- We are Sorted,
a group of mates who have your back
when it comes to all things food.
From cooking battles to gadget reviews,
- Ben, it's not worth it!
- and cookbook challenges to a midweek meal packs app.
- Crack your eggs, and bake.
- We uncover the tools
that'll help us all cook and eat smarter.
Join our community, where everything we do
starts with you.
- Hello everyone.
I'm Mike, this is Jamie.
Welcome to Fridge-Cam.
- Now, some people like to follow a recipe for a reason,
and others, well, others like to make it up
as they go along.
- In this video J and Baz do not have a choice
as they go recipe-less, trying to create a British classic,
a Beef Wellington.
(groaning and sighing)
- And that is them finding out for the first time.
- Do us a little favour.
Could you read us the Wiki definition of a Beef Wellington?
- Nope.
- Are you okay?
- I made a Beef Wellington for Christmas last year.
- No!
I'm just trying to even work out
what a Wellington is.
- Okay, so you are gonna be cooking recipe-less.
What we want from you is one
traditional beef Wellington each.
We've given you the same ingredients.
You will have a time limit.
You will be judged by James, our resident chef, at the end.
And we want you to get creative
with one vegetable side dish.
Your time starts in
three, two, one, Welly! - Two, one, go!
(buzzer ringing)
- Welly! - Welly!
- Welly!
- The rules of recipe-less is just go with confidence.
- Confidence, I know all of the different elements
that need to go into a beef Wellington, I think.
What I don't know is which order to do them all in
to make the perfect beef Wellington.
- Beef Wellington is like the perfect parcel,
and you've got to get all the elements right.
In the centre, beautifully pink, well-seasoned and seared
beef fillet.
Around that, a mushroom duxelles
that punches of flavour and herb and garlic.
Wrapped around that, some pancakes,
but they shouldn't be too thick.
They're there to absorb the juices
from the beef and the mushroom.
Make sure they're seasoned.
And then the outside, golden crisp puff pastry
all the way round,
and the egg wash is gonna give them the shine they want.
I'm not expecting you to make your own pastry.
- Hallelujah!
- It is ready-rolled, and it's in the fridge,
waiting for you.
- Personally, I'm going to take my steak,
and I'm going to marinate it in mustard.
- I'm just seasoning and oiling my beef.
I'm going to sear it off in a hot, dry pan
and just seal it in.
- Now we've gone out of our way to choose a fillet beef
that's perfect for a two-portion size,
because we don't want to waste food here.
I mean, no chance with Jamie around.
- Jamie is seizing well, searing off, good.
Barry, he's marinating his steak in mustard.
- Jamie is seasoning well, searing off, good.
He's not gonna get that sear, without burning mustard.
- Now I'm chopping mushrooms,
'cause in my head, I need to cook off some mushrooms
to make my mushroom tapenade.
(laughter)
- Or technically speaking, a duxelles.
- Isn't that a battery?
- [Jamie] That's Duracell.
- Oh! - Rabbit.
- [Barry] Should have got a bigger pan, never mind!
- [Jamie] Next up, I'm going to start my pancake batter.
- [Michael] What are you thinking?
- I'm just thinking, do I want to cook my pancakes dry,
or whether I want to batter it up.
- What always happens to the first pancake in the pan?
- It's terrible, every time.
or whether I want to butter it up.
- The important thing is the pan is already
at an even temperature.
If it's still heating up, that's the problem.
So as long as the pan has been pre-heated long enough,
then it's okay.
- I've made a batter.
It's flour, egg, and milk.
Whisk up, let that rest.
(energetic music)
What's that?
- Rosemary.
- A lot of thyme, and some funny-looking rosemary.
No, they look the same.
(laughter) - They look the same?
- I don't know anymore.
I've had a hard-- (laughter)
Why me? - Oh no!
That's thyme; that is rosemary.
- Correct.
- [Barry] I'm on it.
- Oh, oh!
Are you ready?
- Okay, I'm ready.
- It's not loose, so I don't know what's gonna happen.
- It's an omelette.
- Snacking pancake.
(laughter)
- [Jamie] How are your mushrooms?
- [Michael] Fit in the pan now, don't they, Baz?
- Yeah, just about.
- [Michael] How you doing, Baz?
- I'm getting by, mate, if I'm honest.
While I get some butter in there.
(snickering)
- [Ben] Fit in the pan now, don't they, Baz?
(rock music)
- Garlic going in, flavour!
I'm guessing colour of mushrooms now which, hardly important.
(laughter)
I'm just cooking out, so the mushrooms dry up,
and they start going a little bit gold on the outside.
It's how I like them on toast.
- Toast could be our side!
I'm getting some colour of my mushrooms now which might be important.
All right, let me go for another toss.
- [Barry] Okay!
- Hup, yeah!
- Whoa! - Oh yeah!
- Yeah! (claps)
- See how this goes.
We have oil, salt, and pepper.
- See what you wanna do is sear it,
without cooking it through too much,
the reason they were both given a fridge-cold,
or almost freezer-cold steak.
- [Barry] This just feels weird.
This just feels wrong.
- [Jamie] Well, that's because you covered it in mustard.
- [Barry] Yeah, it might be that.
(laughter)
Take it off, you can leave it there.
- [Michael] Baz?
- [Baz] Hello.
- [Michael] What's Jay doing to his mushrooms?
- Taking the skin off.
People say they look leathery,
but it doesn't make any difference.
I'm taking it off, just leave it there.
- Is it?
- I like to peel my mushrooms.
In this, by the time you've blended it into a duxelles,
probably not gonna notice the difference,
but, by peeling them, you also get rid of
any grit or soil or dirt.
So the alternative is,
presumably Baz brushed or washed his.
(sputtering laughter)
- It is also known, you can know
to cook the soil out.
- (laughs) Cook the soil out!
- [Barry] Yeah, look at that colour!
- [Michael] It's all the soil!
- For my duxelles, I've almost sort of blended it up,
into a fine paste.
- [Michael] Looks more like a tapenade now, doesn't it?
- It is a tapenade.
(laughter)
- Mushrooms, I'm gonna chop them up,
but not too precisely
- For my duxelles, I've also then blended it up,
I'm just gonna cook them in butter,
season heavily with salt and pepper,
use some of the mustard and some of the herbs and garlic.
I think the important thing is to get mustard,
the flavour of mustard, somewhere within the Beef Wellington.
Now where that goes, who's to say?
- Flavor's getting there somehow, isn't it?
- Exactly.
- So you've been halving your mushrooms?
- [Jamie] Half my mushrooms and half my beef.
- [Ben] Baz, you're choosing to lace with the butter.
Oh, and he's getting a bit fancy
by putting some herbs in his pancake.
- [Michael] That is a decent-looking omelette, mate.
(laughter)
- So you're putting half in your mushrooms?
So I put them in the freezer.
I think I've got an idea for my side,
and it's bold.
- How bold's really bold?
- Like, might upstage the Wellington.
(laughter)
(rhythmic music)
(beep)
- Are you doing what I think you're doing?
- I'm starting my side.
- Are you doing what I think you're doing?
- I'm just gonna do it.
- He's gonna do it.
Are you making cauliflower cheese?
- But not just normal cauliflower cheese.
- If he did just stick to making just cauliflower cheese,
he'd probably win, but the fact that he's gonna do
something a little bit Barry to it
could give you a chance! (Jamie laughs)
- My side dish, I saw a massive red cabbage,
and I thought, do you know what?
That looks like it needs braising.
That was it.
And then I thought, it didn't go right
the last time that we did it.
And if I can get it one step closer to being right,
then that's a good thing.
- What's this gonna add in terms of taste?
- Some freshness, with some kind of like tartness of vinegar
to go along with the richness
of a buttery, garlicky Beef Wellington.
- I think the braised red cabbage
is quite a nice touch.
- Ooh.
- I think I'd want that with Beef Wellington.
(rhythmic music)
- Oh, something smells yummy, simply yummy.
So I feel like I'm ready to go on my side.
My cauliflower's in the oven,
and now I feel like it's time
to start constructing my Beef Wellington.
I have no idea what I'm about to do.
- First things first, the rest of my mustard on my beef.
- I think this is a breakdown.
- (laughs) Are you having a breakdown?
- [Michael] This'll help!
(laughter)
- Good.
- [Michael] Here, here's an Ebbers.
- I feel like I don't know if it goes
steak, pancake, tapenade (beep).
(laughter)
- [Jamie] Stop sticking with tapenade!
- [Barry] But I'm just gonna go for it,
'cause I think it's gonna be delicious, no matter what I do.
- [Michael] He is having a meltdown.
Don't you help him, Ebbers!
- Here's my order: in the middle, there is beef.
Then there are pancakes around the beef.
And then, on the outside of the pancakes
- [Mike] He's still sticking with tapenade!
And then it's all cooked, and then it's eaten.
(laughter)
- That is not gonna be what I'm doing.
- Oh, good!
- [Michael] He's making a burrito!
- [Jamie] He just made a Hot Pocket.
- [Michael] He's made a burrito!
- Oh, this is hell.
- I have a (beep)-- (laughter)
(laughter)
(snorting laughter)
(playful music)
- He's making a burrito!
- He just made a Hot Pocket.
- He's made a burrito!
- [Michael] It's a giant beef ravioli!
- [Barry] Is it gonna stick to the pan?
- [Ben] I was gonna say, it's brave
to have not put it on baking paper, but.
(sputters)
- Oh!
- I can't move it 'cause this meat is so sticky.
I don't know what I've just done.
I'm gonna check its temperature after half an hour,
just to be safe.
- [Ben] What you thinking, Jay?
- [Jamie] I'm making a J.
(playful music)
- So I think, for me, the easiest way to do it
is fridge-cold everything,
unroll the puff pastry, then lay pancakes across
so they overlap, then the mushroom duxelles,
then your beef fillet, and then roll it up
like a sausage roll.
- That is quite extraordinary
for us both to have done it different ways
and completely wrong.
- I'm gonna make some kale crisps, Michael.
- [Michael] Kale crisps, to go with your?
- Braised red cabbage.
- [Michael] Aw, mate!
- [Ben] You're doing amazingly well.
- [Jamie] I don't know about that, but we shall see.
- [Ben] You're doing a fantastic job.
(rhythmic music)
- Gave my cheese sauce a bit of a twist.
I've added some peas and kale.
I've just blanched them, just so they retain their colour,
because I want this to be vibrant green.
Use a blender.
- You're doing amazingly well.
- I don't know about that, but we shall see.
- You're doing a fantastic job.
What is that?
- Pea and kale cheese sauce.
- Is that like, is that a thing?
- Is now.
- [Ben] That's a nice idea, Baz.
- [Barry] Thank you.
(rhythmic music)
I'm gonna plate it unconventionally, let's put it that way.
- What are you aiming for?
- 26?
- Body temperature's 37.
I'm gonna give you a clue.
If you serve it at 26, he's gonna send it
back to the kitchen.
- Honestly, mine's puffed up beautifully.
It's going brown all over.
- [Jamie] He's taking it out?
- [Michael] Oh, okay.
- [Barry] Yummy, look at that!
Suddenly feeling more confident.
- [Ben] Interesting.
(beep)
(intense music)
- [Michael] Aw, he's got away with it!
- I forgot to take my kale crisps out. (crunches)
- [Michael] You're not serving 'em.
- Oh, lovely, we'll take that. - We'll have them.
- Last 10 seconds!
Get it on to the plate or board, nine!
- Eight.
- [Ben] Seven.
- [Michael] Six.
- [Ben] Five.
- [Michael] Four.
- [Ben] Three.
- [Michael] Two.
(buzzer sounds)
- Step away from the Welly.
- We missed our one.
(triumphant music)
- You've got the best job here, James.
- Oh, am I not supposed to do that?
- I'm just saying, be careful!
- It's okay, it's fine. - Be careful!
- It's fine, I've got faith.
We're obviously cutting into it,
expecting great beef at medium rare.
You ready?
- [All] Ooh!
- That looks pretty good.
- Pretty even, how do you feel?
- You must be bloody nervous.
(laughter)
- Thanks, mate.
- [James] Ah, it's good beef, mate.
A little bit soggy on the bottom.
- [Jamie] Sorry.
- [James] But it's looking pretty good.
It tastes good.
- Yeah?
- Yeah!
I've got mushroom flavour, the beef is very well cooked.
Oh, the pancake's got good flavour too.
Are you sure you want me to try that
because I'm already quite impressed by this.
It's very nice.
The flavours are very good.
(laughter)
It's very well-seasoned,
and I'm even forgiving the slightly soggy bottom
because it's very tasty.
Could have been cooked for longer,
but I get a nice, apple-y flavour.
- Mm. - Mm.
- Oh ho ho, you must be so nervous.
- Round two.
The pastry feels better on this one.
It's more even, it holds together better, good stuff.
- [All] Oh!
- [Barry] What are you looking for?
- In terms of beef?
- Yeah.
- That.
- So it just--
- It's fillet, so it should be like rare to medium-rare.
Oh, not quite holding together as well as Jay's.
Duxelles is a little bit more uneven,
and I think it's slightly wetter,
so you've actually achieved the same result.
(wheezing laughter)
It's still good.
- [Barry] Cool, good.
- It's lacking that punch of flavour.
I think maybe some things are seasoned more than others.
Your pastry is crisper, you've got a more even colour on top,
but the pancakes are slightly thicker,
and the duxelles and the beef,
which are obviously kind of the main event,
don't have quite the same flavour.
Your side dish looks extremely interesting though.
- What do you mean, interesting?
- I would love to try it.
- Please, dive in.
It's a cauliflower cheese, with pea and kale.
- Mm, it's very sweet.
- Mm-hmm.
- I like it, that's delicious.
You should have served that.
(laughter)
I think we all know I'm gonna pick Jamie's
because, although there were good things about both,
it's the beef and the mushroom that did it for me.
It tasted really good,
even though it didn't look as good as yours.
(applause) - No, fair, fair.
- Well done, mate.
We got there, we made two Wellingtons.
- That's a tough one. - Well done.
- Can I say it?
I feel like we need to up the ante
with these recipe-less challenges now.
- Comment down below, and let us know what recipes
we should be trying to make recipe-less,
the harder, the better.
- As always, thank you so much for watching.
We will see you every Wednesday and every Sunday,
at 4 PM, UK time.
- More fun.
- [Michael] More fun.
(refrigerator closing)
- [Ben] We've also built the Sorted Club,
where you can get tonnes of foodie inspo,
using the Packs Midweek Meal App.
Discover and share restaurant recommendations,
using the Eat App,
listen and contribute to our Feast Your Ears podcast,
and send us ideas for new cookbooks you'll receive
throughout the year.
Check it all out by heading to Sorted.club.
(jazzy music)
- [Ben] And now a blooper.
(beep)
- I know that Beef Wellington is a hunk of meat,
cooked in some pastry, with some lovely flavours.
(laughter)
- You've just described a pie.