Pastry not "sticking" to beef Wellington
I've cooked a Wellington a couple of times and whilst I've been pleased with the overall outcome on each occasion the pastry comes away when serving. This is purely for aesthetic reasons.
I use a 1kg fillet, seared, then rolled in to a sausage on a bed of prosciutto ham and a mushroom duxelle with some chicken liver pate mixed in.
I chill this before wrapping in egg washed puff pastry and cooking for about 40 minutes. This has resulted in rare beef, a good crisp pastry that holds its form until cutting it for serving.
It wasn't too wet - it just seems the pastry doesn't want to affix itself to the contents.
Any ideas on how to improve this?
I adapted my recipe from this one http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2538/beef-wellington
Best Answer
I never find that the pastry actually "sticks" to the contents when making a wellington. The meat will shrink slightly as it cooks so the pastry you have wrapped around it will have a certain amount of space between it and the contents.
Try cutting thicker servings and making sure you have a well sharpened, long bladed knife to cut it with. Use the entire length of the blade with long strokes to get through the pastry and meat as smoothly as possible. This should stop the pastry breaking or falling away, then when you serve it will at least appear to be stuck on.
Hope that helps!
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How do you get pastry to stick to Beef Wellington?
Try cutting thicker servings and making sure you have a well sharpened, long bladed knife to cut it with. Use the entire length of the blade with long strokes to get through the pastry and meat as smoothly as possible.How do you stop the pastry on a Beef Wellington going soggy?
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.Why does pastry fall off Beef Wellington?
Even the best Beef Wellington can be ruined by cutting it too thinly or too thickly. A thin slice will simply fall apart, whereas a thick slice will lose the delicate appearance and finesse of the dish. Gordon's tip is to slice the Wellington around an inch thick.What can you substitute for Duxelle in Beef Wellington?
Eggplant can also be used as a substitute in beef Wellington as part of the \u201cduxelle\u201d as long as a small amount is used, given the higher water content.Covering your dough for rising without it sticking - kitchen tip 6
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