Beef Wellington (((wonderful)))

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 1/2 lbs beef tenderloin fillets (including suet)
• 3/4 lb mushroom (finely chopped)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 lb puff pastry sheet (thawed)
• 1 large egg (beaten)
• 1 large egg yolk (beaten with 1 teaspoon water)
• 1/2 cup madeira wine
• 2 teaspoons arrowroot (dissolved in 1 tspn water)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced fine (in food processor)
• 2 lbs chicken livers (give or take) or 2 lbs goose liver (give or take)
• 3 ounces cream sherry
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 4 hard-boiled eggs (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion (thinly sliced)
• 6 tablespoons schmaltz (chicken fat, recipe follows)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• salt
• plenty pepper

Recipe

• 1 for the chicken liver pate: in a skillet, place 2 tablespoons butter and 1 small thinly sliced onion and saute until golden brown.
• 2 add the 6 tablespoons of schmaltz (chicken fat) and mix real well as you crumble the onion slices.
• 3 this is called schmaltz with grieven.
• 4 you can use this right away; however, it is better to make this a couple of months ahead of time and place it in the freezer to cure.
• 5 when ready to make the pate, in a skillet saute the onions in the vegetable oil over a medium flame until golden brown and add the schmaltz with grieven.
• 6 boil the 4 eggs until hard boiled.
• 7 add the chicken or goose livers to the pan with the onions, grieven and garlic and cook 2 or 3 minutes until done.
• 8 add the cream sherry and cook an additional minute.
• 9 remove from pan and allow to cool.
• 10 in a food processor, gently pulse the livers and hard boiled eggs into a rough chop.
• 11 do not overmix!
• 12 add salt, pepper, garlic powder and sugar and adjust as necessary.
• 13 for the beef wellington: preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• 14 season roast with salt, pepper, garlic powder and basil to taste. on a rack, in an uncovered roasting pan, roast filet, with suet on top, in middle of oven for 30 to 45 minutes or longer, until a thermometer registers 120 degrees.
• 15 allow filet to cool completely and discard larding fat and strings if strings are there.
• 16 skim the fat from the pan juices and save the juices. in a heavy skillet, saute the finely chopped mushrooms in the butter over medium-low heat, stirring until all the liquid is evaporated and the mixture is dry.
• 17 season with salt and pepper and allow to cool completely.
• 18 spread the pate evenly over the top and sides of the filet, and then spread the mushrooms evenly over the pate.
• 19 on a floured surface, roll the 1 lb. of puff pastry into a rectangle large enough to enclose the filet completely, which should be about 20 x 12 inches.
• 20 invert the coated filet very carefully onto the middle of the dough and fold up the long sides of the dough to enclose the filet.
• 21 with your finger you can make criss-cross grooves in the dough as a decoration.
• 22 brush the edges of the dough with egg to seal.
• 23 repeat with the ends of the dough.
• 24 transfer the filet, seam down, to a jelly roll pan or a shallow roasting pan and brush with egg wash.
• 25 chill for 1 hour, but not more than 2 hours.
• 26 make sure that oven is preheated to 400 degrees and bake the filet in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.
• 27 reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until a meat thermometer registers 130 degrees for medium-rare.
• 28 remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
• 29 in a saucepan, boil the reserved pan juices and madeira wine until the mixture is reduced by one quarter.
• 30 add the arrowroot, beef broth, salt and pepper.
• 31 cook over medium heat, stirring (being careful not to boil) for 5 minutes or until thickened.
• 32 loosen the filet from the jelly roll pan and transfer with 2 spatulas to a heated serving platter.
• 33 to serve, cut the filet into 3/4 inch thick slices and dress with the sauce.