Roast Garlic Confit

Some recipes never go out of style. From classic Beef Pie to Fried Chicken, certain recipes are just always going to stay popular. It’s likely because of how great they taste! Well, one dish that ticks all the boxes for flavor and popularity is Roast Garlic Confit. This simple, yet wonderfully tasting dish transforms the humble Garlic Clove into a rich and sweet delicacy that makes for the perfect accompaniment to so many great dishes, especially classic French recipes

Roast Garlic Confit is a very common dish that is found in high-end restaurants of the Michelin starred kind, as well as just about every French-inspired Brasserie all over the world. However, and perhaps surprisingly, it’s not that often made at home

Sprucing up Garlic is becoming very common these days, but it’s been around for centuries

The idea of transforming a humble ingredient such as Garlic into a restaurant-level ingredient is one that so many restaurants are latching onto. The rich, sweet flavors you can extract from Garlic make for the perfect accompaniment to a dish gives it a level of sophistication that you would expect from an expensive restaurant

However, the process of making Garlic Confit is one that has been around for decades, centuries even! The process of slowly cooking food in fat (which is the essence of Confit cookery) was originally invented to preserve foods that would otherwise spoil. So, in the times before refrigeration, this technique was adopted

It’s fun to consider what was initially invented as a technique for poor people to preserve food is now mostly popularized and consumed by folks willing to shell out hundreds of dollars at a high end restaurant!

How to make Roast Garlic Confit

This recipe couldn’t be simpler to make. All it requires is 2 ingredients, and some patience. To Confit Garlic you need a fat for the Garlic to slowly roast in the oven. You can really use any fat you like, but for our recipe we’re opting for Olive Oil. Another very popular fat to use for Confit is Duck, as is famous in the classic French Duck Confit recipes

The dish will require enough Olive Oil to completely submerge the Garlic you plan on cooking in an oven-proof dish. The quantity of Oil required will depend on how much Roast Garlic Confit you plan on making, and the size of the oven-safe dish you are using

For smaller quantities of Confit Garlic, you can use a ramekin, and for larger quantities, more conventional roasting / baking trays will work. When we made our recipe we cooked the Garlic alongside a beautiful piece of Duck Thigh, so it ended up needing about 8 cups / 2 liters of Olive Oil. This was primarily due to the size of the Duck Thigh, which required full submersion

For a few bulbs of Garlic, you probably only need about half that amount. Essentially, all you need to ensure is your Garlic is completely submerged in the Oil / Fat, and you will be fine. I wouldn’t recommend using the fanciest Olive Oil, just some decent stuff will do the job, as this recipe does use a lot of the stuff

Preparing the Garlic for Confit

This is a very simple step in the process of making Roast Confit Garlic. Just peel whole cloves of Garlic and discard the skin and you’re ready to make this wonderful dish. Honestly, I recommend saving your time and simply purchasing some pre-peeled Garlic cloves, as peeling raw Garlic can be a laborious job, especially when you need to keep the cloves whole and intact, as is the case with this recipe

Once your Garlic is prepared, simply pop it into your ramekin or roasting tray and fill it with enough Olive Oil to completely submerge the Garlic Cloves. You can add as much or as little as you want. The good news is this technique preserves the Garlic, so it’ll keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, so I recommend making a big batch

Slow roasting the Garlic in Olive Oil in the Oven will turn it into Garlic Confit

Simply place your Garlic that is now submerged in Olive Oil into the oven set at 225F and roast for 2 ½ hours. The process takes time, but you don’t need to do anything. Just let the Olive Oil slowly Roast the Garlic, and infuse it with those wonderful, fatty flavors

Once time is up you will need to remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. Be careful during this step, because even though we didn’t set the oven temperature too high, we’re still dealing with hot Oil that’s 225F! So, carefully place the tray on a sturdy surface and leave to cool before removing the Garlic

The Garlic itself is going to be super-tender, so be careful when removing it from the Oil as it can easily begin to break apart. I like to use a small kitchen strainer to do so. Set the Garlic on some paper towels to remove any excess Olive Oil before it’s ready to eat

The Oil can also be kept for future Confit cooking, which I highly recommend. Olive Oil isn’t cheap, so while you’re in the Confit-cooking mode, try making other fun Confit dishes like Potatoes, Carrots, and of course, Duck

How to enjoy Roast Garlic Confit

You can add Garlic Confit to so many dishes, from Salads to Soups to Steaks and Seafood. In fact, it’ll pair with just about anything, and will give the dish a rich, sophisticated sweetness. Me personally, I just like to slather it all over some nice crusty bread

There’s no better way to enjoy Garlic Confit than with some good quality bread. The Garlic spreads just like Butter and the flavor is intense. Give it a generous sprinkle of some Flaky Sea Salt and you very well have one of the best bites of food in the culinary world

Roast Garlic Confit Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 bulbs of Garlic
• 4 cups of Olive Oil
  
  

Equipment needed: Oven-safe roasting container

Instructions

1. Tear off all the Garlic Cloves from the bulb and carefully peel and discard their skin. Try to keep the Garlic Cloves as intact as possible
2. Place the Garlic in an appropriately sized, oven-safe container. For smaller quantities you can use a ramekin, for larger quantities try roasting trays
3. Pour enough Olive Oil into the roasting container to completely submerge the Garlic, then carefully place the container in the Oven and roast for 2 ½ hours at 225F
4. Once cooked, carefully remove from the oven and set aside to cool before removing the Garlic Cloves. Set them on some paper towels to remove any excess Oil before enjoying
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can make as much or as little Roast Garlic Confit as you like. All you need to ensure is you have enough Olive Oil to completely submerge the Garlic before it’s roasted
• You can also add other ingredients to the Oil and Confit them too, the cooking time won’t change. Try some popular ingredients like Duck, Potatoes, or Carrots
  
  

Try these sweet and delicious Roast Garlic Confit with some grilled Meat or Seafood or simply slather a generous amount of it over some good quality crusty bread. Sprinkle it with some Flaky Sea Salt and enjoy!

For more delicious accompaniments just like this one, check out some of these wonderful recipes:

• Japanese Pickled Radishes
• Toasted Panko Breadcrumbs
• Classic Apple Sauce
• Wonder Bread Croutons
  
  

Happy Cooking!