Garlic Confit

July 2, 2009 · 9 comments ·

Garlic Confit

Garlic confit is magical stuff. I keep some around to use in everything. I even warm up a clove or two and smear it on bread when I want garlic bread. And it’s so easy to make that you should never be without some. Let me show you.

Garlic Confit StartStart by peeling a bunch of garlic–or buy pre-peeled garlic like I do–and trim the ends off each clove. Then put them into a saucepan and cover with oil. The original Thomas Keller recipe I used, and the blog post on it at Bouchon for Two, calls for canola oil. I now use extra virgin olive oil, because I prefer the flavor of olive oil, and the heat isn’t high enough to destroy the oil.

Garlic Confit CookingYou’ll use low heat, and, if you have it, a diffuser. If you don’t have a diffuser, use a fry pan as a diffuser. You want to heat the oil until you see tiny bubbles rising, but not too many of them. Hold at that heat for about 45 minutes, until the garlic cloves are softened.

Spoon the garlic into a sterile container and then carefully pour in the oil to cover by at least half an inch. Don’t discard any of the oil if you have extra, just use it for cooking.

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  • http://www.todaysrecipepro.com/ Barbara Garcia

    This is my first time checking things out here and I am so a garlic lover and glad you contacted me. I will for sure be trying this out. Please go and check out my web site and if you like, I can post some of your recipes there for exposure. Let me know if that is ok with you then I can save you the trouble of emailing it to me. I can just copy and paste it. Also if you can add me to your site in anyway for exposure I would appreciate it. Nice to meet you.
    Barbara

  • Gareth Mark

    Welcome! I hope you enjoy your visits here and will share suggestions with everyone through your comments.

  • http://cmacskitchen.enviroplaza.com/?p=96 Sundried Tomato and Garlic Confit « Cmac's Test Kitchen

    [...] garlic on hand all the time, and in the end flavored olive oil. I originally found the idea from Stumptown Savoury a cooking blog worth checking out. A great way to use this garlic is to mash a clove of it onto a [...]

  • Gareth Mark

    This is an excellent variation on garlic confit and a really interesting blog.

  • Bev Prince

    love the garlic confit. Interesting!

  • Gareth Mark

    Thanks! It’s really useful stuff. I keep it around all the time now.

  • http://www.budgetcook.net Nathan Grisham

    I’ve been using this technique since you posted it on your blog. I absolutely love it and will undoubtedly use it until the end of my days. The oil of course is great. When I find that I’m using more oil than garlic, I simply top it off and give it a stir. Thanks so much!

  • http://arkansasfoodies.wordpress.com Michael

    The oil works tastes great in aioli, too.

  • http://www.stumptownsavoury.com/2010/12/17/pumpkin-parmesan-sauce/ Pumpkin-Parmesan Sauce

    [...] you have garlic confit handy, it can take the heat. Otherwise, you’ll want to be very careful not to burn the [...]