. In spite of all of this, I am a junkie for Gordon Ramsay‘s shows. MasterChef. Kitchen Nightmares. And, of course, Hell’s Kitchen. It seems like every week on Hell’s Kitchen someone receives Chef Ramsay’s wrath for screwing up either risotto or Beef Wellington. In my mind, both of these have become epic challenges, so difficult nobody can get them right. Nobody. And yet, I thought it would be a great idea to make Beef Wellington the #FirstOnTheFirst challenge for March 1st. Makes sense, right? Yikes!

I originally intended to make little bites of Beef Wellington–it seemed less likely I’d mess that up. But once I bought my meat–which, by the way, I have never approached the butcher in the grocery store before and certainly never spent $19.99/lb for any meat I’ve ever eaten at home–I was too terrified to chop it all up. $35 worth of beef sat on my counter in steak-form–I could not find a roast–and I started to hyperventilate. I don’t cook meat. I love it, but I don’t cook it because the stuff that sells for $7/lb seems too expensive to experiment with. This? This was insane.

Finally, I gave in. Shut the TV off and immersed myself in the challenge. It was time to face my fear and go for it. I had investigated several recipes for inspiration and even watched Chef Ramsay make Beef Wellington himself. I had this.

Once my Individual Beef Wellingtons were in the oven, I watched closely. I was terrified of overcooking them, or ending up with a totally raw center. Chilling the meat in between and throwing the puff pastry-wrapped meat parcels in the freezer for a bit helps keep the beef inside from getting too well done while the puff pastry finishes. 12:30 AM and I was done. Because everyone makes Beef Wellington in the middle of the night, right? I held my breath, plated it, and adored it. Snapped some photos and then dug in. Because you can’t waste a project like this by turning it immediately into leftovers.

It was uh-mazing. No exaggeration here. So tender, so rich, so salty and yet not. Wonderful. The next night (the same night?) I served the rest as leftovers to my family. Which was also nerve-wracking–reheating without overcooking. I highly recommend heating on a rack in the pan so the crust doesn’t get soggy, and in a toaster oven or oven, NOT the microwave. The kids LOVED it. They couldn’t get enough, begging for more and more. My leftover Beef Wellington was just as awesome as my midnight snack, albeit a little less glorious. YUM.

So yeah, consider that challenge killed with great success. Will I ever make it again? Probably not–the anxiety level was too high and the investment was too great for a family meal. But I’m glad I tried it. And all of us enjoyed the end result. Take that, Hell’s Kitchen!

Now I know you’re dying to see how everyone else did on this challenge….

• Ultimate Beef Wellington from Anna {Hidden Ponies}
• Classic Beef Wellington from Food Babbles
• Lobster Wellington from Jenn {Go Running Mama!}

slightly overcooked but still extremely delicious

Next month for First on the First…

…we’ll be making naan. A much more economical culinary adventure, and one I am really looking forward to. Check out the First on the First tab for more details on how to participate.