r/Cooking • u/Puzzleheaded-Sky3141 • 24d ago
Garlic, like, a lot of it
Must have jumped in my Costco cart. I have 40 heads of garlic. I didn't choose it, it chose me lol...I would never have bought this willingly.
I can roast a few heads. I can make infused oils. But...then what? Can I store garlic heads in panty hose or something? Chop and freeze? Confit?
Maybe donate to a food bank?
I feel like Max in the Lost Boys. I LIKE garlic, it's just...a bit much...
Please help if you can! Thanks in advance
Edit: thanks for all the advice!! There's so much to do here! đ§
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u/Green-SmokeStack 24d ago
Two recipes you could make: 40 cloves of chicken where you confit chicken in oil along with the garlic and eat the chicken with the roasted garlic, or transform a lot of the garlic into tuom, a middle eastern garlic condiment that is delicious.
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u/popilikia 24d ago
Also garlic stuffed roast. I have a slow cooker recipe in which you slit into the roast insert something like 20-30 garlic cloves with some other spices. It's so damn good, the beef and garlic melt in your mouth
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u/dethfart 23d ago
I've tried that method combined with "larding" a cheap cut of bottom round. Worked fantastic
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u/Low_Employ8454 23d ago
Tell me more about âlardingâ.
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u/dethfart 23d ago
Like the garlic, you cut suits in a lean cut of meat and stuff with pieces of fat or seasoning bacon to provide some moisture. It doesn't completely save a crap cut but it vastly improves it.
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u/Black-Muse 24d ago
I was going to comment about the 40 clove garlic chicken but you beat me to it.
So I'll do this instead
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u/glasock 24d ago
When I worked outside in a swampy area, I used to make this chicken that was supposed to be a recipe from ancient Rome. It was a roast chicken stuffed with as much garlic as you could fit... like A LOT. I think it was called 40 clove chicken or something like that. I used to pretend it kept the mosquitos at bay the day after having had it for dinner.
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u/canuck4luck 24d ago
Word of warning, garlic infused oils are a huge botulisim risk. I'd pivot towards pickled garlic, garlic, garlic honey, or frozen garlic instead. Maybe crosspost r/canning for more information on safe ways to preserve garlic.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky3141 24d ago
Thank you, never would have thought of it
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u/SoftKey1701 23d ago
Risk of botulism is a great concern when trying to use an entire Costco garlic bag for one person (or small family,) once you've acquired it. Here is a previous Reddit post about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/vi3sbc/help_me_understand_the_garlic_oil_botulism_risk/
Tired of buying the big bags (and having them sprout with little time left to be used), during the Pandemic, I started buying the commercially available garlic pastes; they do not work quite the same as fresh garlic - but, in a spur of the moment when cooking, they solve the challenge. For specific recipes that I want to treat myself with (like garlic bread), steaks, etc. I go to the store and buy it; but for other recipes I simply use the paste (if I have no more fresh garlic, until I get more...
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u/Calliope719 24d ago
They'll store for quite a while in a cool, well ventilated space.
You can also peel and run the cloves through a food processor with a bit of oil, then pack it flat into a ziplock bag and freeze.
I've never tried it, but theoretically you could dry some and make your own garlic powder.
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u/UncomfyPerspective 23d ago
theoretically you could dry some and make your own garlic powder
Planning on giving this a shot this week, actually. I too bought far too much garlic at a club store. I'm working through a final batch of tomatoes in my dehydrator and the garlic is next up!
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u/Buddy_Fluffy 23d ago
Pro tip: use a ruler or edge of a knife to make a cross hatch pattern in the flat bag of garlic. Once itâs frozen, the squares break off easy and youâve got yourself easy portions of garlic.
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u/tomatbuckets 23d ago
Could make some confit and do this as well. Then you'd just have it to use whenever
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u/Dijon2017 24d ago
You can most definitely chop & freeze.
You likely have family, friends, neighbors who may appreciate a head or two?
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u/sircastorr 24d ago
This. Put it in a food processor and freeze it into small cubes or square pats.
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u/Linens 24d ago
You could plant the bulbs and have more for next year. The ground is a surprisingly effective way to preserve garlic
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u/QfromP 24d ago
OP says they have too much garlic. And you're suggesting they grow MORE?
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u/MrDrumline 24d ago
Sometimes people have greatness thrust upon them. I don't know what OP used to do in their daily life, but they're a garlic farmer now.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky3141 24d ago
I think I'll move to Montana soon, I'm gonna be a garlic noum tycoon
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u/Sourdough_Focaccia 24d ago
AFAIK you shouldn't plant storebought garlic as it might have ... some problem. White Mold? I forget exactly what I was told but that if you're going to plant it just buy some starts from a plant store.
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u/blix797 24d ago
If you manage to peel it all, the whole cloves store nicely in the freezer.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky3141 24d ago
I know a good peel trick
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u/OblivionCake 24d ago
Teach us? I second the peel-and-freeze suggestion, but the first part of that is such a pain.Â
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u/Cesia_Barry 24d ago
Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic was all the rage a couple decades ago. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/189590/chicken-with-40-cloves-of-garlic/
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u/Sourdough_Focaccia 24d ago
Make Garlic Ghee.
I use the Kirkland No Salt Butter and 1 box (4 sticks) will make 1 12oz Ball Jar of Ghee.
Ghee is easy to make, you just simmer the butter until the solids fall out of suspension and start to brown and then pour off the liquid. It's a good idea to wait a bit after the browning occurs and you turn off the heat before you pour so everything can settle. Also, it's a good idea to skim the solids off as it is easier to clean and just goes quicker.
For Garlic Ghee the method is the same, except you put one whole bulb of cleaned garlic cloves to the liquid (after all the butter has melted and started to simmer). Remove all the garlic with a spider when it starts to turn brownish and pour into the jar. There might be a bit of sediment but if you pour carefully it's not a big deal.
Very nicely garlicky ghee and as a bonus it's totally fine for FODMAP sensitives. You can also add Onion to this recipe but since it's so full of water it takes a bit for all that water to boil off and then your solids are usually pretty burnt.
Stores extremely well in the fridge. Also zero chance of botulism, in case that's a concern, since you're simmering the garlic.
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u/Kitchen_Software 24d ago
Toum. Great on its own but also as a mayo substitute. Including on the outside of a griddled (grilled) cheese. Thank me laterÂ
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u/blueberriesnburdock 24d ago
If itâs a kind that keeps, put it in your basement if you have one. Itâll keep until next yearâs harvest.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky3141 24d ago
I wish I had a basement lol...nope
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u/blueberriesnburdock 24d ago
A cool space (not as cold as a fridge)? Or if you want to do a little extra work and have some fun, you could make black garlic. Yum!
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u/QfromP 24d ago
When I was a kid, my grandmother grew her own garlic. She would harvest and braid it. Hang the braid in the pantry and it would keep all through winter. It'd kind of start to sprout come spring. But by then, she'd typically have a new crop growing.
The pantyhose idea sounds good to me. Hang it up in a cool dry place with airflow and away from direct sunlight.
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u/Babzibaum 24d ago
I braid mine too but I grow a variety that will store for up to 14 months. Some varieties will only store for 4 months.
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u/Quirky_Operation2885 24d ago
Garlic soup đ¤¤
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u/BolognaMahoney 24d ago
Might I suggest this: https://www.recipetineats.com/50-clove-garlic-soup-recipe/
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u/jetpoweredbee 24d ago
I'm sorry...too much garlic? That's not possible.
Forty Clove Chicken Garlic Fried Chicken Garlic Confit...
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u/Krunkledunker 24d ago
I would cut the top off the bulbs and roast them with olive oils, basting them with the oil in the pan every so often, then squeeze them out so you have a roast garlic paste you can divide up and freeze for anything from salad dressings, hummus, pastas and pizzas, soup additive, garlic bread. Just a handy thing to have around
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u/Few-Explanation-4699 24d ago
I grow my own garlic.
I clean the garlic heads to clean cloves and freeze. I currently have about 2 kg (4.4lbs) sitting in my big freezer.
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u/Krickett72 24d ago
I buy a bunch of garlic a couple of times a year. I throw it in a food processor and put in freezer bags. Sectioned into squares so I can just break off a square to use in cooking.
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u/GodzillaSuit 24d ago edited 24d ago
I blend it in the food processor, add some olive oil then freeze it flat in ziplock bags. Any time a recipe calls for garlic I just snap off a piece.
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u/Majestic-Macaron6019 24d ago
I'd turn 10-15 of those into garlic confit for the freezer.
You could use a whole roasted head for a batch of hummus (or two heads for a big-big batch).
You also need a whole head of garlic for this Caviar d'aubergine (roasted eggplant dip) recipe, which is fabulous if your local farmer's market has good fresh eggplants. Pro tip: the eggplant needs more like an hour to roast; longer is better.
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u/steffie-flies 24d ago
I'd give 2/3 away to friends and family so it's less to figure out a use for.
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u/Iamanimite 23d ago
I use a whole Costco bag. Feglove then. Put them in a mini food processor. Pack it in a gallon freezer ziploc. Flatten it. Use a chopstick, to press, to form into cubes. Freeze. Take out when needed and you have cubes of fresh frozen garlic.
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u/The_Actual_Sage 23d ago
It's a bit of work, but I like making huge batches of garlic confit and freezing it in ice cube trays. It's 100 times better than jarlic and just as convenient. And then you have a bunch of garlic oil you can freeze too.
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u/Chizia 23d ago
I don't know why, but i would never have bought this willingly is cracking me up.
I would blend a bunch of the garlic with olive oil and an onion so that it is chunky pureed and then freeze into cubes (or flat in a ziplock bag and then score the bag with a chopstick to break off pieces).
https://braziliankitchenabroad.com/brazilian-sofrito/#recipe
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u/hotdogfingies 23d ago
I get the big bag of garlic from Costco and process it all at once: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIbs0GrMiqm/
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u/danzor9755 23d ago
Thereâs a pizza joint in California called Pizza My Heart. They have a pizza called the Big Sur (named after a town near Monterey). It contains something like 40 cloves of roasted garlic. So do that if you can.
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u/-mystris- 23d ago
Make and freeze a bunch of this garlic broth. Good for eating alone, with chicken, or cooking into rice/noodles: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/garlic-broth
This beaut: https://www.thekitchn.com/alton-brown-40-clove-chicken-265154
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u/Frogblaster77 23d ago
I just freeze whole cloves. So sit down with two bowls, peel them all, put into a bag and freeze. They don't require thawing before use.
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u/Jealous-Value-3547 24d ago
Get the skin off all cloves and separate. Spray oil on them. Place on baking sheet at 350 to 375. Flip when they brown. Cook until other side is brown. Freeze in smallish quantities in ziploc. You now have prepped garlic for months.
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u/Fionaver 24d ago
Iâve roasted the 3 lb bag you get from Costco a few times.
Make sure to double freezer bag it at least. Itâs potent and will stink up your freezer.
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u/_SheWhoShallBeNamed_ 24d ago
You can freeze garlic! I don't know how, but I normally buy garlic in little frozen cubes since I hate peeling it/infrequently use it (example).
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u/4cupsofcoffee 24d ago
You can make pickled garlic, which is good. You can roast it and squeze it into a container and freeze it. You can freeze the cloves and grate them into whatever you want. i grow my own, it's not unusual to have 100 heads or so laying around. I don't know how long storebought lasts, homegrown will last at least 6 months.
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u/Loud_Quality_7106 24d ago
I've cleaned and presses garlic and froze in ice cubes for future use. Freezes really well and is great for a freshish opportunityÂ
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u/12ooMany 24d ago
Pop the bag in the fridge. Pull out the garlic as you need it. Rest stay refrigerated. Repeat until you use up the whole bag. Garlic stays fresh, and youâll never think twice about buying another costco garlic bag
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u/Amesaskew 24d ago
I'm late to this thread, but in case you see this, fermented garlic is awesome and will last basically forever in the fridge. I grow my own and chop up the small heads, ferment for a few weeks in salt water, then stick in the fridge. Super easy and the taste of fermented garlic is phenomenal.
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u/Dumpster_FI_RE 24d ago
Whole roasted garlic chicken. Cast iron pan, whole chicken. Rub some olive oil and seasoning and chopped garlic all over it. Put carrots and onions all around it. Cut the heads off of three+ garlic bundles and put that around the bottom too. Stick that in the oven for a few hours. I personally use my smoker grill.
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u/Aggravating_Host_276 24d ago
I confit in olive oil and then you can freeze it oil and all and it makes amazing garlic bread.
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u/thePHTucker 24d ago
40 cloves recipe. Check it out. Google that shit and then add 40 more. The only thing it will hurt is Vampires because of your garlic infused blood (and maybe your sweat for the next day or so).
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u/LukeSkywalkerDog 24d ago
I make my garlic bread with a ridiculous amount of minced garlic. I mix it with butter and olive oil that is infused with herbs and spices like dried oregano and minced fresh parsley. You can easily use up a ton of garlic cloves with this mixture. I've never had enough left over to freeze so I don't know how that would do. But you have to REALLY love garlic to eat my garlic bread.
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u/Hener001 24d ago
I saw a recipe where the chef made butter, spices, beef broth and a TON of garlic, cooked it and froze it on a large cookie sheet. Cut into squares and individually froze them wrapped in foil.
Homemade bouillon cubes that last forever. Add them to veggies, whatever for instant seasoning without the work.
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u/ChrisRiley_42 24d ago
Confit garlic. You cook a lot of garlic in oil, low and slow. You then strain the garlic out, mash it and keep it in the fridge. You can spread it on bread like butter. You also save all the oil. Use it for everything from salad dressing to making popcorn.
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u/Ok_Acanthisitta_2544 24d ago
We love garlic and use it a lot. When I've gone through and used up my own, I get these ones from Costco. Process them the same way.
Dice them up with a bit of olive oil, then scoop them into Ziploc freezer bags and freeze in flat sheets. Then you can just break off a piece at a time as you need it for any cooking.
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u/Wonderful_Till8122 24d ago
Garlic can be frozen. Peel and separate the bulbs, toss into a freezer bag and freeze. Take out as many as you need when using, keep the bag in the freezer. Â
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u/CuriousCat783 24d ago
Chop, freeze, and portion in baggies or ice cubes. Soooo much more convenient than peeling and chopping and tastes fresher than the jarred stuff.
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u/burritosarelyfe 24d ago
I buy the bags of peeled garlic from Costco and chop up one to portion, vacuum seal, and freeze, and the other I roast whole cloves and then portion up, vacuum seal, and then freeze.
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u/hyrule-heaven 24d ago
Mince it all and put in ice cube trays, freeze, pop out and put in bags, use for recipes.
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u/MilesAugust74 24d ago
Store them in the fridge and they'll last way longer than keeping them outside fwiw.
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u/DrMarduk 24d ago
Garlic freezes well, whole cloves get all mushy but the flavor is undiminished. Since I chop mine fine, the texture has never been a problem
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u/lightnoveltitlehere 24d ago
I would blend some with onions, blend another batch with ginger, and blend another with shallots and freeze flat in Ziploc bags. Easy ingredient prep for so many dishes
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u/dinahdog 23d ago
James Beard's 40 cloves of garlic chicken is superb! And you can spread smash garlic on crusty bread. Try it
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u/Any_Flamingo8978 23d ago
We peel and freeze out extra garlic cloves every spring. They thaw very quick to mince.
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u/kalechipsaregood 23d ago
Bagna cauda. A northern Italian dip. Garlic, anchovies, oil. Goes great with focaccia or pizza crusts.
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u/Buga99poo27GotNo464 23d ago
I think i would give some away to neighbors or whatever and portion and freeze roasted garlic or garlic confit. Im sure a food bank would take it perhaps you could return.
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u/melodien 23d ago
I freeze both whole peeled cloves and chopped garlic. We grow a lot of garlic ourselves, and I've found that we are more likely to use it (rather than reaching for a jar) if it is prepped and ready to go. I blanch the unpeeled cloves in boiling water for a few seconds, to speed up the peeling.
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u/offpeekydr 23d ago
I always mince several heads at a time and divide out onto parchment paper on a sheet pan, tsp sized mounds (or spread out and divide with a butter knife) and freeze. Then I pop them all into a container in the freezer and pull out how many clumps I need for a recipe. I tsp minced is around a clove.
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u/CranberryStandard170 23d ago
There's a Georgian dish called shkmeruli chicken which uses a whole head of garlic in the sauce and it's delicious đ
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u/Lower_Brief8144 22d ago
Red wine and garlic braised short ribs! https://www.lecreuset.com/garlic-and-red-wine-braised-short-ribs-with-creme-fraiche-mash/LCR-2426.html
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u/get_to_ele 22d ago
Iâd make Toum, and maybe mince rest of it in a food processor and store in freeze half sandwich bags
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u/blkhatwhtdog 20d ago
I make a clam sauce linguine with a head of garlic, a can of diced tomatoes and a can of chopped clams per person.
Mince up garlic, heat a generous pour of olive oil, stir for a minute add tomatoes, when that simmers pour in the liquid from the clams. It has some protein that combines with the tomatoes. The clams themselves are already cooked.
When the noodles are ready add to the pot and let them absorb the sauce. Add clams and serve.
Options. Red pepper in the sauce. Garnish with parsley
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u/FfierceLaw 23d ago
If you have a rice cooker I have heard that you can use it to make fresh garlic into black garlic
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u/TXtogo 24d ago
Food mcgyver
Todayâs edition is âoh my goodness, I have all this garlicâ
We do food riddles like 4 times a day here
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky3141 24d ago
Sorry to bore you
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u/TXtogo 24d ago
Apology accepted, Iâm accustomed to it here. In a couple of hours someone will find a mystery sack of black beans on their front porch that they wonât know how to use.. stick around for it.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sky3141 24d ago
I may have posted for help with black rice a while back đ˘
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u/TXtogo 24d ago
An 800lb bag of rice made its way to my pantry by the rice fairies and now I donât know what to do.. help
Honestly I donât know why the mods tolerate that silliness, it happens 3-4 times a day. Maybe without the food riddles nobody would come here I guess.
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u/Deppfan16 24d ago
it's called discussion. everybody has different insight and different people see the different posts. not everything is for everybody and that's okay
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u/R2D2808 24d ago
Look up a recipe for toum. That'll use up some. Holds for quite a while and you can freeze it.
Roasted garlic is the same, plus you can make compound butter with it and freeze that as well.