Recipe: Garlic chips

Crispy garlic chips are a great way to top off a nice grilled meat.  They are easy to make, but a little tricky to make exceptional.  Follow this procedure and yours will come out fantastic.  If it seems like a lot of garlic, the chips will shrink up a lot.  With the blanching, you will take the edge off the garlic and be free to use them generously.  By bringing the oil up to heat slowly, you essentially dehydrate the chips on the way to the frying stage and minimize the caramelization.  You can also save the oil as a condiment on its own for salads.

You will need:

10            large garlic cloves (elephant garlic works great)

1L / 4C    vegetable oil (grapeseed or canola)

Method:

 - slice the cloves very thinly on a mandolin

 - put the slices in a pot of cold water and bring up to a boil

 - turn off the heat, strain the garlic and place back in the pot with more cold water

 - repeat the blanch three times

 - after the last strain, dry the garlic off on a towel

 - place the garlic in a pan (a wide saute pan is good as it give the chips space to move)

 - add the cold oil

 - bring the oil up to medium heat very slowly

 - as the chips start to gently fry, be careful of the heat level - keep it low so the chips don't colour

 - take a chip out periodically and test how it crisps up as it cools

 - when they are ready, strain out the chips and dry on a paper towel - save the oil for other uses

 - season lightly and let cool 

 - store in an airtight container until use