- This preparation is a low-effort way to preserve peak-season garlic for months of enjoyment.
- The technique of confiting in oil mellows out the garlic’s pungent flavor — and adding herbs and chiles into the mix provides even more complexity.
- It’s not just the sweet, melty cloves of garlic that you’ll be using in everything; the flavored oil you confit it in also becomes a versatile ingredient for drizzles, dressings, and more.
Although garlic is available year-round, fresh summer cloves are especially sweet and juicy. To preserve them, former F&W editor Grace Parisi simmers the garlic with dried red chiles and fresh thyme in olive oil until tender, then packs it in the same flavorful oil. There’s no wrong way to use this soft, spreadable confit garlic: We like to mash it in butter, then smear it on bread or slip it under chicken skin before roasting.
Preserving with oil
While it’s come to be used for any dish slow-cooked in fat, the word “confit” originally referred to an age-old preservation method used in France and elsewhere to keep meat and produce from spoiling. Ingredients are simmered in oil, butter, or grease at a low temperature — no frying here — then stored in the cooking fat, which creates a barrier that keeps oxygen out and prevents bacterial growth. Unlike traditional oven-roasted garlic, preparing garlic in this way minimizes browning to yield a sweeter, mellower garlic flavor. The garlic-infused olive oil you’ll get at the end of this recipe is also worth savoring.
Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
This recipe calls for thyme and bay leaves, but you can customize by swapping these out for other herbs or by omitting them altogether.
