I encounter a lot of chefs that don't know how to peel garlic and end up doing it the long, hard way. Other chefs use packaged peeled garlic. Personally, I prefer to buy my garlic fresh at the Farmer's Market and peel them myself.
I think it's more economical and sustainable this way - the garlic comes direct from the farmer without any plastic packaging, and has less carbon footprint because the garlic wasn't processed by machines and then shipped to supermarkets. In this post, I'll share my quick and easy technique for peeling garlic.
First, pick off your cloves from the bulb, and lay the flat side down - the side that was closest to the "heart" of the garlic - on your cutting board with the curved side up. Then, take your chef's knife and with one hand holding the knife handle, lay either flat side of the knife on top of the garlic clove. The garlic should be closer to the knife handle than the center of the blade.
With your free hand, slap the heel of your hand down and smash the side of the blade against the garlic clove. Voilà! The outer skin is magically detached from the clove, and you now have a perfectly peeled clove ready for chopping or placing in the rolling garlic chopper.
On their first try, most people don't hit the blade hard enough and end up hitting it two or three times. With enough practice, you'll get the hang of figuring out how much force you need so you only have to smash the knife blade once. In no time, you'll be a seasoned pro, pounding away at garlic and quickly getting enough peeled cloves to make Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic without breaking in a sweat. Oh, and don't forget to sweep the skins in your compost bin!
(All images by Kathryn Hill.)
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I'm with you. That's my preferred method of peeling garlic.
If you've run into chef's that don't know how to peel garlic I don't think they are actually a chef.
Hopefully I'll be sweeping my garlic skins into this composter:
http://naturemill.com/
Last night I quickly peeled an entire head of garlic for some cream of artichoke soup exactly how you described. I clicked 'read more' on your post because I was curious to see if I peel garlic the 'right' way. So nice to know I do! And yes, there's nothing that beats garlic fresh from the farm! : )
Woot, I do it this way, too. If I smash hard and barbarically, enough, I don't even have to do much mincing afterward. That works best with fresh garlic, which is what everyone is hopefully using, anyway (if there's a sprout, I throw it out ... or plant it!) I do have this minor fear sometimes of coming down at a bad angle or having some freak accident where I cut myself, though. Those times, I do like Giada and use my fist (the fleshy, karate-chop side) to come down on the knife flat.
I use a spice jar to do the whacking. I find that if I use the knife method, a lot of force is dissipated along the length of the blade.
I use this method also. Occasionally, with less succulent store-bought garlic, I'll slice off the harder nub and then smash.
Also, I saw Jacques Pepin recommend an extra hard smash as a shortcut to mincing as one commenter mentioned above - it's a great shortcut!
If you have to peel a lot of garlic really quickly, throw the cloves into a steel bowl. Top with another steel bowl. Shake vigorously. It will make a pile of noise, but then all you have to do is pick out the peeled garlic from amongst the skins lying in the bowl.
really? i've always freed an individual clove from the bulb, and with my bare hands (roar!) i would snap off the pointy end of the clove and the skin would come loose. If needed, i would trim off the hard end. I think its basically the same effect/effort required as using a knife, but without the need for a utensil (unless you're trimming).
i am glad to know i do it right, i also scrolled over in case there was an easier way. I know alot of people buy the no skin garlic in a jar but i am leary wondering how old it is and what preserves the freshness.
http://organicandnaturalmom.blogspot.com/
Nice post. That is the way I do it now too. So much fast than cutting off the ends and trying to peel it by hand - how I did it when I first started.
The New Cook
i peel and smash garlic this way too, but i always wonder if it has an adverse effect on my knife.. i usually use a fist instead of the heel of my hand.
I do love the satisfying crunch when you split a clove open. I also checked to see if there was a better method than the hard thwack, but I guess there isn't. Thanks for the details and photos!
This is great - I always think that fresh garlic tastes so much better too, although I never really thought about it being more sustainable. Another reason to use the fresh stuff!
I've found for my own personal clutziness--in that I would be the freak accident that stabs myself with a knife pointing away from me-- that I do much better whacking the garlic with the bottom of a can, and I can do a few cloves at once with this method.
I like letting the weight of the can do the work, rather than my hand, I don't smash the cloves, just push down on them once and voila! peeled garlic. Yum!
I actually bought one of those garlic peelers a long time ago ... you know the ones that look like a cannoli shell made out of silicone? I stick the clove in there, press down on the thing on the counter and roll it back and forth once or twice ... and pop! It's done. And I'm not peeling remnants of skin off, such as when I try to do it with my hands.
This works for most situations, but sometimes (especially with fresh farmers' market garlic), the skin won't come off of the base of the clove (or leaves a hard scab on the bottom); or, sometimes, you want pretty slices (like aglio i olio), so you have to do it the hard way
in my fancy french cooking class, i was taught to press on the blade of my chef's knife until i heard the garlic skin crack, and it's worked well, but your photos make me think i'll try the rap method next time.
my boyfriend makes a delightful variation of 40-clove chicken that we call "the stew" where the cloves are dumped in with the last layer of skin intact, allowing us to squeeze them onto bread that we then dunk in the gravy. but i'm often tempted to ask him to peel them, anyway.
Kathryn, I just came across this post from googling about slicing garlic. A tip of this non-chef's hat to you. It worked -- even for me ;-) .
I've missed and hit the knife edge doing this before: the result is much less worse than you'd imagine. It was a small, thin wound barely deep enough to bleed.
I've also used a cleaver to do the same thing: no chance of missing and you can do a few cloves at once.
I use Stevi's method: Just press down on the knife until you hear the skin crack. I'm not a thwacker. It's just not my style.
If peeling an entire head, I'll use the silicone peeler.
I'm always nervous that I'll cut myself doing it that way, so I actually get a silicone trivet, wrap the garlic inside, and roll a couple of times. Works a charm :-)