Black garlic is just really burnt garlic. FALSE! Black garlic is a form of aged garlic that embodies flavors of sweet syrup, balsamic vinegar, and tamarind. TRUE! We would say black garlic is packed with umami! (the almost unexplainable 5th taste). The process of aging this black garlic at home took me approximately 42 days, but it was worth the wait! It's best if you own some sort of professional/industrial dehydrator to age the garlic. I used an Instapot which worked just fine, though may take longer for the garlic to turn black. Once the garlic was ready we decided to turn it into a compound butter with bonito flakes. The butter is perfect for decadent steaks or even on some french bread. Recipe adapted from Joshua Weissman. Check out his YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7An6nWb-PI He also has a good recipe for making chimichuri sauce with black garlic.
INGREDIENTS
black garlic
bonito flakes
unsalted butter
RECIPE
Wrap 6 bulbs of garlic tightly in plastic wrap (my Instapot only fit 6 bulbs comfortably without stacking. you can add more if you have a larger Instapot or dehydrator)
Then wrap each bulb tightly in two layers of aluminum foil
Place into Instapot with metal rack on bottom to prevent the bulbs from touching the floor of the Instapot.
Close lid and set to "Keep warm" and "high temperature"
Keep lid closed and wait 3-6 weeks. Time varies for different instapots. I recommend checking after 21 days and then keep it for longer if not black yet.
Once garlic is black like below, then it is time to make your compound butter!
Mix 3 tablespoons of chopped bonito flakes, 1-2 bulbs of black garlic minced and 1/2 pound of unsalted butter (softened). Bonito flakes can be purchased at Wholefoods or an asian market.
Mix until homogenous and lay on plastic wrap. Form a roll/block of the butter and store in refrigerator.
CONCLUSION
I have seen black garlic sold on Amazon, but the reviews said there was a high chance they could ship you a jar with mold accidentally since its so hard to control. So I went ahead and made it at home with my trusty Instapot. Warning: your house/apartment may smell strongly of garlic especially the first couple of days so you may need some extra air fresheners. I found the aging process worked best on the smaller bulbs. Two of the six bulbs I used didn't quite turn black and I noticed these were the larger of the six. The butter is best used as a topping for steaks. Just add a medallion of butter when ready to serve so it slowly melts on top. We think cooking the steaks in the compound butter may decrease its potency. The number of aprons we give this recipe is...
10/10
