Smoked Garlic Bulbs
Whole garlic bulbs are prepared with olive oil and fresh herbs and slowly smoked at low temperature over beech wood until the garlic is creamy-soft and deeply caramelized. The smoke flavor mellows the pungency of the garlic and transforms it into a velvety, nutty delicacy. Smoked garlic is a universal flavor tool for sauces, spreads, marinades and dressings.
Ingredients(for 1 kg)
Instructions
Preparation
10 minutesRemove the outer loose skins from garlic bulbs and cut off the tops to expose the individual cloves. Mix olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Place each bulb on a piece of aluminum foil, pour over the oil-honey mixture and place rosemary and thyme on top.
Preheating the smoker
20 minutesPreheat smoker to 100-115 °C. Place beech and apple wood chips in the smoker box. Ensure a consistent, mild smoke development that enriches the garlic aromatically without dominating it.
Smoking
2-3 hoursSmoke garlic bulbs open without foil for the first 30 minutes at 100-115 °C so the smoke flavor can penetrate directly. Then loosely close the foil and cook for a further 1.5-2 hours until the garlic reaches a core temperature of 80-85 °C and the cloves are soft and creamy when pierced.
Serving
5 minutesCarefully open foil parcels (watch out for steam). Squeeze the creamy garlic directly from the clove skins onto fresh bread or allow to cool and use further for sauces, butter and spreads. Store leftovers in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Pro Tip
For the most intense smoke flavor, leave the foil parcels open for the first 30 minutes and only close them afterwards. The creamy garlic can be squeezed directly from the skin onto fresh bread or used as a base for a smoked garlic butter.
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