Gundagai: Beef Wellington (1965)

[Frank Abate]

Re Beef Wellington preparation:

The cut of beef is a tenderloin, which is what filet mignon is cut from --
no bones, very lean, very tender.  The meat is covered with a thin coating
of pate de foie gras (or the closest you can get to that), then surrounded
with puff pastry, then baked.  The bottom of the pastry gets juicy during
the cooking, but the top and sides stay dry and get crisp.  It is
classically served on a platter, or in really ritzy restaurants from a
wheeled cart with a hinged silver cover, brought to the table and cut into
slices for each diner.  Sometimes it is served with an accompanying sauce.

It is very expensive to make, since tenderloin goes for about $10 a pound
usually, and pate ain't cheap either.  Unfortunately for me, it is one of my
favorite dishes.

Frank Abate