Sloane’s Beef Wellington ready to eat
Do you know the history of Beef Wellington? Was it really created to celebrate the Duke of Wellington, or it a mere fable?
According to legend, the Beef Wellington was created to celebrate the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley. The Duke received is title after defeating Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Waterloo. The dish is typically made with beef sirloin wrapped in a mushroom and/or foie gras mixture and sealed in flaky pastry. It features in restaurants from London to Lisbon, New York to Nagasaki.
A Continental invention?
Our Beef Wellington comes assembled ready to cook
However, wrapping meat in pastry was a concept long before The Battle of Waterloo. In fact, the English has a long tradition of wrapping meat in pastry. For example, evidence suggests that pasties like the Cornish pasty has been around since the 14th century. In addition, Beef Wellington may simply have been a rendition of the French filet de bœuf en croûte.
Or was it American?
After 30 minutes it’s ready to eat
Similarly, according to The Telegraph, all mentions of Beef Wellington in the early days were American. The Los Angeles Times, for example, published a recipe for “fillet of beef, a la Wellington” in 1903. In 1939, the dish appeared in a guide to eating out in New York. Many online sources also point to the fact that the dish appeared in American chef Julia Child’s influential Mastering the Art of French Cooking from 1961. Even the White House liked the dish so much they included in The White House Cookbook from 1968.
Sloane’s Beef Wellington
Regardless of the history of Beef Wellington, there is no doubt that it’s loved the world over. At Sloane’s, we make ours with a nice cut of Thai Angus beef fillet. Then we cover the beef in a mushroom duxelle and wrap in Maison Jean Philippe puff pastry. It arrives to your door uncooked, so all you have to do is pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. The Beef Wellington comes with a pot of beef jus.
