Smoked garlic is a delicacy. Have you got a taste for it too? Then just smoke your garlic yourself.
Garlic can be prepared in many different ways and used in the kitchen. However, many amateur cooks may not be aware that garlic can also be smoked. In Germany, this is indeed not very well known. The tradition comes from France. Garlic has been smoked here for around 2000 years. A particular speci alty is, for example, the smoked garlic from the French town of Arleux, which with a bit of luck you can even find in certain shops in Germany.
But you don't necessarily have to go looking for smoked garlic. You can also easily smoke it yourself. You don't even necessarily need a smoker.
The idea behind smoking garlic
Everyone knows that fresh garlic is not only particularly aromatic and gives many dishes the right taste, but that it also has many positive effects on he alth. However, if you store it incorrectly or for too long, it will start to germinate and increasingly lose its valuable ingredients. It also develops a slightly bitter taste
» Recommended reading: Store garlic - this way it stays fresh for longer.
If you smoke the bulbs cold or hot, the garlic not only stays fresh longer, you can also preserve the ingredients. In addition, the garlic can no longer germinate and change its taste. You can even store the smoked garlic for up to 12 months! Often even longer.
How the French smoke garlic
People in Arleux, France, harvest the garlic and tie it in braids. Then they cold smoke it over peat for a few weeks. This is how the garlic gets its unique taste. It also keeps its color this way.
That sounds a bit complicated at first, so the question of whether you can smoke garlic yourself is entirely justified. Of course you can. With respect for the environment,you should avoid smoking with peat.
How to smoke garlic
Instead of peat, it is best to use smoke dust. You can get different types of smoked flour in specialist shops, which can give the garlic a different aroma. So feel free to try several to find your personal favourite. To then smoke the garlic, you have two options.
➯ Option 1 - Smoke garlic in the smoker/fireplace/ceramic grill:
You can smoke the garlic in the fireplace, in a special smoker or in a ceramic grill. Hot smoking in the fireplace or in the fireplace grill then takes about 30 minutes. The cooked garlic is then no longer germinable. After it has completely cooled down, you can store it or process it directly. Cold smoking in the smoker, on the other hand, takes about two to three hours.
➯ Option 2 - smoke garlic in a saucepan:
If you don't have a smoker, you don't have to do without smoked garlic. You can also use a saucepan with a steamer insert for smoking. All you need is aluminum foil and smoke dust.
Place the garlic in the insert and put the smoke dust on the bottom of the pot. Then place the pot on the hot stove. Cover with a lid as soon as the flour starts to smoke. Smoke the garlic over medium heat for 30 minutes.
Caution: If you smoke the garlic for too long, it will taste bitter.