Suitcase for Peeling Garlic Before Frying It
I love the drama of serving a whole head of fried garlic . It’s a little bit of flavor that never fails to impress, but removing the clove can be a little messy (even with a pickle fork ) and (if you’re not using a deep fat fryer ) it takes at least 50 minutes.
Fortunately, you can cut this time in half by peeling the garlic before frying. You will get a slightly different flavor profile, but it will still be sweet, deep, and easy to spread – all you need to have fried garlic.
Peeling the cloves allows them to cook more quickly and evenly, so the insiders see as much warmth as the outsiders. You can also change the texture and color of roasted cloves by adding oil. More oil gives them a confit texture. (In fact, if you submerge them completely in oil, you will make a garlic confit.)
If you only use enough oil to coat the cloves, they will be sugared and chewy with little crunchy chunks around the edges. If you want more crunchy chunks, simply crush the garlic hard. The frayed edges will brown nicely.
How to make lightly sautéed garlic cloves
Ingredients:
- As much garlic as you want
- Olive oil
- Salt
Peel the garlic as much as you have. If you want the cloves to stay intact, cut off tiny pieces from each end of each clove – the skin will slide off quite easily. If you want crispy caramelized chunks, break each clove with the flat side of a knife and peel them off.
Place the peeled cloves in an ovenproof dish, then add the olive oil. The more oil you add, the softer and less brown they will be. Add two large pinches of salt to each head of garlic and stir quickly to distribute everything evenly. Fry the garlic in the oven at 350 degrees until the cloves are soft, aromatic and darkened – about half an hour. Break up and divide into different foods.
Remove any leftover cloves from the oil before refrigerating (if you’ve used a lot of oil) and use any additional oil on the same day. (Botulism thrives in an anaerobic environment, which is oil, and I hate to see you get botulism.)