How To Make Confit Garlic
Confit garlic is an incredible ingredient to have on hand. Slow cooking garlic cloves in oil turns the soft & spreadable with a sweet, mellow flavour.
Cooking garlic confit turns regular garlic cloves into rich, sweet, spreadable golden nuggets of flavour! This French cooking technique is classically used for duck but it works fantastically for garlic too. Essentially, this is where you slow cook peeled garlic cloves in oil until they’re soft and golden, either on the stove or in the oven.
Don’t worry if you’ve never cooked garlic confit before, it’s super easy! As long as you store it correctly, it will keep for up to a week in the fridge and as confit garlic is so versatile, you can use it for a wide range of dishes. We’re talking homemade hummus, roast potatoes, salad dressings, garlic bread, pasta sauces and loads more. You can even serve it on its own, on toast!
What Is Confit Garlic?
Confit garlic or garlic confit, is garlic that is submerged in fat (usually oil) & cooked slowly at a low temperature until soft. This can be done on the stove or in the oven. For a less hand on approach, I use the latter. If you want to cook yours on the stove, follow the recipe below but cook over a really gentle heat. If your oil gets too hot, you run the risk of it burning the garlic.
Cooking garlic this way gives it a roasted flavour that is less intense than the raw stuff. This flavour is also imparted into the oil which can also be used to cook with.
Ingredients For Confit Garlic
- Garlic – Garlic confit is made with fresh garlic, which is separated from the bulb then peeled. You can use as much garlic as you want, as long as they’re completely submerged in the oil. You can confit garlic bulbs whole but it takes less time if you use peeled cloves.
- Fat – To confit means to slow cook in fat. For garlic, I like to use olive oil but a neutral vegetable oil will work too. You could even use goose fat, duck fat or tallow (beef fat).
How To Cook Confit Garlic
Confit garlic is made by submerging garlic cloves in fat then slow cooking until they are soft and a light golden colour. You cook confit garlic on the stove over a very low heat or in a low temperature oven (110°c/230°f).
The stovetop method is a little quicker but you need to be careful not to get the oil too hot or you’ll end up frying the garlic instead of confiting it! A slow cook in the oven will take a couple of hours but you won’t have to keep such a close eye on the garlic. Use whichever method works best for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
To cook confit garlic in an Aga, place the oil & garlic into a saucepan, heat on the simmering plate until warm then transfer to the simmering oven and cook for 1-2 hours, until soft.
Confit garlic needs to be stored in the fridge in a sterilised container and should be used within 1 week. With confit garlic, there’s a risk of botulism if it is not stored correctly, so make sure to store it in the fridge (never at room temperature!) as soon as it has cooled down.
Yes you can absolutely freeze confit garlic. To freeze, add confit garlic cloves and a small amount of oil into an ice cube tray then once frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Ways To Use Confit Garlic
The great thing about confit garlic, is that you can use it in place of regular garlic in pretty much any recipe. If you want a richer, less punchy garlic flavour simply swap fresh garlic out for confit. Instead of grating, you’ll need to mash confit garlic into a paste but other than that, it’s a straight swap.
Confit garlic has a gentler, roasted flavour compared to raw, which means that it works great in pasta sauces, compound butters, classic hummus, salad dressings & roasted veg. You can even eat it on toast!
- Classic Chickpea Hummus
- The Ultimate Roast Potatoes
- Confit Garlic Mayo
- Garlic & Rosemary Focaccia
- Garlicky Mashed Potato Casserole
- Garlic & Parmesan Creamed Corn
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How To Make Confit Garlic
Equipment
- Medium Sized Saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 Bulbs Garlic
- 400 g Olive Oil
Instructions
- Peel garlic then place the cloves into a saucepan.
- Pour over the oil, making sure that the garlic is completely covered.
- Place the garlic in a stove over a low heat & cook gently until the garlic is soft, roughly 30-45 minutes.Alternatively, place the garlic & oil into an ovenproof dish, cover with foil then cook in an oven set to 110°c/230°f for 1-2 hours.
- Leave to cool completely before placing both the oil & garlic into a sterilised jar.
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