Beef Wellington doesn't have to be so hard to make — just follow these 6 tips

Beef Wellington is a dish that Gordon Ramsay has made well-known around the world. It's his signature dish and is often presented as a challenge to chefs on his shows Hell's Kitchen and Masterchef. It's a perfect challenge because well...it's a challenge to get it just right. That's mainly due to the fact that it's made up of several different components and each one has to be just right.

In the center lies the perfect cut of beef - a beef tenderloin. That cut is wrapped in duxelles which is a mixture of mushrooms and wine, puff pastry, and traditionally foie gras, although today prosciutto is usually substituted for this pricey and controversial delicacy. So how do you get each of those components just right? By following these tips!

1. Make the perfect duxelle
The duxelle is easy enough to make, but getting it to stick to the roast can be tricky. The latter part of this famous recipe comes in later. For now, just focus on making the duxelle. Using one cup of finely chopped mushrooms (wild or chestnut), saute them on medium heat for about ten minutes with a couple sprigs of thyme. Add 1/2 cup of white wine or brandy and continue cooking until the mushrooms have absorbed all the wine. Season with salt and pepper and remove the mushrooms from the heat. Allow them to cool completely and then remove the sprigs of thyme.

2. Prepare the roast
While the mushrooms are cooling, you'll need to prepare the roast. If you simply lay the roast onto the puff pastry, even with the duxelle and prosciutto, the roast will bleed into the pastry and become very unappetizing. To prevent this, the roast needs to be dry and slightly cooked. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and pat a 2.5 pound roast dry. Season with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Place the roast on the rack and when the oven is hot, cook for about 20 minutes. This will make the roast medium-rare, giving it plenty of cook time still left but sealing in those juices. Allow the roast to completely cool.

3. Get the perfect prosciutto
This is often the part that can trip people up. The duxelle has to sit in between the prosciutto and the meat. But if you spread the duxelle over the meat, it will likely fall off. And it can be tricky to get it onto the prosciutto and layer the ham piece by piece.

Here's a trick to help. Cover a cutting board with plastic wrap. Then, just slightly off-center, lay 6 pieces of prosciutto down, overlapping it slightly. The ends of the prosciutto should come to just the center of the cutting board. On the other side of the prosciutto, do the same thing, laying 6 pieces of prosciutto down in the other direction. Make sure these six pieces also slightly overlap each other, and that they also overlap the other six you've already laid down.

Then, spread half of the duxelle mixture over all of the prosciutto. Lay the cooled roast on top of the duxelle and spread the remaining duxelle over top of the roast. Carefully pull the plastic wrap up the sides of the roast and over. Then you can pull the prosciutto as tightly as you can over the roast (don't worry if it doesn't go all the way, you should still have some remaining prosciutto on the board). Keeping the prosciutto tight, roll the prosciutto and the roast together tightly over the remaining prosciutto until it's all been used and is covering the roast. Then fold the plastic wrap tightly around the roast.

That was a lot of work, right? It is for the roast, too. Because of that, it needs to sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes while you get the puff pastry ready. That will give all the ingredients time to set up and hold together.

4. Prepare the puff pastry
Dust a work surface with flour and roll out two pieces of puff pastry. You want one to be about one foot by one foot, and one to be just a little larger. Remember, you need to fully cover the roast so when rolling out the larger piece, go a little larger if you're unsure. You can always trim it later.

When the puff pastry is ready, remove the plastic wrap from the roast and place the roast into the center of the smaller piece of puff pastry. Make an egg wash consisting of two egg yolks and one tablespoon of water. Whisk together to fully incorporate the two.

5. Use the egg wash - twice
The egg wash needs to be used in two different places. The first is over the prosciutto. This will help the meat cling to the puff pastry so there is no air gap after cooking. Make sure both ends of the roast are also wrapped in puff pastry. This is why the top piece needs to be a little larger, so it can drape over the entire roast. Use just a little and then place the larger piece of puff pastry on top. Pinch the two pieces of puff pastry together to seal. Do not use a fork or tongs, as this will break the puff pastry, and that will be a big deal while the roast is cooking. Trim off any excess puff pastry and then brush the top and sides of the pastry with the egg wash. Season with salt (preferably sea salt).

6. Cook it!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When hot (and only when hot!) place the roast onto a baking sheet and place in the oven to cook. For medium-rare, cook the roast for 20 - 25 minutes and for medium cook it for 30 minutes. After removing it from the oven, allow the roast to rest, uncovered, for ten minutes before cutting into thick slices.