Cooking garlic in oil

[sparrowgrass]

Jennyma, he is not leaving the garlic in the oil--he is straining it. I don't think botulism would grow in oil without actual chunks of garlic. Also, this garlic/oil mix is heated at 250 for

I did a brief google search, and all the references were about raw garlic covered in oil.

 

[PastaKing]

As I do more and more cooking with olive oil and always have garlic on hand, I have followed some TV chef's methods by always adding chopped garlic to the oil for flavor before I toss in the chops or whatever.
I have chopped the garlic fine and I have merely quartered the cloves and it always browns and shrinks and basically fries away. Because I am typically cooking/frying meats, the temp is around medium at the lowest. There always seems to be an underlying hint of .... errrr..... "overly browned" garlic I have even made sure I don't set the meat directly on the garlic, trapping it against the pan where it would surely burn.
I don't recall seeing anyone on TV removing the garlic bits before continuing with their cooking, but maybe they did on commercial

Is there a technique to this? Are the brown bits of garlic OK? Should I keep adding more as I cook if I want any left to dish out with the meal?

Thanks for your help

I love to use Garlic Powder. I almost never use fresh Garlic.

 

[pacanis]

That's exactly what I used last night to get some cut up chicken pieces going, PK. The fresh garlic went in towards the end.

 

[PastaKing]

That's exactly what I used last night to get some cut up chicken pieces going, PK. The fresh garlic went in towards the end.

Sounds good, but why would you put both fresh and garlic powder?

 

[pacanis]

That goes back to something I said earlier, I wanted to infuse what I was cooking with a garlic taste, but I also wanted some cooked garlic pieces to eat when all was said and done that weren't "browned", ok, burned (lol). This was why I started this topic, I could never figure out how the cooking shows weren't burning the garlic they added to the oil at the beginning of their cooking process if they were keeping it in the pan from start to finish.
At any rate, it came out well and I didn't have to remove the early garlic from the oil, adding another step.

 

[Marko]

It all comes down to heat control. Too high a heat will burn the garlic. And...there are different ways to control heat.

Consider this - minced garlic in a pan before adding sliced mushrooms. If you want to brown the mushrooms...when do you add the garlic? Before? No...after the mushrooms have started to brown! Add the garlic and continue to cook. Better yet...cook mushrooms at a fast, furious heat...add garlic...cook out for a moment and cool with wine. Just another method of temperature control.

Scented oils have thier place for sure, but learning to control heat as well as timing the addition of ingredients comes with experience.

A lower heat for a longer cooking will allow for garlic to be cooked out in a pan dish, but adding liquid will allow for this as well. Consider browning veal medallions in a fast pan (in olive oil/butter) and quickly adding minced garlic. It will burn fast, right? Yes! Before a chef would allow that to happen, wine, Marsala, lemon juice, stock or cream would be added to stop browning in its tracks. Then the sauce garnish would follow for a pan sauce.

Remember...heat control is available in many forms!

Marko

 

[bryankimjade]

I have read all of the messages that Marko has sent on garlic and his comments are right on track. I don't know why, but it just doesn't seem like home cooking to me if I don't mince garlic first. But always hearing cooks say becareful that you don't burn the garlic for it will be bitter, kind of scares you off. Well I had been cooking with garlic way before ever hearing this and I wondered why I never had that problem. the answer is simple, I saute my onions and mushrooms or whatever I am using first, then add the garlic, but then I always add a liquid, usually wine, or even stock to deglaze the pan. This does keep the garlic from burning and becoming bitter. The flavor of fresh garlic in a dish to me is just wonderful.

 

[PJP]

One solution: Keep on stirring, buddy.

 

[black chef]

i use garlic and rosemary when i cook steak. here's my technique:

1. get the pan smoking hot and add-in about 2 T of olive oil.
2. throw-in about 4 smashed garlic cloves and move to one side of the skillet.
3. place the steak on the other side of the skillet and as soon as the garlic begins to brown, place the garlic on top of the steak. at this time, place the rosemary on the steak as well.
4. when the steak has seared on one side, remove the garlic and rosemary, place in the skillet, flip the steak and and then, place the garlic and rosemary on the cooked side.
5. to "finish" the steak, add-in about 2 T butter and baste the steak with the melted butter-making sure to get it all over the garlic and rosemary.
6. let it rest of 5-6 min but continue basting it with the butter over the garlic and rosemary.

 

[attie]

Some very interesting reading here, from time to time I get asked to test different brands of oil by one or more of our suppliers who are thinking of stocking the product. Some pass the test, some don't, some infuse the product with a distinct flavour. What I have found is that by adding a few whole knobs of garlic one can neutralise any 'unexpected' flavour that the oil passes on to the product, especially when it's new oil, so, basically one can use the cheapest oil and obtain the same end result flavour wise, except that the cheaper oil is probably not going to last as long.

Bear in mind that my vats contain 25L of oil each and that I don't worry about pulling the garlic until I notice it floating about, but, there is no hint of garlic flavour in the product.

It seems to me that their is a definite technique in using garlic in oil to pass on the flavour, well done, I have learnt from your posts.

 

[onlinecook]

You can also put in the garlic after you added the meat or shrimps in the oil. Never burns

 

[onlinecook]

I never use garlic powder. Nothing beats the profound taste and smell of real garlic on your fingers

I love to use Garlic Powder. I almost never use fresh Garlic.

 

[nancyveg4health]

Did you know that you can "water" saute you garlic and onions? It also works well for other veggies, as well. (I like to bank the calories from the oil for something later when I want to indulge). Just put the garlic/onions in a pan with some water and stir until they get soft. Add some more water if you need to. Try it - it works great!

 

[Saphellae]

Gosh, I am such a kitchen dork! Last week I was making a steak in my henkel pan and I put oil and garlic in the pan, turned away for a moment, and turned back to see smoke rising like crazy. I have a small kitchen, btw, with no ventilation except for a window on the other side of the adjacant room. I live in a huge building so if the smoke alarm had gone off I'd be... well :p There would be four firetrucks outside in 2 minutes.

So anyways, by the time I got it off the stove the garlic was black lol

Even making the steak was smoky.. I almost died in that little kitchen!!! It turned out great though.

 

[archiduc]

As I do more and more cooking with olive oil and always have garlic on hand, I have followed some TV chef's methods by always adding chopped garlic to the oil for flavor before I toss in the chops or whatever.
I have chopped the garlic fine and I have merely quartered the cloves and it always browns and shrinks and basically fries away. Because I am typically cooking/frying meats, the temp is around medium at the lowest. There always seems to be an underlying hint of .... errrr..... "overly browned" garlic I have even made sure I don't set the meat directly on the garlic, trapping it against the pan where it would surely burn.
I don't recall seeing anyone on TV removing the garlic bits before continuing with their cooking, but maybe they did on commercial

Is there a technique to this? Are the brown bits of garlic OK? Should I keep adding more as I cook if I want any left to dish out with the meal?

Thanks for your help

Hi Pacanis,
If you are seeking to add a garlic flavour to the oil then add sliced garlic and heat over a moderate heat and remove before the garlic turns brown. Then used the flavoured oil to cook the meat after raising the temperature of the oil to enusre that it is hot enough to brown the meat.

Minced, chopped or garlic put through a press is best used in a dish containing liquid. For example, in a toamato sauce for pasta, one would cook diced onion until soft, then add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes without browning, add wine and reduce then add tomatoes, etc. The gentle heat applied when softening the garlic and the liquid will ensure that the garlic does not burn but mellows into the sauce.

A whole joint can be cooked (pot roast/braise) on a base of sliced onions, carrots, celery and whole cloves of garlic with a little wine/stock and the resultant sauce, made from the remaining liquor, should taste fantastic. Cut slices of garlic can be placed in cuts made on a joint (beef, lamb or pork) for roasting together with sprigs of herbs like rosemary and for lamb push a little piece of anchovy fillet into each cut with the garlic. When roasting a chicken, simply place whole cloves of garlic in the cavity with a lemon cut into 3/4 pieces. And then there is chicken cooked with 40 cloves of garlic - no it does not taste outrageous.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc

 

[pacanis]

Thanks for the additional input, archiduc