Garlic Confit: the easy and quick garlic condiment recipe
Garlic confit is an easy and sweet recipe that will win you over. Confit refers to a food that is cooked in a fat (oil or animal fat) at a low temperature, usually over a longer period of time. Where deep frying involves cooking foods in fat at high temperatures for a shorter period of time, confit is the opposite—longer times at lower temperatures. The French word confit actually means to preserve, and is a method that’s been used for many years to preserve meats by cooking them in their own fat. One of the most popular confits, is probably duck confit. But there are many other foods you can cook with this technique, it’s very popular in French cooking! If you love garlic, then you’ll love this homemade garlic confit.
What is a Garlic Confit?
If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at confit, but were too hesitant to try, then why not start with a homemade garlic confit? It’s definitely one of the easier confits to try, and you’ll be rewarded with rich garlic flavor. Garlic cloves are cooked with extra virgin olive oil for about 20 minutes. They become sweet, soft, and spreadable.
How to use Homemade Garlic Confit
You can basically use garlic confit on any food you like. If it works with garlic, it will work with garlic confit. Because the cloves become soft, it’s easy to spread the homemade garlic confit on bread. You can also add it to hummus, mashed potatoes, and even roasted vegetables. Because the garlic is cooked, the flavor is much sweeter than that of raw garlic. So it makes a great topping for pizza or stir-fries.
When you used up all your garlic cloves, you can even use the oil. The oil will have a subtle, sweet garlic flavor. Perfect to drizzle over breads or salads.
How to store Homemade Garlic Confit
It’s very important to store the homemade garlic confit in the refrigerator. Storing it at room temperature will lead to a growth of Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium responsible for botulism. It can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. You can also freeze it, just make sure to fully thaw it in the refrigerator before using (do not thaw at room temperature).
Instructions
Peel the garlic cloves, making sure all the skin is removed.
Add the cloves to a small pot and cover with olive oil (there should be enough oil to cover all the cloves).
Heat the oil to 93°C/200°F (use a digital thermometer) and cook for 30 minutes.
Use a fork to test the softness of the garlic.
Remove the garlic from the pot and pour it into a sterilized glass jar.
Top with the oil from the cooking pot.
Serve with a piece of toasted bread.
Recipe Notes
– You can use other oils (avocado or canola), but olive oil is really the best for this recipe.
– Confit garlic has the same flavor as garlic roasted in the oven, but it’s much easier to make. It can also be stored in the fridge (covered with oil) for several weeks.
– To infuse more flavor into the oil (and garlic), add fresh herbs to the glass jar when bottling the confit. Rosemary, thyme, or oregano all work well.
