Our Top 10 Recipes of the Decade

With 2020 around the corner, we’re up to our necks in retrospectives, from films to fashion to music, and more. Billboard hits may come and go, but one thing is guaranteed year over year—hungry home cooks looking for the key to their next meal. Still reeling from the revelation of your Spotify top artists of 2019? We recommend a soothing look back at the top 10 most-searched recipes in our collection from the last 10 years. Despite the decade’s ups and downs, below you’ll find comforting, hearty fare that never goes out of style.

10. French-Style Scrambled Eggs
Kicking off the list is Beard Award winner Eric Ripert with this elegant take on a breakfast classic, proving it’s never a bad thing to add a little butter and heavy cream.

9. Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
This Provençal recipe featuring a prodigious pile of garlic might not be the best choice for a first date, but the dish’s tender chicken and buttery, spreadable roasted cloves (James Beard says slather that on crusty bread!) are definitely marriage material.

8. Semolina Pasta Dough
This building-block recipe from JBF Award winner Jennifer Jasinski is the key to unlocking a whole new world of pasta potential. Might we recommend her artichoke and white truffle tortelloni, or heirloom tomato consommé with goat cheese ravioli?

7. Texas-Style Oven Brisket
America’s Classics Award winner Louie Muller Barbecue has been called “the cathedral of smoke” for the much-admired meats it’s been serving for nearly 70 years. If a carnivorous pilgrimage isn’t in your future, bring Central Texas home with this recipe for their signature brisket.

6. Honey–Habanero Chicken Wings
The Lone Star State makes another appearance on our list with this recipe from Houston chef David Cordúa. Put this rendition of the perennial game day favorite on your Super Bowl menu now for an irresistible combo of heat and sweet.

5. Parker House Rolls
Why mess with a classic? James Beard’s take on the traditional dinner roll keeps the method straightforward while offering a few presentational twists, like braids or layered stacks.

4. Cuban Braised Pork Shoulder
Beard Award winner and Chefs Boot Camp alum Hugh Acheson counts this slow-cooking beauty as a favorite family recipe. Rich pork shoulder gets a three-hour bath in a mix of Caribbean spices and seasonings, yielding a dinner centerpiece that is fork-tender and packed with flavor.

3. Home-Style Oxtail Stew
Los Altos–based chef Laurence Chu originally created this cozy stew in honor of his father-in-law, who missed the comfort food of his childhood in China. Rich oxtails meet a complexly flavored sauce for a dish that’s the perfect way to keep warm during the deepest part of winter.

2. Macaroni and Cheese
Best of the decade runner-up goes to James Beard’s take on mac ‘n’ cheese, which features three cups of shredded cheddar and a boatload of bread crumbs. Need we say more?

1. Duck Confit
Our number one recipe of the decade proves that true greatness is timeless. Beard Foundation chief strategy officer and cookbook author Mitchell Davis lays out his rendition of the centuries-old technique of duck confit, which began as a method of preserving duck through the winter, but continues to be used because it makes for “delicious eating.”

Wishing you lots of good cooking and delicious eating in the year and decade to come!

Hungry for more? View our entire recipe collection.

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Maggie Borden is content manager at the James Beard Foundation. Find her on Instagram and Twitter.