Culinary creators Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough are the brains behind the cookbook Cold Canning, a guide to fairly easy food preservation that doesn’t call for traditional hot water processing. And perhaps our favorite recipe in the tome is their stunningly easy recipe for a mild, sweet, easy-to-freeze garlic confit.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of snacking on garlic confit before, you should know that the ingredient-slash-condiment doesn’t have the bite of fresh garlic. Softening the cloves in oil actually results in a slightly caramelized flavor that goes well with just about any savory dish you can imagine. And it’s spectacularly easy to make — especially if you take an approved shortcut.
“Peeling the heads and cloves is admittedly a pain,” Weinstein and Scarbrough write. “Perhaps in the spirit of our shortcut recipes, a purchased jar of peeled garlic cloves is the easiest way to go. Note that the results will not be as stellar; but by adding some aromatics, we can make up for the inadequacies caused by long storage.”
In other words, you have permission to be strategically lazy: “Buy the giant jar of peeled cloves at a big-box store,” the authors recommend.
No matter which method you choose, we’re sure you’ll be delighted to add your masterpiece to whatever spread or pasta you’re serving tonight. Even if you don’t have a meal planned, Weinstein and Scarbrough point out that garlic confit can jazz up even a simple snack: “A jar of garlic confit and a crunchy baguette make the perfect start for an evening at home.”
Garlic Confit
Yield: About 3 cups (720 ml)
Storage: Up to six weeks in the fridge, and up to one year in the freezer
Ingredients
- 2 cups extra virgin olive oil, plus more as necessary
- About 80 peeled garlic cloves (from about 10 medium heads)
- 3 short fresh rosemary sprigs
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 3 dried árbol chilis
- 3 dried bay leaves
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Set it over low heat and bring to a low simmer. Simmer slowly, reducing the heat more as necessary and stirring occasionally, until the garlic is tender and golden but not deeply browned, about 30 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic cloves to three clean 1⁄2 pint (236 ml) jars or other containers. Strain the oil into the jars, leaving about 1⁄2 inch (1 cm) headspace in each. Use a long toothpick or a bamboo skewer to move the vegetables around and get rid of any air pockets. Make sure no clove is sticking up above the oil. Add extra oil, if necessary.
- Cool at room temperature for no more than 1 hour. Cover or seal, then refrigerate or freeze.
Next: Don’t throw out the oil, even after you’ve used the garlic. It’s an excellent start for skillet sautés and many stews or braises — an aromatic punch of flavors.
Excerpted from Cold Canning by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Copyright © 2025 by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Photograph by Eric Medsker. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
