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 to roast garlic in foil on the grill. I am glad we finally tried it – it is super easy and oh-so good!
How to Grill-Roast Garlic
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.
Peel off the outer skin of the garlic and cut off about ½” of the top of the bulb. See the picture below.
Set the whole head in an 8” x 8” piece of aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the garlic.
Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil on the garlic and finish folding the foil to completely wrap the whole head.
Setting up the Grill to Cook the Roasted Garlic
I use a Big Green Egg as my grill, but a gas grill will work just as well. 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.
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.
How to Store Grilled Garlic
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 ziplock bag.
Roast Garlic Cloves freeze extremely well. Just separate the cloves, peel off the skin and place them on a sheet of Press-and-Seal. As you need them, just cut off a piece and let it thaw before using.
How to Use Roasted Garlic
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 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 vs taste that goes on in our house! The roasted garlic mashed potatoes coming up next will blow your socks off.
Ingredients
- 4 elephant ears of whole garlic
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper taste
Instructions
- Preheat grill at 400 degrees.
- Cut off the top 1/3 of the whole elephant garlic, do not separate.
- Drizzle the top with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
- Wrap up in foil and roast on grill for 45-60 minutes, depending upon size of garlic. Check at 45 minutes to test if the garlic is close to a paste.