Spam Wellington

A palyful riff off of the Gordon Ramsay classic Beef Wellington. This wellington made with spam is surprisingly palatable. Perfect if you have mushrooms and puff pastry laying around that you just really want to use on something stupid. Make at your own risk.

Beef wellington is a rich and luxurious dish that’s worthy of being the main course on any fancy table. The spam version is actually very similar. It only falls short compared to beef wellington in taste, presentation, nutrition, and being actual food. Okay lets be honest, there’s no real reason to make this except for entertainment.

Puff Pastry

You can absolutely make your own puff pastry, but why go through the trouble of painstakingly making delicious homemade pastry dough if you’re just going to use it in this abomination? Save yourself the time and get the cheapest frozen puff pastry you can find at the grocery store.

Mushrooms

For the duxelle, which is just a fancy word for sauteed mushrooms and shallots. Again, go for the cheapest mushrooms you can find. This will probably be button mushrooms. Heck, don’t even use shallots for this recipe. Just throw in a quarter of a red onion and call it a day. This dish isn’t worth using an onion that costs $2.50 a pound. It’s important to cook most of the water out of the duxelle. Otherwise the moisture might soak into the puff pastry and make it soggy. Though there’s a couple ways to prevent that from happening:

Prosciutto

Italian cured ham. It’s used in wellington to add flavor and it doubles as a moisture barrier for the puff pastry. The price varies greatly depending on how long it was aged. But the deli aisle in your local grocery store should have some good budget cuts. Use sparingly on this recipe, and keep the rest for your next charcuterie board. Alternatively you can also use:

Crepes

Thin french pancake. It doesn’t add much in terms of flavor, but it’s the best at soaking up moisture and keeping that pastry crisp. The upside to using crepes instead of prosciutto is that it’s cheaper, but a downside is that you have to make it yourself. Here’s a cool crepe recipe. I used both crepes and prosciutto for this recipe, but feel free to use just one of the two. Or none. This is a spam wellington nothing matters.

Recipe:

Spam Wellington

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

Cooking time

40

minutes

Before you begin, make sure your puff pastry is defrosted.

Ingredients

• 1 can spam

• 1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard

• 4 slices prosciutto

• 3 medium crepes (optional)

• 1 sheet puff pastry

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp water

• DUXELLE

• 1 lb button mushrooms

• 1 shallot (or 1/4 red onion)

• 1 tbsp butter

• 1/2 tsp thyme

• 3 cloves minced garlic

• 1/4 cup red wine

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Heat a pan on medium-high heat. Lightly oil. When the oil is shimmering add a block of spam and sear on all sides until a golden crust forms.
• Place aside to rest. While it is still hot brush the dijon mustard on all sides.
• For the duxelle, finely chop the mushrooms and shallot. Sear in the same pan on medium heat. Cook for 5-6 minutes stirring frequently until the most of the moisture has evaporated.
• Lower the heat to medium-low. Add butter, thyme, finely minced garlic, and red wine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any fond.
• When there is no more visible red wine add salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat off but keep the mixture in the hot pan to keep warm for now.
• On plastic wrap, layer crepes and/or prosciutto. Spread the duxelle evenly on top
• Add the mustard covered spam. Using the plastic as a handle, wrap the spam completely in the crepe/prosciutto blanket. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to ensure maximum tightness. Place the package in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425F. In the meantime, roll out the puff pastry out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Whisk egg and water together to make an egg wash. brush the midde inside section with egg wash. Remove spam from fridge. Remove plastic wrap and place on the puff pastry.
• Wrap the spam fully with the puff pastry, pinching any cracks shut. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle kosher salt on top. Bake at 425F for 35-40 minutes. Remove and let rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting into thick slices. Attempt to enjoy.

Recipe Video