Infusing Boiled Potatoes with Garlic Flavor

[Shel_B]

There are two roasted potato recipes that I make that require some boiling of the potatoes before roasting them.  One recipe uses yellow potatoes, like Yukon Gold, which are boiled and roasted without the skin, and the other uses small red potatoes that are boiled with the skin and then smashed and roasted.

 

I would like to infuse the potatoes with a garlic flavor, and have tried doing so by adding smashed cloves of garlic to the water used for boiling the potatoes.  Even though the water is redolent of garlic, the potatoes have virtually no garlic flavor. 

 

Would using a substantially greater amount of garlic be helpful (I now use four large, smashed cloves in a quart of water), or perhaps adding garlic juice to the water be a viable solution?  Might poking some small holes in the potatoes with a fork get the garlic infused water into the potatoes and help get a more intense garlic flavor to the 'taters?  I don't want a very strong garlic taste, just something noticeable but subtle.

 

Adding minced garlic to the spuds when roasting them results in a noticeable burnt garlic taste, so that doesn't seem to be working for me.

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Hmm ... I just thought of something.  Instead of coating the potatoes with plain oil before roasting, maybe I could coat them with garlic-infused olive oil.  That shouldn't give a burnt taste...

Edited December 2, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[AlaMoi]

burnt garlic is not high on the list of "tasty things on a dinner plate"

considering the huge (relative, by experience) amount of salt required in a cook-by-boil to notice any taste effect on potatoes, lots and lots of fresh crushed garlic might work.  I'm guessing something like 10-20 times as much as one might 'think' needed.

I'd go with the infused oil drizzle at roasting / browning / pan fry stage.  see the thread about garlic and botulism.  use a commercial infusion or prepare & use you own veddy fresh stuff.

oh, and big crystal sea salt - think "pop rocks" flavor beads.

I grow Red Pontiac potatoes in the garden.  I'd likely get shot daid by DW if I suggested alterating a new red potato.  but that's just us.

[Deryn]

Why not try steaming the potatoes rather than boiling. Cover them with a fair bit of crushed garlic as they steam. Not sure if it would give the desired effects but at least the garlic shouldn't be lost in a quart of water either.

[Lisa Shock]

Since garlic flavor is delicate and cooks away quickly, chefs most often add garlic last if a strong flavor is desired.

 

Also, generally, garlic isn't boiled because, well, it winds up tasting like boiled garlic, which isn't very good.

[NEPolarbear]

Saute the garlic separately and pour it on the potatoes after they are done roasting.

[Ttogull]

There are a couple of ways to go here. First is a method that I learned from Rick Bayless but is probably done elsewhere. Put the garlic on a dry cast iron skillet and cook with their skins on. After a while, the garlic will be soft and spreadable over the potatoes.

Or roast the garlic as a bulb along with the potatoes. Cut the top off to expose the bulbs then cook at 350 until soft (about 45 minutes). Then squeeze the bulb over the roasted potatoes.

In both cases, the garlic is added after the fact, as opposed to before the fact. The cooking of the garlic reduces its pungency.

[dcarch]

How about pickling/marinating the potatoes in garlic paste for a few days?

 

dcarch

[Shel_B]

considering the huge (relative, by experience) amount of salt required in a cook-by-boil to notice any taste effect on potatoes, lots and lots of fresh crushed garlic might work.  I'm guessing something like 10-20 times as much as one might 'think' needed.

I'd go with the infused oil drizzle at roasting / browning / pan fry stage.  see the thread about garlic and botulism.  use a commercial infusion or prepare & use you own veddy fresh stuff.

I'd likely get shot daid by DW if I suggested alterating a new red potato.  but that's just us.

 

OK, more garlic in the water seems appropriate ... will try it.  That's one of the things I was going to try anyway.

 

What does the word "alterating" mean?

Edited December 3, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[Shel_B]

There are a couple of ways to go here. First is a method that I learned from Rick Bayless but is probably done elsewhere. Put the garlic on a dry cast iron skillet and cook with their skins on. After a while, the garlic will be soft and spreadable over the potatoes.

Or roast the garlic as a bulb along with the potatoes. Cut the top off to expose the bulbs then cook at 350 until soft (about 45 minutes). Then squeeze the bulb over the roasted potatoes.

In both cases, the garlic is added after the fact, as opposed to before the fact. The cooking of the garlic reduces its pungency.

 

Covering the potatoes with garlic paste, cooked or otherwise, is not the result / effect I'm seeking.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Shel_B (log)

[Shel_B]

Saute the garlic separately and pour it on the potatoes after they are done roasting.

 

Not the effect I'm looking for ... thanks.

[Shel_B]

Since garlic flavor is delicate and cooks away quickly, chefs most often add garlic last if a strong flavor is desired.

 

Also, generally, garlic isn't boiled because, well, it winds up tasting like boiled garlic, which isn't very good.

 

I'm not looking for a strong flavor.  The boiled garlic won't be eaten, it's just to add flavor to the potatoes. 

[Shel_B]

Why not try steaming the potatoes rather than boiling. Cover them with a fair bit of crushed garlic as they steam. Not sure if it would give the desired effects but at least the garlic shouldn't be lost in a quart of water either.

 

I don't know if steaming the potatoes will work for this technique, but I'm certainly willing to try the suggestion.  Thanks!

[AlaMoi]

alterating . . . verb.  any kind of messing with DW's fresh dug new (red) potatoes. (g)

 

dig, boil, salt&butter.  dat's all Folks!

 

methinks the flavor compounds of garlic are more readily conveyed in oil than water - just my unscientific thought....

[Shel_B]

Hmm ... I just thought of something.  Instead of coating the potatoes with plain oil before roasting, maybe I could coat them with garlic-infused olive oil.  That shouldn't give a burnt taste...

 

That's what I did this evening.  I crushed a few cloves of garlic and put them into some olive oil, and heated the mixture in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes.  That seemed to give a nice infusion which was lightly brushed on to the potatoes before roasting.  In this case there was a subtle garlic flavor and aroma, just about what I was looking for.

 

I used some of the infused oil to sauté some greens, and tossed some of the crushed garlic cloves into the mix as well.

 

Overall, a satisfying result.