This recipe for steak en croûte is a simple, make-ahead, eye-catching, and mouthwatering way to serve beef filet. It is easily expandable to accommodate however many people you require. A pleasant variation on the norm without the typical pâté de foie gras. My family and my guests really enjoy this. Pick tasty mushrooms such as morels, criminis, portobellos, or even porcinis. Pick a rich wine that you would genuinely drink, such a fine Shiraz or Pinotage. ideal when paired with asparagus.
| Prep Time: | 35 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 55 mins |
| Servings: | 2 |
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 (6 ounce) beef tenderloin filets
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 ounces fresh white mushrooms, minced
- ⅓ cup minced shallot
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons red wine
- 4 6-inch squares of frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold
- 1 ½ cups red wine
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg (Optional)
- 2 tablespoons milk (Optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over high heat until very hot. Sear filets until well browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove filets from the skillet, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Filets must be cold.
- In the same skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Cook and stir mushrooms, shallots, and garlic until shallots are tender and translucent and mushrooms have given off their juice, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of red wine, scraping and dissolving any browned flavor bits from the pan. Transfer mushroom mix into a bowl, and chill in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes.
- Place 2 pieces of puff pastry on a work surface, and top each with a chilled filet. Spread half mushroom mixture in a neat layer on top of each filet, and top each with a piece of puff pastry. Fold and pinch edges of the pastry together, sealing in the contents, and trim to make a tidy package. Cut a small slit into top of each package.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups of red wine into a saucepan over medium heat, and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Season wine sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, whisk egg into milk in a bowl, and brush pastry packages with egg mixture for a browner crust, if desired. Return bundles to the refrigerator to keep cold.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place puff pastry bundles onto the prepared baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven until pastry is golden brown and crisp and filets are desired degree of doneness (for medium-rare, about 15 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted into center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C). Serve each filet in pastry shell with spoonfuls of wine sauce on top.
- You can pause after step 2 as well as after step 3 to partially make the dish ahead, and finish up later.
- You can get decorative if you choose. Use trimmings or extra pastry to cut leaves or make a little bow.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 3274 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 232 g |
| Cholesterol | 196 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 69 g |
| Saturated Fat | 60 g |
| Sodium | 1359 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 215 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My all time favourite way to have steak. The pastry and wine sauce are the best parts. I like to serve it with O’Brien potatoes and green beans with bacon bits.
This was very good. I actually made 11 in total so it was a little time intensive. At first I thought it was a little bland, but then I remembered the wine reduction. With that added the flavor was great. The only change I made was to bake them on a rack and I added a teaspoon of better than bullion to the wine reduction. If you’re only making 2 then this would be an easy recipe and a beautiful presentation.
your recipe made it perfect. I did, however, change the wine to a Merlot which has a heavier taste that goes with French-made beef dishes.
Made this for Christmas Day dinner. My wife said: “you are officially in charge of Christmas dinner…forever!” It was big hit. Made the wine sauce, then promptly forgot to serve it. No matter, it was great without. I added rosemary to the recipe, searing the tenderloins with salt, pepper and rosemary. Also used a bit of “Spike” seasoning. Served with Scalloped Potatoes.
Wonderful recipe! I will be making it again.
WOW! This was amazing! I was a little concerned about the wine sauce. I felt it need a bit more and it tasted very acidic so I added sugar to it. It still seemed off when I tasted it alone, but when I put it on the meat/croute it was fine. I still have to wonder what else could be done to the sauce as far as making it thicker or adding other spices.
Great dish! I use crescent rolls as opposed to pastry puff for a richer and fluffier crust. I have also substitued white onion for the shallot or left the shallot out altogether and both worked wonderfully.
I entered this recipe in our local state fair, and won first place in the cooking with beef competition! These tasted FABULOUS! That said, there were a couple of changes I had to make. First, cooking time. After cooking my test-batch 15 minutes in the oven and letting rest for 5-minutes or so, the steaks were blue in the center. Warm but raw. My second batch I cooked for an extra 5 minutes, for a total of 20 minutes in the oven, and after resting for 30-45 minutes (judging takes forever) they were perfect inside. So I recommend a longer cook time. Next, the wine reduction sauce was a little too basic for me, so I added in one cup of beef broth. The resulting sauce (I used a 2009 Ravenswood Zinfandel) complemented the steaks perfectly, and two judges specifically mentioned the sauce was perfect. We already plan on making this again next month for when my in-laws visit. Yummy! Edit: I have made this dozens of times, and each time those eating it almost roll their eyes in ecstasy. With the exceptions I already noted, I have never seen the need to change this recipe at all. Lovely.
I made this last night and followed the exact recipe. I made the wine reduction sauce and added a little flour and milk to thicken it up. It was absolutely delicious. We both cleaned our plates. I served this with mashed potatos which went deliciously and used a cream sherry as the wine. I will definitely make this again.
when i made this, it tasted really good and was pretty fast to make, but the bottom of the puff pastry was all soggy.
I made this for a dinner party and it was a huge hit. I was suprised how simple, but elegant this dish was to make. The only change I made was to add pine nuts to the mushroom mixture.
A very good, easy to follow recipe, and great to make ahead of time! I used a homemade *Puff Pastry* recipe from this site, and skipped the wine sauce (it was part of a big meal already). I loved how you can do it in stages. I stopped after step 2 for about an hour while I cooked something else, and again after step 3 for nearly three hours. Letting the steak sit in the pouches lets them sort of marinate in the mushroom wine juices, which adds real flavor. Finally, don’t worry if your beef seems on the small side, once it is topped with mushrooms and wrapped in dough, it is definitely enough to satisfy big appetites!
One of those recipes that will be served again.Very elegant!!