yummy essentials: garlic confit in olive oil

How To Make yummy essentials: garlic confit in olive oil

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  PREP/PREPARE
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  Chef’s Note: If you have ever pinched my recipes, you know that in many of them that call for minced (raw) garlic, I prefer baked garlic. Baked garlic is one of the little secrets that can totally change a recipe, and give it a depth, of flavor you have never imagined. In this recipe, I am going to show you how to do a garlic confit. A confit is where you cook ingredients slowly while immersed in oil. The effect is similar to baking, however, using this method will give the garlic and even more mellow taste, and then when you store the garlic in the olive oil it was cooked in; you get some really yummy, garlic-infused oil… It is a win/win situation.
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  Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
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  Remove the garlic cloves from the head, and peel.
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  Chef’s Tip: If you take the unpeeled cloves, place them into a mason jar, fitted with a lid, and then shake… It should help to remove the peels from the cloves. It is a neat trick that also works for removing the shell from a hard-boiled egg.
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  After peeling, use a paring knife to cut off the stem portion of the cloves, and discard.
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  Add the cloves to a small saucepan, and cover with the olive oil.
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  Chef’s Note: You want to cover the cloves by 1/2 inch (1.3cm).
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  Place the saucepan on a burner over low heat, and bring the temperature up to 200 – 210f (93 – 99c).
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  Chef’s Note: This whole process is performed over low heat. You never want the temperature of the oil to exceed the boiling point.
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  Cook the garlic until the cloves begin to turn a pale golden brown, about 1 hour.
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  Remove from the heat, and allow to come to room temperature, about 1 hour.
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  Place in a glass container, with a tight-fitting lid, and place in the fridge, until ready for use.
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  Chef’s Tip: Olive oil will turn cloudy, if stored in the fridge… No worries, just take it out, let it warm up, and you are good to go.
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  PLATE/PRESENT
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  Use in any recipe that calls for raw garlic; however, because this garlic has a milder flavor, you might want to add about 50% more. For example, if the recipe calls for 2 cloves of raw, minced garlic, you might want to add 3. Enjoy.
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  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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