Slicing Garlic... How do you do it?

XLBalco · January 3

i like garlic but hate slicing it. what gadget do you use if any? or technique? i like mine sliced goodfellas style.

anyone?

jbates67 · January 3

One of my favorite scenes from the movie was when they were slicing the garlic in prison using a razor blade. One of my all time favorite movies as well. That said, no gadget for slicing besides a good sharp knife, if I want it minced, I have a simple squeeze press that works great.

rustypotts · January 3

take the clove and smash it lightly with the flat side of the knife. The skin should easily come off. Trim the hard end and then slice. If I'm gonna mince it fine I smash it pretty hard and then chop. after chopping I add a little salt to the pile and then I puree it with the flat side of the knife. The salt acts as a grit to grind it up. This is the quickest method. I dont use gadgets too much.

NecessaryIndulg · January 3

+1 @rustypotts

gdenby · January 3

Why not just use a razor, goodfellas style? I mean that honestly. It takes some practice, but razors work just fine for food prep. FWIW, I used razors for cutting packing materials, and when cutting food, am a whole lot faster than what is shown in goodfellas.

I used snap off blades for quite some time, until I bought a good Japanese paring knife, which is about 2X sharper than standard. Will slice garlic and onions w/o almost any scent or tears. R. Murphy, Co. of Boston also makes some fine leather working knives that go thru most foods like butter. A lot cheaper, but the blades are reactive, and must be kept clean, or will corrode till the edge must be re-made.

Oh, and I use a Benrinner brand mandoline for veggies as small as brussel sprouts. But I've learned the hard way to not get my finger tips any closer than that to the blade, so I wouldn't try a garlic clove.

rustypotts · January 3

NecessaryIndulg said:

+1 @rustypotts

Thanks for the pics. That is exactly how I do it. I learned that trick about 40 years ago. even as a teen I love to watch "The Galloping Gourmet". I picked that up from one of his episodes. Now I would like to rant about the state of Cooking shows on TV today. Ok....thats off topic so I'll save it.

allsid · January 3

XLBalco said:

i like mine sliced goodfellas style.

Lol- Watched that movie quite a bit in college in the early 90's. When the fellas and I would get together for a sunday sports lock down and beverage olympics, we (mostly I) would make a mafia style meal. As college kids, we prided ourselves in saying that "we ate better than the mafia in jail".

I happen to be a big fan of hitting garlic with the meat tenderizing mallet with the ridges side. The skin comes off easily, and you have already begun your dicing process.

Mickey · January 3

The girl and rusty do it right.....

gdenby · January 3

Decided I needed to start pizza early. Some garlic slices. Total time, about 20 sec. Handicap, 2.5 bottles of 3 Floyd's Zombie Dust.

fishlessman · January 3

i smash chop smoosh but they do make inexpensive garlic mandolins

burr_baby33 · January 3

Same as above, get the skin off then slice very thin with a sharp knife. I've tried the razor but the knife fits my hand better. I slice garlic every time I cook steaks. I'm still without a SV machine so I hot tub steaks in a vac or ziplock bag with sliced garlic on both sides of each steak along with a healthy amount of wooster. The garlic and wooster permeate very well during the 30-45 minutes of hot tubbing and all thats left is a good searing.

ptmurphy · January 3

I am surprised that I don't read on here more the importance of having a GOOD chef's knife! It is probably my most indispensable kitchen tool.

nolaegghead · January 3

Sliced, chopped or diced and crushed - depends on what I'm making. If I don't care, I go the easy route and crush it with the side of a knife, remove the skin and use a garlic press.

XLBalco · January 3

chopped/diced/minced isnt the issue- really just looking for an easier way to slice..

as far as peeling them- i shake the dickens out of them. i am sure someone can post the video- works everytime and great when you are doing multiple cloves.

i guess it's razor style

nolaegghead · January 3

I've heard truffle slicers work. http://www.amazon.com/Hutzler-3718-Garlic-Slicer-Shredder/dp/B005BPZDQU/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1357248162&sr=1-6&keywords=truffle+slicer

XLBalco · January 3

i have a version of that from bbb that didnt work too well... someone can embed this link i am sure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d3oc24fD-c

NEWB_IN_NOLA · January 3

Never tried it, but maybe worth a shot at $15: http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=26433

BigGreenBamaGriller · January 3

I don't personally use one, but I've seen Rachel Ray use something that Microplane makes that will slice garlic pretty thin. This may not be the exact one, but it looks close.

http://usa.microplane.com/microplanemediumribbongrater.aspx

Kosko · January 4

This is what I use!

Botch · January 4

I bought a Zyliss garlic press in 1984 (iirc) and have never seen the need for "sliced" garlic. I admit lightly-fried sliced garlic might look good on a salad, but I've just never seen the need (and I'd use my chef's knife if I did, I do slice shallots that way).

jeroldharter · January 4

He said slice, not mince or crush.

For slicing garlic (or ginger) the best tool I have found is a ceramic paring knife. They are as sharp as razors.

Mighty_Quinn · January 4

I've never used a ceramic one, but I use a sharp paring knife for this job too...

XLBalco · January 4

thanks for the input!

nolaegghead · January 4

My buddies up in North Dakota use a wood chipper...oh yaaaah ;)

bboulier · January 4

Cut small slice off thick end and smash slightly with chef's knife. Remove skin. Now it depends on what kind of garlic cut you want. Slices? Do slices with knife. Finely minced? Smash flat with side of chef's knife, using fist. You can now add a pinch of salt as an abrasive. Rock back and forth with knife to chop finely and then finish with side of knife scraped back and forth. Takes almost no time at all for small quantities. (Follow Necessaryindulg's pictures.) If I need to do a large quantity, I bring in my garlic press.

rsmith193 · January 4

You can use a garlic mandolin if your knife skills aren't that great.

Skiddymarker · January 4

SWMBO picked up one of these at a PC party as a door prize or something. At first I thought it was kinda dumb, but it does work. It's like a pencil sharpener, makes paper thin slices of garlic, two cloves at a time. It also works for ginger depending on how fibrous the root is.

http://www.amazon.com/Pampered-Chef-Garlic-Slicer-White/dp/B001VRVBH2

Botch · January 4

Finely minced? Smash flat with side of chef's knife, using fist. You can now add a pinch of salt as an abrasive. Rock back and forth with knife to chop finely and then finish with side of knife scraped back and forth.

I know this technique is recommended all the time, but when you realize what table salt is (small, cubical rocks) I've always thought that'd tear up the edge of your knife as you scrape it across those "boulders". My two scents...

michigan_jason · January 4

jbates67 said:

One of my favorite scenes from the movie was when they were slicing the garlic in prison using a razor blade. One of my all time favorite movies as well. That said, no gadget for slicing besides a good sharp knife, if I want it minced, I have a simple squeeze press that works great.

+1

I either do this, or just a really sharp knife.

nolaegghead · January 4

Adding salt to dice garlic keeps it granular - helps it not stick to the knife and make it easier to dice.

JerkChicken · January 4

I use this:

Howdy, Stranger!

Forums

Slicing Garlic... How do you do it?

Comments