Recently, I wrote about planting garlic, and how now is the time to do it in the northern states. I mentioned that when I have a lot of garlic, I like to preserve it in oil. Not only does it allow you to store it pretty much forever (an ongoing theme of mine you may recognize by now), but it makes garlic far more digestible for those who have problems with it.
I would note however, that I wouldn’t dream of doing this with my homegrown garden garlic for a couple reasons. First, it’s so easy to peel the fresh stuff, that I don’t find myself cursing it like I do the store bought stuff. Second, it stores well through the winter months, so I usually run out of it.
I make garlic confit from store bought garlic that I buy already peeled. You can get mongo-sized jars from CostCo for pennies a clove, but I’ve also seen it at grocery stores and it still seems pretty reasonable, considering you would spend about nine hours peeling the same number of cloves yourself…
I would have waited until the waning days of winter to write this, which is when I usually find myself making the confit, but when I was working in the garden last weekend, turning the soil, I happened upon a few dozen tiny garlic cloves (and two red potatoes!) that were starting to sprout.
I have absolutely no idea where they came from. Left alone, they would have been delightful surprises come spring — albeit in the wrong place. But I wrenched them from the ground prematurely and didn’t have the time or the patience to lovingly replant them in a more appropriate place. That they had already sprouted small green shoots, meant that the center of the clove would likely be tough, so I decided to do a small batch of Garlic Confit. I post the directions for you now, in hopes that you will try it yourself.
First, peel and trim the root ends of a bunch of garlic.
Barely cover the cloves with delicious tasting olive oil.
I, personally, love both the taste and the price of CostCo’s Kirland brand. And before any of you judge me for shopping at CostCo and not pressing my own, you gotta hear this. I heard on Evan Kleiman’s GoodFood podcast that giving up meat just one day a week does more good for the enviornment than eating every single thing from local sources! I digress, but isn’t that amazing?
Cook over the lowest, lowest, lowest heat setting. The goal is to cook these guys for at least an hour without them getting too dark. I cooked mine (below) almost two hours due to those feisty center stems and as a result, they got a little more brown than normal.
Basically, you just want them to get as soft as butter. When that happens, they’re done.
Finally, pour the oil and the cloves into glass canning jars, or whatever container you like, and store in the refrigerator.
Use the cloves in place of raw garlic, use the oil for sauteing and subtle garlic flavoring. As usual, it keeps indefinitely!
In addition to being so quick to use for cooking, it also allows me to up the garlic quotient considerably in my recipes, since my husband is one of those vexing people who get stomachaches from eating raw garlic. It is true, I considered divorce.
Thank goodness I discovered Garlic Confit! It practically saved my marriage!
Nat Alea from OK says
Looks purty!!!!! Ok, I’ve got to asd a question. I LOVE shopping at Sams Club and they have the giant jars of fresh peeled garlic and I’ve always wanted to buy them. I’m scared because one time I did buy a bunch of garlic, peeled them myself, then I put the garlic (raw) into a nice bottle of olive oil. Well, after about a week in the cabinet, my lovingly, painstakingly peeled garlic turned a beautiful shade of blue. I seriously thought of keeping it (I hate to throw away any food) and try using it. But I didn’t because I was more worried of food poisoning my family. I’m sure it was best to throw away the garlic but can you put up raw garlic or do you need to cook it first? Also, (sorry), is your cooked garlic just like the roasted garlic that everyone is talking about? I’m definately going to try your method. It looks yummy. Thanks!!!!!!!!!
admin says
tooooo funny. I CAN help:
1) just because it turns blue, doesn’t mean that it isn’t JUST FINE!
1a) KIDDING! You can’t store fresh garlic in oil at room temp. It goes bad. In fact, many recipes for Garlic Confit say that you can store it at room temp. I don’t. I keep it in the fridge, cuz it’s just easier and safer. (who says I’m an unsafe cook?!). I do believe you could store raw garlic in oil in the refrigerator for much longer than the raw, peeled garlic would last on its own in the jar, but it, too, would eventually go bad. It would just take a lot longer. Maybe even a year? I don’t know.
2) This garlic tastes a lot like the roasted garlic you are reading about, but that stuff isn’t cooked in oil. Both are delicious delicious. (that’s double delicious). If I want a head of garlic to go alongside a roast to smear on bread and potatoes, I lop the top off a whole head and put it in the oven to roast. If I have a whole bunch of raw peeled garlic I want to keep indefinitely, I make confit.
Hope that helps!
TerriD says
I could have used this “recipe” earlier this fall, when I had LOTS of “over-ripe” garlic heads and little garlic cloves that had self-seeded. I salvaged some, but ended up throwing a lot away. Darn!!
admin says
Too bad! I have been using mine, a lot like the garlic you are describing here, and the central stem is still a little tougher. But way better than just throwing it away. The oil the garlic lives in is just as good as the garlic. (well almost!)
Donovan Suozzi says
thx for sharing this one!
Teresa says
I am just wondering how long it stays good in the fridge after you have processed it this way?
admin says
Hi Teresa!
Well, I’ve still got some of the last batch I made back in June of last year when my fresh finally ran out. I would say “forever!” But my husband would roll his eyes and say, “you always say that.” So how about 2 years. Which is basically the same thing, right?
mike says
This is an extremely dangerous practice! Garlic in oil infusions are a serious breeding ground for BOTULISM. Here’s a website explaining more:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/garlic-ail-eng.php
admin says
That’s why it is recommended to refrigerate!
anon says
Refrigerating it won’t help if you’re keeping it for a long time. From the link mike posted: “The trouble starts if you store homemade garlic-in-oil at room temperature, or if you keep it in the fridge for too long. These actions could allow growth of the spores that cause botulism, resulting in the production of toxin in the food.” (emphasis added)
Blackfeet_5 says
Who keeps garlic that hasn’t been pickled for longer then two years even in the frig?! Any homegrown garlic at my house doesn’t last that long! I have been canning / pickling / making confit from homegrown garlic for YEARS and have never had a problem with botulism…ever. Never had any actually “go bad”. If you process and store it properly and safely, you won’t have to worry about it. For those of you that aren’t sure if you know how to do that, ask some one who does and if you’re just really afraid you’ll get sick, I suggest you buy the already processed stuff at the store and save yourself some grief.
admin says
Amen Blackfeet! And just so we are clear: garlic from the garden is rarely confit-ed. I usually run out of the garden variety. Then I buy a mambo bag of already peeled garlic at costco and do this with it. In fact, I just made a new batch last night. Taste like buttah! mmm.
I think there was confusion on the botulism. This stuff cooks for like two hours on a bubbling simmer. the moisture is cooked out and down. Then it is put in the fridge. I swear by it.
🙂
Chris says
“This is an extremely dangerous practice! Garlic in oil infusions are a serious breeding ground for BOTULISM. Here’s a website explaining more:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/garlic-ail-eng.php”
…… two people in the last 20 years got food poisoning from eating garlic in oil, is that really enough to call it “extremely dangerous”? What a joke man.. stop fear mongering people you take more of a risk getting out a bed each morning.. you might fall and break your neck!!!!
jenmenke says
Thanks Chris. At first I thought you were another botulism believer. I sighed to myself and resigned to let the comment stand — I certainly don’t want to cause harm. But seriously??? I couldn’t agree with you more!
Melissa says
I find that governments change the “rules” for home preservation of foods to try prevent people from using the wrong preserving methods and also to scare people into buying the overly processed canned goods from the store.The main causes of botulism comes from unsanitary kitchens. Has anyone noticed that they are now putting best before dates on bottled water? Can anyone please explain how water goes bad? It seems to me that the government doesn’t want people to have stores of food tucked away for winter, and have people rely on imported foods from countries where we arent really sure how strictly monitered their farmin practices are followed.
Martha says
This is a great conversation on garlic comfit. I found it while researching what to do with the 3 pound bag of garlic from Cosco I already had when my neighbor brought over two thirds of another 3 pound bag to give me. I didn’t have the heart to say I didn’t want it because I had already agreed to share one if she bought another. Now I have all this garlic I have to do something with it I was thinking about throwing it in the Cuisinart along with equal part cashews, and some lemon juice and olive oil as a preservative. Will it go bad in the fridge? This concoction is the beginning of spinach pesto I make which is delicious and lasts several weeks in the fridge. Not sure what I do with it But I think it might last longer than just the garlic alone. And whenever I get ready to make pesto I’ll have that part done
jenmenke says
Martha — do you mean will the confit go bad in the fridge? If so, no: it will last a long, long time. That’s what I love about it. I’m due to make another batch soon with a big Costco bag. It usually lasts me about a year!
Lita Watson says
Have you ever tried to store the garlic in vinegar? You can preserve the garlic for 4 months. by that way or up to a year with boiled vinegar and cloves.
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SandyKay says
If worried about safety or if you have a TON of it like I do, you can always freeze it. Just like freezing pesto. I either freeze in small jars or in ice cube trays and then once frozen, I put the cubes into an airtight bag and freeze.
Mary says
The title of this post makes it seem as though it’s going to teach you a safe way to store garlic confit. Turns out the writer is so stupid they want everyone to die. If you are going to make a Costco size batch make sure to cool it down as fast as possible like putting your pan in an ice bath or taking it off the heat and put a fan next to it to cool it fast. Storing in jars like mason jars it great but again if you aren’t going to use up the whole batch in about two-ish weeks you will need to store it in the freezer for about two months tops. I use BPA free plastic containers I got from Amazon. I pull one out, thaw it in the fridge or warm it over low heat to use it right away. Please don’t do additional research because this lady is an idiot.