With its layers of beef tenderloin, mushroom duxelles, prosciutto, and flaky puff pastry, beef Wellington is full of satisfying flavors and textures that make it a culinary delight. Mastering how to make one, however, can be challenging. With so many steps involved, theres a lot of room for error when making a beef Wellington. The most common mishap is the beef on the inside turning out undercooked while the puff pastry is flaky and golden. If you pre-cook your beef, use a meat thermometer, and set the oven to the right temperature, you might assume youre in the clear for a perfect result. But theres something else that can ruin a beef Wellington: A crust thats soggy on the bottom.
A mushy, uncooked puff pastry casing instead of a flaky golden one is a telltale sign that there was too much moisture trapped inside. This moisture typically comes from a combination of the juices that seep out of the tenderloin as it cooks and using mushrooms that are too watery. Excess moisture doesnt make the beef extra juicy. Instead, it prevents the puff pastry from fully crisping up, ultimately causing the crust to get soggy. Luckily, using proper cooking techniques can prevent too much moisture from collecting in your beef Wellington.
Tying the tenderloin improves both the appearance of the final dish, and leads to more even cooking. Phyllo provides a moisture barrier, preventing the puff pastry from getting soggy. A double layer of plastic wrap makes it easier to wrap up the tenderloin.
How to prevent a soggy beef Wellington
When pre-cooking the beef tenderloin for a beef Wellington, making sure to sear it and not just brown it is a crucial step in preventing sogginess. Searing locks in some of the juices so they dont seep out and pool in the bottom of the pastry.
The way you prepare the mushrooms for the duxelles is also key. Mushrooms hold a lot of moisture, and to prevent that moisture from ruining your beef Wellington crust, you will want to cook them until all the moisture evaporates. This doesnt happen over low heat, so its best to stick to medium-high or high. Fortunately, mushrooms are almost impossible to overcook. After the mushrooms look dry enough, it also helps to pat them dry with a paper towel. Also, chilling them — and the meat — after cooking will prevent any excess steam from building up during the wrapping process.
These steps alone, however, are sometimes not enough. How tightly you wrap the puff pastry around the beef tenderloin also makes a difference. If it were too loose, it would create more room for moisture retention, even if you were to poke it with steam ventilation holes. It helps to refrigerate the pastry-wrapped tenderloin as well. This will stop the meat from overcooking and enhance the puff pastrys ability to crisp up during baking.
Whenever I make a beef wellington, the beef turns out perfectly, but the pastry is always soggy – any ideas how I can stop this?
It is usually the pastry base of a beef wellington that turns out to be soggy, as the juices from the beef and the mushroom filling tend to drip down onto the pastry as the wellington cooks. The first step to a crisper pastry is to make sure that the mushroom filling is cooked until all of the liquid has evaporated. Chop the mushrooms finely and fry with a tiny amount of olive oil until the mushrooms are very dry. You can blot the cooked mushrooms with kitchen paper (paper towels) as an additional precaution and cool thoroughly before using. Puff pastry needs to be kept cool and for the best results should be cooked from chilled so make sure that the seared or browned beef fillet (tenderloin) is thoroughly cool, and preferably chilled, before assembling the wellington and if possible refrigerate the assembled wellington before its final baking.
The classic wellington recipes wrap the beef and mushroom mixture in crepes (thin pancakes) before the puff pastry coating as the crepes act as a barrier, absorbing any moisture from the beef and mushrooms and allowing the pastry to bake properly in the oven. If you are using store-bought crepes then make sure that they are plain and not the sweet variety. One other approach is to bake “blind” a rectangle of puff pastry for the base before assembling the wellington. Cut a rectangle of pastry slightly larger than the beef for the base, prick it thoroughly with a fork and bake at 200c/400F for 20 minutes until golden. Cool completely on a wire rack then transfer to a clean baking sheet and sit the beef fillet on the cooked pastry and spread the mushroom mixture under and over the beef. Drape a large sheet of uncooked puff pastry over the beef and seal the edges of the cooked and uncooked pastry together with beaten egg, trimming any excess pastry. Chill then glaze and bake in a hot oven for 20-30 minutes (or following your own recipe instructions).
How to make amazing Beef Wellington…by avoiding these 4 key mistakes.
FAQ
How do I stop my Beef Wellington having a soggy bottom?
How do you keep puff pastry from getting soggy on the bottom?
How do you keep Beef Wellington crispy?
What is the mistake with Beef Wellington?