This is just a simple happy pleasure. My wife, Patti, has roasted garlic in our oven for several years. Then we thought – what the heck, why not smoke it?
Smoked garlic turns out awesome and can be used in so many different ways.
Best of all, it’s super easy!
Prepare the Garlic for Smoking
Take whole garlic heads and peel off the outer layer of papery “skin”.
Slice off the top of the head so that all cloves are exposed.
Drizzle the garlic with olive oil, sprinkle a bit of salt & pepper, and place them on an aluminum foil sheet that can be transferred to your grill/smoker.
Smoke the Garlic
The exact time and temperature is not critical, you just need to smoke the garlic until it is soft and brown.
We did these on a Weber Performer charcoal grill. We had the grill setup for indirect high heat, about 350F at grate level, and let the garlic smoke for about an hour.
If you were smoking a pork butt on your Traeger at 250F then you could throw the garlic onto the pit and let it smoke for about three hours.
Since garlic has such a strong flavor profile of its own it works great with all types of smoke wood. The smoke will never overwhelm the flavor of the garlic.
Next time you’re smoking something or cooking indirect, try it. I really think you’ll like it.
How to Use and Store the Smoked Garlic
You can use smoked garlic in any recipe that calls for fresh or roasted garlic. A few of our favorites include:
- Garlic Bread
- Pasta
- Grilled Potatoes
- Garlic Butter
- Portabella Mushroom Burgers
- Chili
- Asiago French Fries
To store the garlic you can place it in a 1 pint Mason jar, cover in olive oil and keep in the refrigerator. The garlic will only keep for about two weeks so keep that in mind when planning how may heads to put on the smoker.
Smoked Garlic (Roasted on the Grill)
Ingredients
- Six Heads of Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Make a tray of aluminum foil to place your garlic on and to be used on the grill.
- Peel outer layer of "skin" off the garlic head.
- Slice off the top so all cloves are exposed.
- Drizzle Olive Oil, sprinkle Salt & Pepper.
- Set up your grill for indirect cooking.
- Place on grill/smoker for at least an hour. The longer you cook it, the softer the cloves get.
What temp would you smoke the garlic at, and if you made extra would you store it in the fridge?
Frank – low temp – around 225. And I separate the cloves and store in the freezer. They stay good that way for a long time!