Cooking garlic in oil

[pacanis]

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

 

[GB]

If you are just looking to infuse the garlic flavor into the oil then try just slicing the garlic or cutting into larger pieces. Fry the garlic until it just begins to get some color and then remove from the pan.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I learned my lesson many years ago - the hard way - after ruining way too many dishes, or having to start from scratch again, by adding the garlic way way too early in the scheme of things. Regardless of what the "recipe" said.

If the garlic is just meant to flavor the oil, then remove it when it's "just" starting to turn golden, long BEFORE it's brown/black. The taste of burnt garlic lingers & can't be remedied. If that happens you have to begin again with fresh oil & fresh garlic.

If the garlic is an integral ingredient, then I always add it nearly last to the other basic sauteed ingredients (onion, celery, etc., etc.). By the time the entire dish is done, the garlic has mellowed, but isn't browned. If you add it at the same time you add your onions, like most recipes advise, 9 times out of 10 you'll find your garlic burnt before your onions are even golden.

Granted, this is just my personal experience & what works for me.

 

[pacanis]

Do you need to flavor the oil with it if you are going to add it towards the end anyway?
Is there anything to be gained by cooking with garlic flavored oil?

 

[GB]

Cooking with garlic flavored oil will impart that flavor on your food.

 

[pacanis]

Cooking with garlic flavored oil will impart that flavor on your food.

Ahhh, whereas adding it towards the end will merely add it as an ingredient.

I think what I need to start doing then, is pulling it out before it browns, then if I want some garlic in the dish, add some fresh back in towards the very end. And obviously it would be easier to remove before I add any other ingredients.

Thanks. This has been a big help.
They don't show you this on the shows....

 

[GB]

Well there are differences. Garlic is very interesting. Minced garlic tastes different than slices garlic, which tastes different than chopped garlic. Raw garlic tastes different than cooked garlic.

I usually mince my garlic and add it to the oil and a few seconds later add more food, like onions or whatever which cools the pan enough to keep the garlic from burning. It took some practice before I learned how to do it without burning the garlic, but it was fun trying.

 

[pacanis]

I'd like to add that another recipe I've seen done, but have tried to duplicate only from a very foggy memory instead of looking for it, is when Emeril made some garlic bread in EVOO and garlic, in a pan. I thought he added garlic and parsley to the oil, heated it and toasted the bread in it, but by the time my bread is toasted, the garlic has burned.

 

[pacanis]

So are you saying that minced garlic doesn't burn to the same degree as a slice or chunk?

 

[Loprraine]

I have a very old, temperamental stove. If I want to infuse the garlic in the oil, even though some say do it on medium, I can only do it on very low.

 

[GrillingFool]

Hey... if you pull the garlic before it is burned...

Just add IT back in instead of fresh. Unless you want that
BANG of near raw garlic! (Yum yum)

 

[pacanis]

Good point GF

 

[GB]

So are you saying that minced garlic doesn't burn to the same degree as a slice or chunk?

No actually the opposite. The finer it is chopped the quicker it will burn. I enjoy the sharp taste from minced garlic though so I have learned to master the art of garlic and heat. Well master is not quite the right word

 

[pacanis]

I keep thinking back to Good Fellas where they shave the garlic with a razor blade.
I thought maybe if it was minced, it might "liquify" as it's in the hot oil.

 

[BreezyCooking]

The "GoodFellas" method does work, but you have to have extra-virgin olive oil on LOW heat & watch the oil/garlic situation CONSTANTLY, while gently macerating the garlic. I do that when I'm making an olive oil/garlic/anchovy sauce, as the anchovy filets are heated/macerated into the sauce the same way. But it does have to be watched constantly, & those garlic slices do have to be uber paper thin.

 

[GrillingFool]

Try using a microplane on your garlic. Darn near liquifies it! Great
for scallions and lemongrass too.

 

[pacanis]

Yeah, I've got to get one of those. The local hardware store didn't have one. They've got just about everything else....

 

[Chef_Jacob]

If you want to cook with garlic oil which is great for imparting garlic flavor on your foods, I would recommend actually making a batch of garlic flavored oil using cannola oil.

To do this, simply slice 5-6 heads of garlic in half and through them in an oven safe pot with the skins and everything. Cover with cannola oil and place in 250 degree oven for about two hours. Remove from the oven, let the oil cool, and strain through a fine mesh strainer.

You can then use this oil to cook with, or add at the end of your cooking process for extra flavor. The reason why you use cannola oil instead of olive oil is because cannola has a neutral flavor and a much higher smoke point. Olive oil should not be used for cooking, only flavoring at the end of the cooking process because it has a lower smoke point then cannola and will give your dishes an off flavor when it starts to break down.

If you're using raw garlic for cooking, add it towards the end of the cooking process. Garlic burns extremely easy, especially minced garlic because it has more surface area.

 

[pugger]

Jamie Oliver

I just watched Jamie Oliver on food channel a couple of weeks back, performing a Tuscan dinner in Italy. He infused the oil with (slightly crushed I think) garlic and rosemary. He pulled it all out before the garlic overcooked, no more than 2 minutes. Then he added the meat (rabbit) to the pan to brown.

 

[jennyema]

If you want to cook with garlic oil which is great for imparting garlic flavor on your foods, I would recommend actually making a batch of garlic flavored oil using cannola oil.

To do this, simply slice 5-6 heads of garlic in half and through them in an oven safe pot with the skins and everything. Cover with cannola oil and place in 250 degree oven for about two hours. Remove from the oven, let the oil cool, and strain through a fine mesh strainer.

You can then use this oil to cook with, or add at the end of your cooking process for extra flavor. The reason why you use cannola oil instead of olive oil is because cannola has a neutral flavor and a much higher smoke point..

Oil infused with garlic can give you botulism. Make sure to store this oil in the refrigerator and use or throw away within 10-14 days. This is not a technique for anything but short term use.

Olive oil should not be used for cooking, only flavoring at the end of the cooking process because it has a lower smoke point then cannola and will give your dishes an off flavor when it starts to break down.

Olive oil is appropriate for almost any type of cooking, save VERY high heat cooking. It's smoke point is not that different than other vegetable oils. Some people claim it's smoke point is actually higher than canola oil. Extra virgin olive oil can be used for sauteeing, as well as other types of cooking. Mario Batali even deep fries in extra virgin oilive oil!

Olive oil tastes better to many and is undeniably better for you than many other choices. It is what I cook with 90% of the time.

oli smoke point chart