BEEF REDUCTION RECIPES

Steps:

• For the corned beef: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Unwrap the brisket and place it fat side up inside a baking dish. If it came with a spice packet, sprinkle it over the top, then sprinkle on the black pepper and rub it in. Cover the dish with heavy aluminum foil and place it in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, then uncover and continue baking for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Check the brisket by inserting a fork in the meat. If it goes in easily, it’s ready; if it meets with resistance, bake for another 30 minutes— or up to an hour in some cases! If the brisket is tough, it hasn't cooked long enough! Once the brisket is fork-tender, remove it from the oven and let it rest, covered loosely in foil.
• While the brisket is resting, make the balsamic reduction: Combine the balsamic and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir it together and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer until the mixture is thick and reduced by half. Set it aside. 
• Next, make the cabbage: Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cut the cabbage into 8 wedges. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the cabbage. Sear it on both sides until the cabbage gets as much color as possible, about 1 minute per side. Use a spatula to transfer the cabbage to a rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the cabbage pieces with salt and pepper. Pour the Guinness into the bottom of the baking sheet, then carefully transfer the pan to the oven. (The beer will gently steam the cabbage and infuse it with stouty essence). Bake the cabbage for 20 minutes, or until tender and deeper brown.
• To serve: Slice or shred the rested beef on a cutting board (it should be very, very tender and almost falling apart). Then place it on a large platter alongside the cabbage wedges. Drizzle generous spoonfuls of the balsamic reduction all over the cabbage slices.  

Steps:

• For the mushroom duxelle, heat the butter and vegetable oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add the chopped shallots and fry, stirring all the time, for two minutes. Tip in the chopped mushrooms. Reduce the heat a little and continue stirring and cooking for about ten minutes until the mushrooms are softened and their liquid has evaporated. Stir in the cream and cook for a further two minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• For the Wellington, heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat. Season the fillet all over with salt and pepper. Once the oil is smoking, add the beef and fry on all sides until it is a lovely caramel-brown colour. Remove to a plate and leave to cool. (NB. Don’t wash up the pan. Use this to make the Madeira and port reduction later.)
• Place the crêpes onto the work surface, one layer thick, but overlapping - you need to create an area about twice the thickness of the fillet, and about 2.5cm/1in longer at each end. Spread the mushroom duxelle over the crêpes.
• Lightly pat the fillet with kitchen paper to remove any excess moisture, before placing the meat on top of the duxelle.
• Carefully roll the side closest to you over the meat encasing it within the crêpes and mushrooms. The crêpes should cover the meat on all sides, but trim off any excess.
• Place the wrapped fillet onto a sheet of clingfilm and wrap up tightly into a cylinder. Set aside in the fridge until completely cold, about half an hour.
• Meanwhile for the potato dauphinoise, preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.
• Rub the inside of a deep baking dish or casserole with the raw garlic. Place the sliced potatoes in a bowl and pour over the cream and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to coat the potatoes, then lay them evenly in the garlicky baking dish.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 20-30 minutes while you prepare the Wellington.
• Roll the pastry out on a well-floured surface to a rectangle with a thickness of about 3mm. Brush the pastry with beaten egg yolk. Remove the clingfilm from the beef fillet and place onto the middle of the pastry.
• Wrap the pastry up over the beef fillet. Lightly stretch one edge of the seam so that it is not too thick, then press down firmly to seal.
• You should be left with a tube that is open at either end. Lightly press the ends of the pastry together using a rolling pin to seal and thin the two pieces. Then with a small knife, trim the edges on each side to form a triangle shape. Brush the triangle of pastry with a little egg and press it up against the side of the Wellington. Repeat with the other side before flipping over so that the Wellington is seam-side down.
• Place your Wellington onto a baking tray, brush with the remaining egg yolk set aside in the fridge to chill for 5-10 minutes.
• Increase the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (the dauphinoise should remain in the oven).
• Remove the Wellington from the fridge and score a pattern of your choice onto the top.
• Place in the oven with the potatoes dauphinoise and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the Wellington from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes. This should give you a perfectly pink finish to your meat. If you prefer it more cooked, then leave in the oven for longer, but you must ensure the meat is well rested.
• For the Madeira and port reduction, heat the butter in the same pan in which you cooked the beef fillet over a medium heat. Once bubbling, add the shallot and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
• Increase the heat and add the port and Madeira. Simmer until the volume of liquid has reduced by half and then add the stock. Reduce again by half. When the sauce has a thick, syrupy consistency, strain through a fine sieve. Stir in the truffle peelings and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Serve slices of the beef Wellington with the potato dauphinoise alongside and the Madeira and port reduction.