# How can I cook 30 frozen beef wellingtons?



## Coozie (Jul 3, 2018)

I have 30 frozen 200g beef wellingtons to cook together in a domestic oven. I am nervous that the oven temp will drop dramatically and not allowing the puff pastry to work as it is supposed to. Any tips or suggestions will really help.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Line the bottom of the oven with bricks.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Why not thaw for a day or two in the fridge before baking?

Let’s just say you line your oven with bricks and try to bake a frozen Wellington. The puff pastry won’t bake properly because it’s wrapped around a frozen rock solid hunk of beef, and you will get a soggy layer of pastry between the beef and the baked layer. In spite of baking for 20 minutes, the beef will still be frozen, or at best case, stone cold.


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

Agreed, its the pastry layer thats going to give you trouble. 
Puff can be finicky. Not as bad as phyllo, but still. 
If you cant pre thaw, I just dont know what to tell you. 
Youre gonna have to experiment. 
Personally I would never freeze an expensive delicacy like
Wellingtons, but thats me.


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

You lost me, NECoffee maybe. No one would call a homemade individual
wellington a wellington?

Commercial product or not, OP needs to throw one in oven, perform 
a complete organaleptic evaluation and see how it tests out.


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## Coozie (Jul 3, 2018)

Thanks for your replies.
I've done practice runs with these beef Wellingtons with a mushroom duxelle but only 10 max. I've prepped them myself (not a pre bought frozen product.) 20 min blast in a 200c oven and then down to 180c for 40 mins, until internal temp is at 45c which is medium rare. It's worked great. Puff is perfect and meat as well, but that was only with 10 BWs. 
The bricks laid at the bottom of oven is helpful. I will let you know.


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## Coozie (Jul 3, 2018)

Coozie said:


> Thanks for your replies.
> I've done practice runs with these beef Wellingtons with a mushroom duxelle but only 10 max. I've prepped them myself (not a pre bought frozen product.) 20 min blast in a 200c oven and then down to 180c for 40 mins, until internal temp is at 45c which is medium rare. It's worked great. Puff is perfect and meat as well, but that was only with 10 BWs.
> The bricks laid at the bottom of oven is helpful. I will let you know.


So.....the function happened...and I have to say...you were all RIGHT!!!!
I aged 20 years on Friday night AND i never want to see another beef Wellington again.
Absolute logistical nightmare! 
21tonyk your suggestion of pizza bricks was what I attempted with a slight difference (due to lack of said bricks in this part of the world), I used cast iron trays instead. 
However, and to cut a long story short, they were served, they were cooked, they looked like tired pies that had been around the block, but they were eaten, guests were happy (Thanks to large amounts of alcohol consumed by them). And now I'm putting it down (and far far away) to experience and from now on when or rather, if I get asked to do cater a similar scenario, I will laugh lightly and lie down and take a nap.


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

Thank you for the update...sorry it was indeed a nightmare.
But first, the experience you gained will be invaluable....
its one thing to visualise how it will go, quite another
when it actually happens.
Secondly, I do hope you wont allow this to turn you off to the entree completely.
Beef Wellington is a fantastic high line elegant dish thats worth the time and
expense....if not attempted for mass production. lol

And see, the reason your guests were still happy despite its...
rumpled presentation, isnt because of alcoholic assistance,
its because in the end, it IS a high quality dish and therefore
fairly forgiving.

I would also note that in the future if you wish to serve this dish to a group,
it might be better to make 3 or 4 or 5 WHOLE wellingtons, hold, then slice 
custom at service. You just have to be careful how you hold it-- any 
steamy moisture for a while and you again have that soggy rumpled 
appearance.


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