This bite was contributed by our friend Adam Starowicz.
Beef Wellington is a food many people have heard of, but few have actually eaten. There are many reasons for this: the ingredients are expensive and hard to find, its difficult to assemble, even harder to cook properly, and, finally, it rarely tastes all that great. This bite contains all of the components of a traditional Wellington, but I have altered them to optimize enjoyment. While there is some confusion in regard to a Wellington’s components and origin, the most important components are filet of beef, Madeira, pate(duck liver), duxelle, puff pastry and black truffle.
With those in mind, here is the break down:
Meat – Hanger steak instead of tenderloin. Hanger is more flavorful, has a better texture, and is at least half as expensive. It also handles being cut into small steaks, seared, and sliced into bites.
Pastry – Danish dough instead of puff pastry. Danish dough is fermented, yeasty and flavorful, then laminated with butter. Much more interesting than simple puff pasty.
Duxelle – A precise dice of mushroom, celery root and carrot browned in butter, thyme and garlic. Duxelle is usually cut to shit and then cooked to shit. That is useful for some things, but in this altered mushroom duxelle with make for a better bite.
Pate – Duck liver and pork belly. Instead of foie gras, un-fattened duck livers have a beautiful flavor and texture when combined with the fattiness of pork belly.
Truffle and Madeira – Both will finish a rich, meaty sauce. Instead of fresh truffles I’m using truffle butter to finish the Madeira meat sauce.
226g butter
Adam Starowicz is the sous-chef at Mas (farmhouse) in the west village. I first met Adam three years ago when I was just an intern at Mas working the cold app station. Adam trained me on garde manger and we have been friends and (occasional) co-workers since. Adam’s precise knife skills and luxurious palate are really demonstrated in this bite. He is a talented chef and we were so excited for him to come cook with us and share this awesome recipe.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
WOW! As always, a drool inducing photo, and while I’m not sure that this bite is any less work that a traditional Wellington, it sure looks and sounds a lot tastier. Bravo! – S
Wow, how gorgeous. I can’t imagine making this but I would love for someone to surprise me with it! As always, the photos are insanely good.
Yes the picture does look delicious, the bite was totally scrumptious…although perhaps not less work as you said!
Thanks hungry dog! It was a great bite to eat, especially since someone else cooked it for us!