The Most Difficult Dishes to Master

Posted by Brent Furdyk on October 12, 2016

Not all dishes are created equal, which is certainly the case when it comes to difficulty of execution. With that in mind, let's pay homage to some of the most labour-intensive recipes that top chefs and bakers are required to master.

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Baked Alaska

Cold, creamy ice cream packed within a charred meringue crust ranks among the most decadent of desserts, while also ranking as one of the most difficult to prepare. Not only does this dish require baking a sponge cake and making from-scratch meringue, it also needs to be lit on fire. The trick lies in placing it in a very hot oven for long enough to firm the meringue without melting the ice cream — bake for even slightly too long, and you wind up with a melted puddle beneath a scorched meringue topping. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/baked-alaska/2610/">Nancy Fuller's Baked Alaska</a>
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Béarnaise Sauce

Traditionally served atop a steak, this complicated, rich French sauce requires clarified butter, vinegar, shallots, egg yolks and various herbs. The key to mastering béarnaise is slow cooking at a relatively low temperature, and giving it lots of time to cook. If the sauce becomes too heated, the eggs will scramble and the sauce is thus ruined. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/bearnaise-sauce/3587/" target="_blank">Béarnaise Sauce</a>
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Beef Wellington

Working with puff pastry can be tricky enough, but combined with cooking a cut of beef tenderloin inside of it, and the whole process becomes infinitely trickier. The tenderloin needs to be cooked to juicy perfection, while the puff pastry should be crispy and flaky — not a soggy mess — and will typically require a meat thermometer to ensure perfection. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/beef-wellington/15689/" target="_blank">Nancy Fuller's Beef Wellington</a>
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Boeuf Bourguignon

Although it may appear to be a simple beef stew, traditional boeuf bourguignon is a devilishly difficult dish to master. Julia Child's <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/julia-childs-beef-bourguignon-8222804" target="_blank">classic recipe</a> from her 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking has no less than 17 ingredients, with a preparation time estimated at more than 2 hours. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/lynn-crawfords-beef-bourguignon/9798/" target="_blank">Lynn Crawford's Boeuf Bourguignon</a>
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Consommé

You may be saying to yourself, "But isn't consommé basically just soup stock?" Au contraire, according to <a href="http://www.chefs.edu/culinary-central/15/03/three-of-the-most-difficult-recipes-to-make-and-why" target="_blank">Le Cordon Bleu</a>, double consommé needs to be clarified to remove impurities. Only after all the vegetables, egg whites and meat have floated to the top and the sediments have settled to the bottom can the perfectly clear broth be served. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/peking-duck-consomme/987/" target="_blank">Peking Duck Consomme</a>
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Coq au Vin

This iconic French dish features tender chicken braised with wine, lardons and mushrooms in a red wine sauce. To create this dish correctly, one cannot rush, and beginners may find it difficult to get the sauce to the desired consistency without overcooking the bird. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/altons-coq-au-vin/17529/" target="_blank">Alton Brown's Coq au Vin</a>
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Croissants

You're not baking a muffins here, and creating perfect croissants is a fairly involved process. The key is to not skimp on the butter, and to ensure it's soft and malleable enough to be combined into the dough without melting it. This will result in croissants that are crispy, flaky and golden on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the outside. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/almond-cheese-and-pain-au-chocolat-croissants/12546/" target="_blank">Anna Olson's Almond, Cheese, and Pain Au Chocolat Croissants</a>
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Gateau St. Honoré

It shouldn't come as a surprise that this French cake dedicated to the patron saint of bakers and pastry-makers is no walk in the park. As <a href="http://www.chefs.edu/culinary-central/15/03/three-of-the-most-difficult-recipes-to-make-and-why" target="_blank">Le Cordon Bleu</a> points out, the complicated recipe requires no less than four different pastry elements; puff pastry, pâte à choux (the same dough used when making cream puffs), caramelized sugar and Crème Chiboust, a filling that combines pastry cream and Italian meringue. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/gateau-st-honore/12606/" target="_blank">Anna Olson's Gateau St. Honoré</a>
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Macarons

These delightful French delicacies combining ground almonds and meringue are iconic yet notoriously tricky to make, and that's because macarons are incredibly sensitive to moisture. Regulating moisture in the recipe is key, as is learning how to properly fold the ingredients into the mixture. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/macaron-tower/12657/" target="_blank">Anna Olson's Macaron Tower</a>
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Mole

Fans of this Mexican favourite are addicted to the spicy, often chocolaty sauce, which requires more than 20 ingredients including dried chilies, dried herbs, seeds, nuts, spices, bread, stock and, of course, Mexican chocolate. The end result should be a rich, dark sauce that traditionally takes several days to prepare. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/mole-rojo/11790/" target="_blank">Mole Rojo</a>
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Pad Thai

A takeout classic, pad Thai is also one of the most complicated dishes in Thai cuisine. It requires split-second timing, lots of prep, and the knowledge of the different cutting methods for each ingredient, while also mastering some fairly sophisticated flavour combinations. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/vegetable-pad-thai/13674/" target="_blank">Anna Olson's Vegetable Pad Thai</a>
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Paella

While the ingredients that can make up a paella are varying, the technique in creating this Spanish favourite is not. Mastering paella requires the right type of short-grain rice that will continue to absorb the liquid even as the exterior is toasted to crunchy perfection while the result should be tender, not creamy. Get the recipe for <a>Anna Olson's Lakeside Paella</a>
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Salt-Crusted Fish

Baking a whole fish packed within a thick coating of crusted salt will result in moist, tender fish that actually isn't salty — if done correctly, that is. If the salt-and-egg mixture isn't packed tightly enough, you risk salt leaching into the fish, and you'll wind up with an unbearably salty dish that's utterly inedible. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/whole-fish-baked-in-a-salt-crust-with-chive-beurre-blanc/7259/" target="_blank">Whole Fish Baked in a Salt Crust</a>
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Soufflé

There are plenty of things that can go wrong when attempting a soufflé, as egg whites that aren't beaten enough will cause a fluffy, towering soufflé to tip over. Even a tiny bit of egg yolk in the mixture can result in collapse; the protein molecules from the yolk will surround the air bubbles before they can grow large enough to cause the soufflé to rise. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/apricot-orange-souffles-with-raspberry-coulis/12497/" target="_blank">Anna Olson's Apricot Orange Soufflés with Raspberry Coulis</a>
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Turducken

The ultimate in Thanksgiving overkill, turducken consists of a chicken stuffed inside a duck that is then stuffed inside a turkey. The trick in roasting the perfect turducken comes in ensuring all the various meats (which require different temperatures to be cooked to perfection) don't dry out and remain tender and juicy. In addition, turducken requires the ability to debone the birds, while keeping the skin intact. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/the-legendary-turducken/11320/" target="_blank">Chuck Hughes' Legendary Turducken</a> Brent Furdyk is a freelance writer in Vancouver.
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