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Garlic confit is a delicious umami rich condiment
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Garlic confit

A wonderful compromise to satisfy all garlic tastes is garlic confit. You still have all the wonderful delicious garlic flavor in comfy but it's a smoother, softer umami rich garlic flavor without the fresh garlic pungency.
Course Condiment
Cuisine international
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 192kcal
Author Wendy

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 heads of garlic
  • 237 ml Extra-virgin olive oil enough to fully cover the garlic cloves in a small cooking pot

Instructions

Peel the garlic:

  • This is the boring and time consuming part of making garlic confit so get yourself set up and listen to your favorite podcast while you peel the cloves.
    Basket of red garlic at the market in Riano, Rome
  • Break apart each head of garlic and separate into cloves.
  • Next, peel each individual clove.
  • Use a paring knife to slice off the root end of each clove.
  • Now use your fingers and the paring knife to gently coax the peel off of each clove.
  • Set the peeled garlic cloves aside in a separate bowl.
    Peeled garlic cloves
  • Keep a damp dish towel on hand to wipe off your fingers as they get sticky from the cloves and make the peeling process more difficult.
  • If you find a tiny part of a clove that's bruised just slice it off and discard.
  • Pro tip: to speed up the garlic peeling process place all the cloves in a jar and shake vigorously for a minute. This is usually sufficient to remove most of the peels.

Make the garlic confit:

  • Place all of the cloves in a small pot and generously cover completely with extra-virgin olive oil.
  • Put the pan on the stove over the smallest flame possible.
  • Sub-simmer the cloves for about 45 minutes until they are soft, fragrant and turning just golden. Note: It may only take a half an hour, or it may take an hour.
  • A simmer is when a liquid is just barely bubbling and getting ready to move into a boil. A sub-simmer is what I call a bit less than a simmer, in other words teeny tiny bubbles that are just about ready to simmer.
  • This is hard to achieve because the flame must be small and extremely low. I find if I place the pot on the burner - and just to the side of the burner so the pot is barely touching the flame - I can achieve a sub-simmer.
    Making garlic confit

Storing the garlic confit:

  • As soon as the garlic confit is done transfer it to a glass jar and keep refrigerated, covered. 
You can store garlic confit refrigerated for about two weeks. Alternatively freeze garlic confit and it will last for several months.

Notes

Botulism:
Botulism is deadly and occurs in low acid foods that are stored at room temperature in a low oxygen environment, and low sugar. Garlic confit fits the bill on all counts so handle and store it properly for complete safety:
*Always keep the garlic confit refrigerated.
*Each time you use garlic or the oil remove it with a clean and sterile spoon.
*Use the garlic confit within two weeks and then discard.
Ways to use garlic confit:
As a dressing for cooked vegetables: mash up some of the garlic with the extra-virgin olive oil and toss with cooked vegetables for some added garlic flavor.
Add to a salad dressing.
Garlic bread: Mix with soft butter and spread on toasted crusty bread.
Add to mashed potatoes, risottos and pasta dishes or spread on grilled fish and meats.
Let's face it - just about any savory dish is better with a bit of garlic confit!
What is confit anyhow? Confit is a cooking technique that refers to any food slow cooked in oil or fat, or sugar water (syrup). The most common confit dishes are garlic confit and duck confit but you can also make chicken confit, egg yolk confit, vegetable confit, and many other dishes. The concept is always the same: the food is slow cooked in oil or fat (or a syrup for fruit) in a sub-simmer.

Nutrition

Serving: 20ml | Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 3mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg