Beef Wellington

Naming

The dish is presumably named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, but the precise origin of the name is unclear and the connection between them is unknown.

Leah Hyslop observed that by the time Wellington became famous, meat baked in pastry was a well-established part of English cuisine, and that the dish's similarity to the French filet de bœuf en croûte (fillet of beef in pastry) might imply that "beef Wellington" was a "timely patriotic rebranding of a trendy continental dish".

Early sources

There is a recipe for Filet à la Wellington in an Austrian cookbook of 1891 consisting of a tenderloin wrapped in pastry, with optional bacon but no mushrooms, and served with truffle sauce or pickles.

There is an 1899 reference in a menu from the Hamburg-America line. The earliest US attestation is in 1899; it also appears in the Los Angeles Times of 1903. A 1910 Polish cookbook includes Polędwica wołowa à la Wellington 'beef fillet à la Wellington' including duxelles, and served with a truffle or Madeira sauce. The author claimed that she had received this recipe from the cook of the imperial court in Vienna.

The 1923 edition of Le Répertoire de la Cuisine, a professional reference cookbook, mentions a "Wellington" recipe for beef: "Barded fillet browned in butter and in the oven, coated in poultry stuffing with dry duxelles added, placed in rolled-out puff pastry. Cooked in the oven. Garnished with peeled tomatoes, lettuce, Pommes château".

Variations

In the Food Network show Good Eats, Alton Brown discusses a variant using the cheaper pork tenderloin instead of beef. A common vegetarian variation of the dish, known as "beet Wellington", replaces the beef with beetroot and has been featured on food competition shows such as MasterChef Australia.

References

References

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4. Olver, Lynne. "Beef Wellington". [[The Food Timeline]].
5. (21 August 2013). "Potted histories: Beef Wellington". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
6. Seleskowitz, Louise. (1886). "Wiener Kochbuch". Lienhart.
7. "First Class Menu, 10th Nov 1899, Hamburg-America line".
8. (September 23, 1899). "A Novel Menu Card". [[Scientific American]].
9. Ochorowicz-Monatowa, Marya. (1910). "Uniwersalna książka kucharska". Księgarnia H. Altenberga; Ludwik Fiszer.
10. . ["Marya Ochorowicz-Monatowa "Uniwersalna książka kucharska""](http://salontradycjipolskiej.pl/marya-ochorowicz-monatowa-uniwersalna-ksiazka-kucharska). *Muzeum Lwowa i Kresów*.
11. Gringoire, Th.. (1923). "Le Répertoire de la Cuisine". Maison Allard, London.
12. (May 30, 2015). "Tender is the Pork".
13. "Vegan Beet Wellington".
14. "Pressure Test: Flynn McGarry's Beet Wellington".