The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook (16 page)

Depending on who you want to impress, you could call this dish by its French name,
Filet de Boeuf en Croûte
, or by its British name, Beef Wellington. Some claim that a rather patriotic British chef named this dish Beef Wellington out of British pride; others claim it is named after a seventeenth-century duke. Either way, this favorite — consisting of a solid filet of beef covered by pâté and surrounded by a pastry crust — would be a staple for many a dinner at Downton Abbey.

2
¹
⁄
₂
pounds beef tenderloin

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 pound white button mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 ounces liver pâté

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 (17.5-ounce) frozen puff pastry, thawed

2 egg yolks, beaten

1
¹
⁄
₂
cups beef broth

¹
⁄
₄
cup red wine

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
   
2. Place beef tenderloin in a medium-sized baking dish and cover with 2 tablespoons of the softened unsalted butter. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until thoroughly browned. Remove beef from pan and allow to cool completely. Reserve juices.
   
3. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
   
4. In a small bowl, mix together pâté and remaining 2 tablespoons of the softened butter, then season with salt and pepper. Spread pâté mixture evenly over cooled beef, then top with onion and mushroom mixture.
   
5. Using a rolling pin, roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Place beef in center of dough, then fold dough up and seal all the edges, making sure the seams are not too thick and unseemly.
   
6. Place beef pastry in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Cut a few slits at top of beef pastry; then wash pastry with egg yolks.
   
7. Cook beef pastry in oven for 30–35 minutes or until pastry is a rich, golden brown. Set aside, keeping warm.
   
8. In a small saucepan over high heat, mix together all reserved juices, plus the beef broth and red wine for 10–15 minutes or until slightly reduced. Strain, then serve with beef.
   

Although nowadays no one would look twice if you cut your meat into bite-sized pieces before eating, back in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century it was considered rude to do so. Rather, you were supposed to cut yourself one bite-sized piece of your meal, put down your knife, take a bite, then repeat. No wonder dinners took so long to finish!

Made from few ingredients, the small amount of spice in this recipe brings out a surprising amount of flavor in this succulent pork shoulder. After a full day of hunting at Downton Abbey, the guests and their hosts would happily chow down on this juicy dish.

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 (4-pound) pork shoulder

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
   
2. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Using a pastry brush, slather mixture all over the pork shoulder.
   
3. Set the meat on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 25–30 minutes, and then reduce heat to 350°F. Continue to cook until meat thermometer inserted into middle of shoulder reaches 185°F, about 4–4
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₂
   hours. Remove pork from oven and cool until easy enough to handle, about 30–45 minutes.
   

With
Service à la Russe
, each dish was presented one at a time. However, an impressive dish such as this would be shown to the guests for the appropriate kudos, then taken to the sideboard or back to the kitchen for carving.

Considering the healthy appetites attached to the unhealthy soldiers entering Downton Abbey, Mrs. Patmore couldn’t go wrong serving this large, delicious roast! This large, filling dish requires sparse ingredients and, more importantly, little time to concoct, thus making it perfect for when Mrs. Patmore was trying to find the time to feed the wounded, the family, and her staff.

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons marjoram

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 (4-pound) boneless pork loin

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. In a small bowl, combine minced garlic, marjoram, salt, sage, and olive oil.
   
3. Rub spice mixture all over roast, then place roast in a shallow roasting pan.
   
4. Bake roast uncovered in preheated oven for 1 hour or until the meat thermometer reads 150°F. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
   

While modern parties might suggest serving this pork roast with pineapple and oranges (à la Hawaiian luau), such would not be the case during Victorian and Edwardian times. In fact, one Victorian etiquette guide advised, “Never embark on an orange,” as it was considered rude to use your fingers to peel fruit and there wasn’t another way to get to an orange’s juicy interior.

In case the preceding barrage of meat courses isn’t enough to fill your appetite, the following roasts — an appetizing mixture of veal, goose, and other game meats — would be ready and waiting for you. All roasts and game would be served with a suggested side salad or vegetable (see
Chapter 6
) and an elegant glass of champagne, which was the drink of choice by the end of the nineteenth century. It’s important to note that while there was a great deal of meat served at Downton Abbey, the guests were not required to eat large portions, thus giving their stomachs room to at least have a taste of each offered course.