Garlic Confit Recipe

The Many Uses of Garlic Confit 

The Garlic clove. 

The wondrous delightful pungent aromatic herb that can conjure thoughts from the movie "Good Fellas" to medieval Transylvania peasants using garlic wreaths to ward off Vampires. 

This awesome clove of flavor has many uses and can flavor anything from soups, starches, pastas and sauces, but one of the most useful ways to utilize this potent partner is sometimes overlooked.

Garlic Confit is one of the best ways to use garlic for a variety of applications.

What is Garlic Confit? 

Confit means to cook or poach in the fat of an item. Like duck confit or confit of lamb, garlic is slowly cooked at a low temperature until soft in fat or oil. 

My preferred method uses strong extra virgin olive oil and whole garlic cloves. Although there are a few oil variations like bacon fat, pistachio oil, sesame and others that work well. I find the flavor of Olive oil to make the best overall production on Garlic Confit.

There are also many varieties of methods. Some require an extraordinary amount of both oil and garlic, while some methods are a mix of smaller amounts of oil that just cover the amount in a pan. It really depends on the uses you have in store for the confit.

Myself, I have found that you can create a roasted garlic confit by cooking more rapidly. Where most productions slowly cook the garlic and make every attempt to keep the cloves white and almost translucent, if you wish to create a more rustic and flavorful confit, I simply turn the heat up just enough to cook the garlic to a modest golden roasted color.

While many cooking methods are useful, my favorite is the roasted version I make. Which can be used for anything where you might like that roasted garlic taste. 

Use the oil in a Vinaigrette perhaps, or to cook steak with. You can mash them into mashed potatoes or use the cloves as a spread. Flavor butter, vegetables, even a dab behind the ear might be good in case Dracula comes for a visit. Oddly enough, you can find a number of uses for a roasted garlic confit that adds flavor and a good adjustment of impeccable aroma.

How do I use Plain or Roasted Garlic Confit?

Most Chefs will keep the oil and garlic together, which is fine. Many more will divide them for different applications throughout a kitchen. The oil might be used as a flavoring for dipping sauces, or as part of a braising application, it all depends what needs you have for garlic flavors.

The oil can be used just like any other oil, but must be watched to prevent burning. Once you cook something in an oil, it will lose it's viscosity and since Olive oil has a lower viscosity to begin with, you should be watchful.

The cloves can be incorporated into meat rubs, sauces, soups, dressing, dips, and anything else where garlic can be used. Garlic confit has a wide variety of uses, and can be applied to almost any recipe where raw garlic can be used. For instance, in a Sautee station where you might need chopped garlic for a certain dish, you can utilize garlic confit to cover this need. Since it's already cooked, you can speed up some ala carte productions.

Garlic Confit Recipe with Variations.

INGREDIENTS 
3 cups Extra-Virgin olive oil or Pomace 
2 tsp. kosher salt or 1 tsp table salt 
80+ large peeled cloves of garlic (about 2.5 cups)

Cook extra slow on a stove top in a pot for about an hour or longer. Stir occasionally and extremely gently.

For the Roasted Garlic Confit.

INGREDIENTS 
2 cups Extra-Virgin olive oil or Pomace 
60+ large peeled cloves of garlic (about 1.5 cups)

Cook slowly for the first 30 minuets then turn up till the garlic is slightly boiling. Be watchful and allow to turn golden brown and remove from the heat.

Post by Chef Jeffrey Allen Kaufman.