Learn how to chop it up like a pro! Use my simple techniques of peeling and breaking it down to use in your dishes!
Garlic is one of those things that seriously are a pain in the butt to chop or mince. It smells, the paper-thin peel sticks to everything, and then when you do get it off, the clove itself is slippery as ever! No more struggling with sticky, paper-thin peels. Learn how to chop it up with ease!
Garlic is that one item in the kitchen that I’d be lost without. I use it in 99.9% of my savory dishes.
With these three steps, you can prep a clove in no time:
- Trim
- Crush
- Chop
Garlic grows in a bulb with several smaller cloves together. You can either break the clove apart by hand or simply use a sharp knife to slice off the hard root. You want to do this so the skin peels away more easily.
Now, comes the fun part – you get to take your aggressions out by giving the garlic clove a whack. What you’re doing is smashing it slightly with pressure to help remove the skin.
Once the skin is off, you just mince away and store.
Storing Freshly Chopped Garlic
It’s always best to use right away but if you need to prep ahead, store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for no more than 6 hours. For longer preservation, freeze in 1″x1″ sections (think smaller ice cube trays. 1 small square = 1 teaspoon of garlic.
PrintHow to chop garlic
Fresh bulbs of garlic
- Prep Time: 1
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Category: vegetables, seasonings
- Method: chopping
- Cuisine: vegetables, seasonings
Ingredients
Trim the ends
- Use the tip of a chef’s knife to slice off the hard root of each clove. This will allow the skin to peel away more easily.
Give it a whack!
- Place the garlic clove on a chopping board, cover with the flat side of the knife, with the blade facing away from you then firmly hit once with your closed hand (make sure you’ve thoroughly squashed the garlic clove, if not give it another hit! Essentially you are pressing the heel of your palm or your fist down on the knife until you feel the clove give way.
- Taking it off! Because you crushed the garlic, the skin easily slips off. Also, remove and discard any green shoots. (These green shoots often have a bitter, unpleasant flavor.)
Chop away!
- Gather together the peeled cloves, hold your knife by the handle, and place your other, non-dominant hand on top of the blade.
- Rock the knife up and down through the cloves (the tip stays on the cutting board). Chop until the garlic is the size you desire. To chop in a faster, more controlled manner, keep your hand (the one that’s not holding the knife) on top of the knife as you chop. Be careful, and always keep this hand flat, as you do not want your fingers to get caught under the blade.
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