Beer braised beef is not the sort of meal I was planning to serve on Easter weekend, but it has been cold and wet in London and not the sort of weekend to serve Spring food. So by serving an Brussels recipe we have gone straight back to Winter food. Luckily I have been to the gym at least four times this week, so I can still look forward to my homemade hot cross buns tomorrow. As I used the complete brisket for this meal, it needs long slow cooking, the sort that makes the kitchen warm fragrant and a delight to be in on a cold afternoon.
Beer Braised Beef with Onions | Cookies with Boys
Beer Braised Beef with Onions. Here is yet another recipe from Pioneer Woman. I caught one of her episodes in the fall and was immediately smitten with a roast she slow cooked. While this is not the exact recipe, it is comfort …
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2 kg rolled brisket
2 large onions, sliced finely
200 g baby onions, peeled
2 tablespoons horseradish grated
10 g sea salt
50 g butter
750 ml dark British beer
250 ml beef stock
3 bay leaves
25 g tomato concentrate
25 ml olive oil
Roll the brisket in the horseradish, and then fry in butter and olive oil for ten minutes to brown the meat. The olive oil is to stop the butter burning and the butter is for flavour. Melt the butter in a separate casserole dish and fry the onions until dark and golden. Season, add bay leaves,tomato concentrate, beer and beef stock. Put into a casserole dish and cover with greaseproof paper to ensure that the meat does not dry out; put the lid on and cook at 150C for 4 hours. It is almost impossible to overcook this dish, the flavours slowly meld together. Take out the meat and let it rest for ten minutes and reduce the stock if necessary, then thicken with pieces of butter rolled in flour.
Beer braised beef is great with root vegetables added, and it can be made with stout or light beer, but Beer braised beef benefits from long slow cooking.
Beef Wellington is a preparation of fillet steak coated with pâté and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. A whole fillet of beef may be wrapped and baked, and then sliced for serving, or the beef fillet may be sliced into individual portions prior to wrapping and baking.
Beef Wellington’s were all the rage in the seventies, they were the staple food of every posh dinner party, unfortunately everyone likes their meat cooked differently and back in the day I never considered an Individual Beef Wellington. Apparently beef Wellington was so named because of the shine on the Duke’s boots. However there is no historical records to support this and it could be that beef Wellington was first served in Wellington New Zealand!
Try these suggestions for Beef Wellington
Beef Wellington is one of those classic dishes that is almost symbolic of old Las Vegas, and it’s pretty difficult to find these days. But in response to a query from Janet and Keith Oberlander, Kathy Boland heartily recommended the individual …
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Beef tenderloin is best cooked no more than medium-rare. Trim and tie the roast with butchers twine. Place roast on wire rack set above rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 to 48 hours. To prepare the duxelles: In a food processor, …
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Recently I saw an Emeril Lagasserecipe for Individual Beef Wellington and thought that sounds a great idea, now everyone can get their perfect beef Wellington.
I changed this to my favourite recipe, because everyone loves their coating differently I love to use a duxelle of mushrooms whilst other people use pate.
It makes no difference what you use some people just use Dijon mustard, the function is to keep the meat moist because the pastry need a really hot heat and you do not want dried meat.I like my individual beef Wellington with crisp watercress for pepperyness and with a morel mushroom sauce. I know that morels are expensive, but an individual beef Wellington is not a cheap dish.
Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz packet ready-made puff pastry(all butter)
plain flour, for dusting
20g/¾oz dried porcini mushrooms or large morels
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 180g/6oz slices beef fillet
4 small shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
knob of butter
500g/1lb 2oz chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
generous glass of dry sherry or vermouth
large handful fresh thyme leaves
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
300ml/10fl oz double cream
Method
Roll the puff pastry out on a floured work surface to a 5mm/¼in thickness. Trim the pastry into a 36cm/14in square. Then cut into four smaller squares and place onto two baking trays. Chill in the fridge for five minutes.
Rinse the dried mushrooms in cold water, then put them into a bowl and cover with hot water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot. Season the beef well all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry for one minute on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Place the shallots into the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add the butter and chestnut mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, drain the dried mushrooms and finely chop, then add them to the pan with the glug of sherry, if using. Increase the heat and cook until most of the sherry has evaporated.
Add the thyme, cook for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and place a tablespoon of the mushroom mixture into the middle of each piece of pastry; spread it out to the same size as the beef steak. Top with the steak and brush the edges with the beaten egg.
Draw up the corners and edges of the pastry so they meet and overlap slightly in the middle. Turn it right-side up and shape it round the sides a little with your hands. If the pastry is soft, chill it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm up.
Slash the tops of the Wellingtons with a knife and brush them all over with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 12-14 minutes (for medium-rare), or until cooked to your liking.
Five minutes before the beef Wellington are ready, reheat the remaining mushroom mixture. When it is hot, add the double cream and cook on a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, season, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with a lid to keep warm. Serve the Wellingtons with a spoonful of the sauce.

Beef Wellington is also wonderful with broad beans, and baby asparagus. Be sure to use an all butter puff pastry if you are using a shop bought pastry because nothing screams elegance more than a beef Wellington and nothing is worse than ordinary puff pastry, it has to be made with butter. An Individual Beef Wellington can be made to suit your favourite vegetables or season. In Winter Individual Beef Wellington can be made heartier by the addition of roasted vegetables. As I served individual Beef Wellington on Three kings day in Malaga it was too warm for a heavy meal. Another individual beef Wellington recipe can be found here.
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