How to Make and Use Garlic Confit

Now that I have stopped buying so many packaged foods, I have started looking for creative condiments I can make at home to add flavor to what I’m cooking or just for snacking. A recipe for garlic confit in Ad Hoc at Home caught my eye. Garlic cloves are slowly cooked in oil until they become sweet and mashable. As a bonus, the oil becomes infused with garlic flavor and can be used in marinades, vinaigrettes and mayonnaise or just for sauteing.

I immediately used my garlic in two dishes: as part of a marinade for tuna, blended with parsley, capers, the garlic oil and lemon juice; and mashed into sauteed broccoli florets, which I also cooked in the infused oil. I still had several cloves left over for the week’s cooking. Spread on a baguette, the cloves probably make very good instant garlic bread, although I haven’t tried that yet (but I will!). They keep in the refrigerator, covered in oil, for about 1 week. The oil itself will keep at room temperature for a month.

This recipe was super-simple and so immediately useful that I’m sure Thomas Keller won’t mind if I share it with you.

Garlic Confit

1. Cut the root ends off several garlic cloves and peel off the papery skin.
2. In a small saucepan, pour oil over the garlic to completely submerge the cloves. Ad Hoc at Home calls for canola oil, but I used olive oil.
3. Over medium-low heat, bring the oil to a very slow simmer. Tiny bubbles should just break the surface. Adjust the heat down as necessary.
4. Let the cloves cook, stirring occasionally, until completely tender when pierced by a knife, about 40 minutes.
5. Let the cloves cool in the oil. Store the cloves covered in oil in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Store the remaining oil at room temperature for up to 1 month.

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Tagged: Condiments, Confit, Garlic, Infused oil, Make-ahead, Thomas Keller