Grilled Roasted Garlic in Foil

One of our favorite ingredients in grilling is garlic.  I am wholeheartedly convinced that it is impossible to add too much to a recipe.  But, one thing we had never tried is roasting garlic on the grill. I am glad we finally tried it – it is super easy and oh-so good!

🍲 Preparation

Ginny bought a few heads of elephant garlic from Wegmans and we prepared them for grilling.  I had just finished grilling Huli Huli Chicken, and we had some time at home, so we set about prepping these for a slow grill.

Step One: Peel off the outer skin of the garlic and cut off about ½” of the top of the bulb.  See the picture below.

Step Two: Set the whole head in an 8” x 8” piece of aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the garlic.  This will create a tight seal for the grill to work its magic.

Step Three: Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on the garlic and finish folding the foil to completely wrap the whole head.

🔥 Grilling Instructions

I use a Big Green Egg as my grill, but a gas grill will work just as well.  

Step One: Set up the grill for indirect heat. I added the plate setter to avoid the direct flames on the garlic.

It takes a few minutes for the temperature to come back up, but dial it in to around 400 degrees.

Step Two: Set the foil-covered garlic in the center of the grill and let it cook for one hour.  When you open up the foil, the garlic should be extremely soft and a light brown color.  You’ll see when it is ready.

💡 Recipe Tips

Don’t make the mistake I made.  I was being a bit lazy and set the garlic (still in the foil) in the refrigerator after it cooled.  When I opened the fridge door in the morning, I was overtaken by a wave of roasted garlic smell. While I love that smell, most of the other food in the fridge took on some of that flavor.  Oops! Definitely store them in a Ziploc bag.

Roasted Garlic Cloves freeze extremely well.  Just separate the cloves, peel off the skin and place them between two sheets of Press-and-Seal.  

As you need them, just cut off a piece and let it thaw before using.

📌 Recipe Uses

Well-roasted garlic can be used as a buttery spread for homemade bread.  Not only will the roast head of garlic be a beautiful, and unexpected, addition to the plate, it spreads easily and the mild taste works wonders with fresh bread.

Ginny made a roasted garlic mashed potato dish after we finished roasting our garlic. Spencer stood at the bowl and kept taking spoonfuls out of the bowl and said it tasted like a side dish you would order from a restaurant. He walked away and came back and asked how long did that take? He compares it to a potato dish she made out of fontina and gruyere that takes a bit more time.

There is a lot of time spent taste testing in our house!