Pork Wellington
We purchased a pork tenderloin from “Babes in the Woods” and explored various options for preparing it for our Sunday night dinner (See post What to do with Pork Tenderloin). My search for different recipes led me back to the Food Network’s “Good Eats!” In Season 13 Episode 4 -“Tender is the Pork,” Alton Brown demonstrates two methods of preparing pork tenderloin. Since we do not have access to a working charcoal grill, we decided to make the second option in the episode, Pork Wellington. This dish is simply a delicious apple stuffed pork tenderloin, which is then wrapped in prosciutto (thinly sliced, dry cured Italian Ham), which is then wrapped and baked into a flaky, golden, and delicious pastry crust. It sounds and looks complicated, so we decided to test it out before attempting to prepare this for guests in the future.
Below is a screenshot of the recipe from the Food Network. I am of course saving it here for safe keeping! One never knows when gems like these disappear!
- Screenshot of Alton Brown’s Pork Wellington Recipe
Watch my Video!
Here is the recipe with photos from our first time preparing this dish.
Results
Served with green beans, and red russet potatoes and a glass of delicious red wine.
The recipe was a success! Though there is a bit of prep work involved with thawing out the pastry dough and all, this is a surprisingly easy dish to prepare! Ours turned out just as Alton Brown had promised. It was tender and delicious with a delightfully flaky crust to surround it. The thyme seasoning was also the perfect compliment to the rosemary in the herb potato side dish we prepared (easy button Harris Teeter brand) and green beans with garlic butter.
Wine Pairing: Cote de Brouilly, French Red
As luck would have it, we discovered a wine shop called “Out of this World Wines” in Vienna, just across from the pick up point for “Babes in the Woods.” On our last pickup, we discovered the wine shop and decided to check it out . They happen to be hosting a wine tasting event that same day, where we first tasted Cote de Brouilly, a delicious French red wine. The host recommended this wine be served with pork dishes, and since we had just picked up our pork meats just minutes earlier, we decided to take home this wine (along with a few others) and were saving it for the right meal. It was in fact a delicious pairing option with the Pork Wellington. Please see the gallery for the label and a screenshot description of the wine.
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- Screenshot of Alton Brown’s Pork Wellington Recipe
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- Place dried apples into a food processor for smaller pieces.
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- Remove the “Silver Skin” from the tenderloin and slice in half. Then flip one of the pieces for even size.
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- Lay out the Prosciutto slightly overlapping on a piece of parchment paper.
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- Place another piece of parchment paper over Prosciutto and press with a rolling pin.
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- Sprinkle fresh ground pepper, salt and thyme over the pressed Prosciutto.
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- Place the pork tenderloin in the center of the seasoned and pressed Prosciutto. Add the dried apple to the center cut of the tenderloin.
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- Carefully roll the tenderloin in the Prosciutto using the parchment paper to assist with creating a tight roll.
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- A perfect looking Prosciutto wrapped, apple stuffed pork tenderloin.
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- Sprinkle flour onto a clean work surface and roll out the thawed pasty dough.
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- Paint on some spiced mustard in a thin layer op top of the rolled pasty dough.
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- Position the Prosciutto wrapped tenderloin onto the pastry dough and roll carefully.
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- Brush on the egg white mixture to the last bit of pastry dough to create a seal.
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- Give the pastry dough one last coat of the egg wash all over.
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- Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 25 mins. We rotated the baking sheet half way through.
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- After a total of 25 mins cooking time, remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes on a cooking rack.
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- When you slice it, it will look beautiful!
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- Served with green beans, and red russet potatoes and a glass of delicious red wine.
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- Pork Wellington feast, Happy Sunday Dinner!
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- A delicious French Red that we picked up during a wine tasting event at “Out of This World Wines” located in Vienna, VA.
