You heard me, Pork Wellington.
Basic idea – Sear a pork tenderloin, wrap it in a mostly-cooked bacon weave with mirepoix, wrap all that in puff pastry, slap on an egg wash, bake until epic.
Instead of the mirepoix, you can make a much more traditional layer of 1/2 lb of diced mushrooms and one diced shallot, sauteed in 1 tbsp each of oil and butter on medium-high heat until golden brown (approx 5-10 minutes). The other traditional part is 1 tbsp of dijon mustard, which goes between the prosciutto (not bacon) and the mushrooms, with the loin on top.
Pork Wellington
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lb Pork tenderloin, cleaned ( see #1 below )
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 lb Bacon
- 1 sheet Puff pastry ( see #2 below )
- 1 cup mirepoix ( see #3 below )
- 1 tbsp oil for searing the pork
- 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water, no whites showing.
Instructions
- Weave the bacon, bake at 350 for 25 minutes, until mostly cooked, but very flexible. The bacon weave needs to be the same length as the loin. If this doesn't work, cut the loin to about 1" shorter than the weave. We will be baking the Wellington for 20-30 minutes, so don't fret about the bacon being raw.
- While the bacon weave is baking, rub the salt, pepper, thyme all over the loin, and set aside.
- Roll out the puff pastry and trim or re-arrange if necessary (see #2)
- Make the mirepoix and set aside.
- In a large skillet, preferably cast iron, heat the olive oil on just over medium heat.
- Sear the loin for 2 minutes on each side.
- Using paper towel, pat dry the bacon weave, and place it on your clean counter.
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Spread the mirepoix in an even strip in the middle of the bacon weave.
- Place the loin on top of the mirepoix.
- Wrap the bacon around the loin.
- Place the loin seam-side down in the middle of the pastry.
- Fold the top and bottom ends of the puff pastry over the loin, then wrap the sides over the top. Use some egg wash as glue to seal the pastry. ( see #4 )
- Place the Wellington seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Brush the top with egg wash, and cut slits in the top to release steam.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, until top is golden brown, and internal temperature is 145F.
- Allow to rest for 3 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Make sure to trim off any silverskin. Do this before you start
- The puff pastry needs to be 3" longer than the loin on both ends, and wide enough to wrap around the top of the loin (2 layers on top). If the puff pastry needs to be re-arranged, you can trim off the excess from one side, and glue it using some of the egg wash.
- Make a half batch from mirepoix – ChefVlahos (thedailybear.ca)
https://thedailybear.ca/mirepoix - Optional presentation - cut 1" wide horizontal strips in the pastry along the long edge of the pastry , starting just outside the loin. Fold the top and bottom over the ends of the loin, tuck the strips from the top and bottom along the side of the loin. Alternate layering the strips on an angle starting from the bottom to the top. Brush with egg wash top glue the layers as you fold them up. Brush the top with the remaining egg wash.
Mirepoix
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Cutting board
- vegetable peeler or paring knife
- chef's knife
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup onion, diced Traditional is 2 parts onion
Instructions
- In a saucepan on medium-low heat, melt the butter.
- In the meantime, prep the veggies. If you're especially coordinated, you can do all of this at the same time.
- Cook the carrots to slightly soft (3-4 minutes).
- Add the onions and cook to slightly soft (3-4 minutes).
- Add the celery and cook to slightly soft (3-4 minutes).
- This should take 10-12 minutes. Do not brown anything.