Make Beef Wellington Easily With A Miniature Store-Bought Twist

Cooking a steak can be intimidating on its own. Wrapping it in puff pastry and baking the entire thing can feel even more daunting — as though you've, ahem, raised the "steaks" a little too high. However, beef Wellington doesn't have to be impossible to make, despite its elegant appearance and dignified name.

By scaling down the size and using one store-bought ingredient, you can easily transform the dish into a handheld, easy-to-make appetizer for your next brunch, party, or Sunday football kickback. Instead of working with a large filet of steak, use a tender beef like tenderloin and chop it into smaller cuts. From there, wrap your seared steak with mushroom mince in store-bought crescent rolls — the beloved, canned, pre-cut dough that takes minutes to bake.

Your cooking time will reduce considerably, and no tears will be wasted toiling over homemade puff pastry. Also, let's be real: Miniature, individual beef Wellingtons will look incredibly adorable.

The ingredients for a basic beef Wellington are fairly simple: A cut of beef, onions, mushrooms, puff pastry, and an egg. To go for miniature beef Wellingtons, cut your steak into 1-inch cubes and season your beef with salt and pepper. Then, briefly sear your steak on all sides. Use a high heat to achieve a good char without drying out your meat. At this point, you want to sear, but not cook the beef; it'll cook further once you throw it into the oven. 

Set your meat aside to cool and prepare your mushroom-onion mixture by finely chopping the vegetables or throwing them into a food processor. Then, cook them down until you've removed most of the moisture. 

Using a standard canned crescent dough, roll out the dough and cut 2-inch squares. If your dough is pre-cut, simply press two triangles together to create a square. Spread a generous spoonful of mushroom-onion mince onto each square, and add your beef, further coating the meat in mushroom mince.  Wrap the pastry around your ingredients and brush the dough lightly with egg wash. From there, bake the beef Wellingtons for about 10 or 11 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit — until your steak is medium rare and your pastry is golden and slightly crisp. 

Serve with some good dijon for dipping, or try it on its own. It's that tasty.