One of the most important skills in the kitchen is how to use a knife. Each week, we introduce the skills necessary to accomplish 1 task in a cleaner, more efficient way. Today we focus on knife skills for how to mince garlic.
Fresh garlic is fundamental to good cooking. And I’m not talking about those cubes you store in your freezer. I’m talking about real, fresh, minced garlic. As the late, great Anthony Bourdain said “Too lazy to peel fresh? Then you don’t deserve it.”
Peeling and mincing garlic doesn’t have to be a lot of work, or a big mess. If you know what you’re doing, you can really improve the flavor of just about anything.
Always make sure you have a clean cutting board, a chef’s knife and a towel.
Let’s go!
Video Link to Skill
Step by Step Instructions for How to Mince Garlic
Step 1: Remove individual cloves from the garlic. (I did this step before the video starts.) You just pull, and the clove will pop right off.
Step 2: Slice off the top and bottom of each clove. It’s ok if a little of the skin comes off too, since we don’t really need it.
Step 3: Use the back of the knife to press down on the garlic. Use some force. When you’re done, the garlic should slide right out of its skin.
Step 4: CLEAN OFF YOUR CUTTING BOARD & KNIFE! This is soo important. Garlic is juicy and the paper-thin skin will get stuck. While your cutting board and knife are still dry, you’ll want to clean off all of those little skin pieces. Trust me.
Step 5: Lay the garlic down flat and slice across.
Step 6: Rest the tip of the knife on the cutting board and rock the back of the blade over the sliced garlic. Use your non-cutting hand to hold the tip in place.
Step 7: Use the back of the knife to push the garlic back into a pile.(Garlic is juicy and will stick to your hands. This is why we use the knife. It’s also much easier with a knife.)
Step 8: Repeat steps 6&7 until your garlic is the perfect size.
Step 9: You’ve earned your fresh garlic. Now go make something amazing.
Minced garlic is perfect to add into soups, roasted vegetables, or my favorite garlic bread. Now tell me you can’t taste the difference.
