100 Hour Momofuku Short Rib Wellington

This is one of my oldest original entries - originally published in November of 2016 - but it's gotten better over the years, so I figured I'd update everything about it - the write-up, the instructions, ingredients, add structured data, etc.

This is arguably my signature dish. I've been trying to figure out how to miniaturize this dish to something a little larger than bite-size to make an amuse bouche-style version for the tasting menu Laura and I want to make, but that hasn't happened yet.

For those who love a true labor of love, this 100-Hour Momofuku Short Rib Wellington is the ultimate indulgence. By adding cold smoking, a deep freeze, and an extended sous vide bath, the flavors develop into something even more complex and rewarding. This version refines the process while still maintaining the rich, buttery, and umami-packed essence of the original.

Why This Version Works Better Than My Original Recipe:

• Cold smoking infuses a bold depth of flavor before any heat is applied.
• Freezing enhances the final texture and creates a better sear.
• Sous vide for 72+ hours results in an unbelievably tender yet structured short rib.
• Rum flambéed shallots & duxelles add complexity.

This method takes time, but the result is pure luxury. If you're willing to invest 100 hours, this Short Rib Wellington will reward you with a dish unlike any other.

As you read on, you'll see the ingredients list for a Beef Wellington that is absurdly cheap. If I kept track of food like I do of beer, I imagine my use of cheap cuts of meat and monk-like patience has probably paid off my Sous-Vide cooker as opposed to buying filets. If you compare it to how often I eat out anymore (when home in Virginia, I go out to eat approximately on the fifth of every Never), I'm actually sure it's all paid off.

Culinarily speaking, we're going to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Though I'd argue the taste profile from the short rib when properly rendered in the sous vide is actually superior to a beef tenderloin. That may be sacrilege, but I've had one of the "Gordon" Wellingtons (at Gordon Ramsay Steak in Las Vegas), and this version is significantly better.

Given that the prosciutto and puff pastry are the same approximate cost as the ingredients list in several online recipes for Gordon's wellington I've found, and the mushrooms are approximately the same, I've added a few ingredients - a shot of spiced rum ($0.28 per finished Wellington based on current prices at BevMo), some extra butter, garlic, onion, but less olive oil, so that's all extremely low-cost. The amount of used avocado oil, divided out by the number of finished Wellington's is a whole $0.10. Everything else is even less.

Where the big money changes are?

No Foie Gras. A tiny 1 oz lobe would still be $6.19. In 2016. Even more now.

And the steak? $2.25 for the short rib on average. $12.49 for the same size of good filet mignon. That's PER SERVING of Wellington. Again, 2016 numbers.

The rest of the ingredients combined that are the same between say, Gordon Ramsay's Wellington and mine, then divided out by the "deliverable" means $4.26 in ingredients. Adding the short ribs, avocado oil and rum, I add another $2.78 for a total of $7.04. The foie gras and tenderloin added to the $4.26 get me to $22.94. So, yeah, savings of $15.90 (almost 70% less!) per finished Wellington.

But just because the ingredients are far less expensive doesn't mean this is easy. Nor cheap. To do this right, you need a smoker with a cold smoke option, a sous vide, a vacuum sealer, a couple pans, lots of knives and cutting boards, and a lot of patience. To really do this right is serious a week. True, most of that time (three days each) is either in a freezer after the smoking to kill any bacteria, or in the sous vide to slowly break down the collagens and fats like in a braised recipe, but keeping the meat medium rare and filled with juiciness.

Recipe

Ingredients

Short Rib Preparation:

• 3 bone-in short ribs (~1.5–2 lbs total)
• Kosher salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Mesquite wood (for smoking)
• 3 tbsp beef tallow (1 tbsp per short rib)
• 9 cloves garlic, minced (3 per short rib)

Shallot & Garlic Butter Flambé:

• 2 large shallots, finely diced
• 8 tbsp unsalted European butter
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 oz Kraken dark spiced rum (high proof)

Duxelles:

• 1 lb cremini or button mushrooms, finely minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp dry white wine or vermouth

Searing & Glaze:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp dark agave syrup
• Avocado oil (for searing)

Wellington Assembly:

• 2 sheets frozen Pepperidge Farm puff pastry (thawed)
• 6–8 slices prosciutto (fat trimmed)

Egg Wash:

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp milk
• 1/2 tbsp melted butter

Mustard Cream Sauce:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 oz Düsseldorf mustard

Step-by-Step Process

A Week Before: The Foundation

1. Season & Rest: Generously season your short ribs with salt and let them rest at room temperature for an hour.
2. Cold Smoke: Set up a cold smoker with mesquite wood and maintain a temperature below 150°F. Smoke the short ribs for a few hours to impart deep smoky richness.
3. Vacuum Seal & Freeze: Place the short ribs in a vacuum-sealed bag with 1 tbsp of beef tallow and 3 minced garlic cloves per short rib. Double-seal the bag, then freeze for three days to improve texture and flavor infusion.

Sous Vide: The Ultimate Tenderization (72-75 Hours Before Serving)

4. Low & Slow Bath: After freezing, transfer the short ribs directly from frozen into a 132.5°F sous vide bath for 72-75 hours. This long cook time ensures an unbeatably tender texture while keeping the beef’s integrity intact and the flavor profile (and juiciness) of medium rare beef.

Bringing It Together (24 Hours Before Serving)

5. Prepare Aromatics: Finely dice shallots and sauté in butter until translucent. Add minced garlic and flambé with Kraken dark spiced rum for a bold, caramelized depth. Keep warm.
6. Make Duxelles: A classic mushroom duxelles brings earthiness—skip the sriracha from the original recipe for a more traditional approach. Just butter and finely diced mushrooms rendered to a nearly dry earthy perfection.
7. Sear & Rest: Remove short ribs from sous vide and let them come to room temperature while still sealed. Pat dry, then wash with a butter-baking powder-agave mixture for a crisp, golden crust. Sear all sides in scorching hot avocado oil for maximum Maillard reaction without cooking the meat inside. Rest.

Assembly & Resting (Overnight in the Fridge)

8. Lay the Base: Roll out puff pastry and layer with defatted prosciutto.
9. Flavor Layers: Spread the shallot-garlic-butter mixture and duxelles atop the prosciutto, then place the seared short ribs.
10. Wrap & Seal: Fold everything into a compact, even parcel with no gaps. Wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate overnight to let the layers set.

Final Bake & Sauce (The Day of Eating)

11. Initial Bake: Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake the Wellington on a parchment-lined sheet for 15 minutes.
12. Make Mustard Cream Sauce: Simmer heavy cream with Düsseldorf mustard until slightly thickened.
13. Egg Wash & Final Bake: Score the top of the pastry (I do three parallel diagonal lines along the top), brush liberally with egg yolk wash, and bake for another 10 minutes. I also usually top with some decorative (and tasty) flaked salt. I'm partial to using a flaked smoked salt.
14. Rest & Serve: Let the Wellingtons sit for 5-8 minutes before slicing. Serve with roasted Brussels sprouts and garlic aioli for the perfect pairing.

The nutrition information is based on two large slices + a "butt cut" per serving. As pictured (a single slice), it is less than half of these numbers. Also, these assume you use all of the butter wash for the searing and the egg wash for the baking. You won't. You'll discard a huge percent of that, as well as a lot of the puff pastry that's trimmed off, or the fat from the prosciutto that's discarded during assembly. In any case, you end up with significantly less than this. This is a "worst case" scenario of calories and fat and carbs. The plate shown above (with the Brussels sprouts), as plated was probably close to the following: 813 calories, 64g of total fat, 19g of saturated fat, less than 0.25g of trans fat, 158mg of cholesterol, 475mg of sodium, 25g of total carbohydrates, 2.5g of fiber, 3g of sugars, and 37g of protein).