How To Roast Garlic

Roasted garlic is delicious, and has recently become a popular trend. When you roast garlic, it becomes soft and caramelized, and the flavor of garlic is released in a smoky, delicate manner.

In this article, we will discuss some effective methods of roasting garlic, and share some great tips.

What is the use of roasted garlic?

If you have never roasted garlic before, you might be wondering what roasted garlic is used for.

• Smear roasted garlic onto fresh bread: this is an incredibly popular method, just place your garlic on some bread, and gently smear it across. Top it off with a little flaky salt, and a sprinkle of pepper.

• Smear roasted garlic onto crackers: another delicious way to consume roasted garlic is to smear it onto crackers. This is especially popular with flavored crackers such as sea salt and pepper.

• Make compound butter: to do this, you need to smash the garlic cloves with a fork until they create a thick paste. Then, you need to add in room temperature butter, and gently stir.
  
  You should use equal parts butter and equal parts garlic, but if you would rather have a stronger or lesser taste, adjust the amount of garlic used. To top it off, season with sea salt, and ensure it is placed within a refrigerator.

Roasted garlic can be used for many things. The taste is different from fried garlic. It is a lighter flavor but has smoky tones. It also has a very creamy texture and can be eaten alone, if desired.

Tip: if you add roasted garlic to recipes, you will need to add more cloves of garlic than the recipe calls for. This is because the taste of roasted garlic is mellow compared to fried garlic, and thus calls for increased amounts of cloves.

Effective Methods to Roast Garlic

Below, we will discuss a range of tried and tested methods to roast garlic, so you can use the method most suitable for you, and your kitchen utensils.

Preparing the Garlic Head

Before you begin, you need to prep the garlic head so that it cooks effectively in the oven. It’s important not to miss this step, as it can affect the quality of the garlic. The key to roasting a garlic head in the oven is ensuring that the garlic is both steamed and roasted at the same time. It’s critical that the garlic does not dry out.

1. To prepare the garlic, first, peel the outer layer of skin from the garlic head. Do not peel the casing off the cloves of garlic, and do not separate the cloves from the head of the garlic.
   
2. Carefully slice the top part of the garlic head, ensuring that the top of the cloves is exposed. It’s important that the cloves are slightly cut because it ensures that they are roasted sufficiently.
   
3. The next step depends on how you plan to roast the garlic. Below, we will discuss a few different methods of roasting garlic.

Roasting Garlic in Parchment Paper and Foil

This method involves the use of parchment paper and aluminum foil.

1. First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius).
   
2. Cut a piece of parchment paper and another piece of foil, each piece should be big enough to completely cover a head of garlic.
   
3. Pop the foil onto a flat surface, and place the parchment on top of the foil.
   
4. Then, place the garlic on the parchment paper, right in the center. Drizzle the garlic with olive oil.
   
5. Wrap up the garlic in the parchment paper, if you can wrap the parchment paper and the foil at the same time, then do so. If you struggle to do that, then wrap up the garlic in the parchment, and then wrap the foil around the parchment paper.
   
6. Roast the garlic in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. You will know the garlic is cooked when the cloves are tender.
   
7. If you do not want the garlic to be caramelized, then keep the parchment paper and foil closed for the duration of the roasting process.
   
8. If you would like the garlic to be caramelized, then open the parchment paper and foil and allow the garlic to cook for around 15 minutes. You adjust this duration of time depending on how caramelized you want the garlic to become.

Roasting Garlic in a Baking Dish, or Loaf Pan

This method of roasting garlic requires the use of a baking dish or a loaf pan.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius)
   
2. Place the garlic heads into the baking dish and drizzle the olive oil over each head of garlic. For each head of garlic, you will want around 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
   
3. If you have a lid to your baking dish, then use the lid. If you do not have a lid, or you are using a loaf pan, then you will need to improvise. To do this, you will need aluminum foil. All you have to do is securely place the foil over on the top of the pan. You do not want the whole pan to be covered in foil, just the top of the pan, so the garlic is not exposed.
   
4. Roast the garlic heads in the oven for 40-45 minutes. You will know that the garlic is cooked when the cloves become tender and caramelized.
   
5. When you take the garlic out of the oven, be careful. When you open the foil, hot steam will be released. Try to keep your head at a distance to avoid any burning.

Additional Garlic Roasting Tips

Removing the garlic cloves

After your garlic is roasted, you will need to remove the cloves from the casing. To do is, you take one clove at a time and squeeze the clove out of the casing.

This should be super easy, and the clove should slide out. If the clove does not slide out easily, it may be undercooked.

Olive oil

When it comes to roasting your garlic, make sure that you drizzle olive oil on top of the garlic beforehand. Some people try to skip this step, to cut down on calories. It’s not advised to miss this step, because it can dry the garlic out.

Plus, olive oil is healthy and acts as natural fat. Try using extra virgin olive oil if you can. It’s more expensive, but it’s healthier than regular garlic and has a far more refined taste.

Roast the garlic until golden

If you forget to time your garlic, a good method of checking whether it is cooked is to see whether your garlic has turned a golden color. This is a good signifier that the garlic is ready.

The garlic will also be tender and soft. Depending on your cooking methods, the garlic should also be caramelized.

Cooling the garlic

When you first take the garlic out of the oven, it’s going to be extremely hot. Let the garlic cool for around ten minutes before you use it. However, there is a catch -- you cannot leave your garlic out for too long.

If garlic and oil mixtures are left in a room-temperature environment, it can cause botulism to grow and produce a toxin.

To be safe, use the garlic immediately, or store the garlic in the refrigerator.

Delicious Recipes with Garlic

If you love garlic, give one of these fantastic recipes a try!

Summary

Roasting garlic is easy when you have the right methods. We have shown you two fantastic methods today, which can be altered to your specific needs and your kitchen requirements.

It’s important to know how food should be cooked. Not only does it impact taste, but there can be food safety concerns that need to be addressed. Overall, roasting garlic is simple and results in a delicious treat.

Try one of my comfort recipes for your next family meal! And if you have any questions, I'm here to help!