Beef Wellington with Demi Glace

If you have more time than you do money, and you really want to impress your dinner guests, there's nothing like Beef Wellington. Of course, this is on the understanding that your guests are carnivorous gourmands with little concern for calorie counts or cholesterol levels when it comes to haute cuisine.

The origin of Beef Wellington is not entirely certain, but it is definitely named for Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington (1759-1852). A British military commander and statesman, he famously defeated Napoleon at Waterloo and later went on to serve two terms as Prime Minister of England. Legend has it that Wellesley so loved this elaborate dish that he even had his chefs prepare it in camp during the Napoleonic Wars. However, there is no conclusive evidence that he ever ate it at all. It could simply be an impressive dish named to honor a man with an impressive resume.

The Bridge and Tunnel Club makes its B Welly entirely from scratch, which means we made pastry dough, liver paté, and duxelles; wrapped them all around our filet; and then dumped some sauce on the finished product.

Click on each link below to find out how to do it up old school:

The Meat

Sauce Espagnole

Puff Pastry Dough

Liver Paté

Duxelles

Putting It All Together