Yes, You Can Pickle That: Pickled Garlic

"You can never have enough garlic. With enough garlic, you can eat The New York Times." - Morley Safer

Garlic makes everything better. Pasta, meats, vegetables or bread, they are all made a little (or a lot better) with the addition of this beloved root crop. Considered a hallmark of working-class cuisine, garlic wasn’t embraced in the United States until the early to mid 20th century. Today, Americans consume over 250 million pounds a year.Although mostly regarded as a seasoning, garlic cloves are a treat all on their own. Pickled garlic can be eaten alone as a tangy snack or used in salads, to accompany meat or fish or as a standout on your next antipasto platter.

Quick tip: Peeling cloves of garlic can be a pain, but this ingenious method will have your garlic ready to go in less than a minute. Break a head of garlic into pieces and place in a large metal bowl. Cover the bowl with another bowl of equal size and shake like the dickens.The skins will break free from the cloves in seconds. Kitchen magic! 

Pickled Garlic

• 2 pints garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 cup red wine vinegar 
• 1 cup water 
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 1 tablespoon sugar 
• 6 black peppercorns 

Combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar and peppercorns in a non-reactive pot and bring to boil.

Remove from heat. 

Pack garlic cloves into 2 sterile pint jars. 

Pour brine into jars to cover garlic, to 1/2” from top of jar. 

Wipe rims of jars and cap with lids and bands. 

Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. 

As the jars cool, listen for the tell-tale “ping” that indicates the jars have sealed properly. If you don’t hear it, press down on the lid. If there is give, jar may not be sealed and should be refrigerated right away and eaten within weeks. Sealed jars can be stored for up to one year.