Gordon Ramsay's Secret For Perfectly Minced Garlic

When Gordon Ramsay offers up cooking tips, most people listen. He is, after all, one of the culinary realm's most recognizable faces, the star of an impressive collection of TV shows, the author of countless cookbooks, and a masterful wielder of expletives. And really, he knows his stuff. In fact, according to Chefin, Ramsay places third in the world when it comes to Michelin Stars, having earned 16 of the coveted awards throughout his career. 

If anyone knows how to mince a bulb of garlic, it's this Scottish-born chef. With a website boasting garlicky recipes like grilled salmon with garlic mushroom and lentil salad or roast turkey with lemon, parsley, and garlic, he is clearly not averse to using a clove or two (or three). And he knows that mincing garlic is serious business not to be taken lightly. Perhaps Anthony Bourdain summed it up best when he said, "Misuse of garlic is a crime. Old garlic, burnt garlic, garlic cut too long ago, garlic that has been smashed through one of those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting...Too lazy to peel fresh? You don't deserve to eat garlic" (via Salon). 

Clearly, you need to perfect your garlic-chopping technique if you ever hope to enjoy garlic's flavor to the fullest. After all, you want to deserve garlic. So how does Ramsay go about mincing garlic, which MasterClass reveals is a cousin to the onion and the chive? His secret will likely surprise you with its simplicity. 

In his YouTube video entitled "50 Cooking Tips With Gordon Ramsay," the chef offers a brilliant way to finely chop garlic more easily. It's all about adding salt. Apparently, salt will act like an abrasive, better enabling you to quickly pull apart the garlic's fibers. Taste echoes this advice, saying that salt not only thwarts the garlic's efforts to escape the knife but also aids in crushing it by wicking moisture away from it. 

Another handy garlic-prepping tip from Ramsay is how to peel it. A separate video shows the master chef taking a clove, pressing down on it with the flat of a knife, and watching as the peels come away from the garlic. No wonder this is a garlic peeling hack used by restaurant chefs around the globe.  

With more people enjoying garlic's unmistakable flavor, Ramsay's handy tips couldn't come at a better time. This root vegetable (yes, that's what it is) has enjoyed a huge increase in popularity with PennState reporting that Americans consumed roughly two pounds per capita in 2015, an amount that has quadrupled since 1980. As you might expect, Ramsay is not the only expert offering up advice about this supposed enemy of vampires. 

Other celebrity chefs offer tips for both garlic peeling and mincing. Ina Garten shares useful advice for peeling a large number of cloves in a Food Network video, detailing her blanching method. Boiling the bulbs first loosens the skins, allowing for an easier peel. In a separate Food Network segment, she opts to grate garlic instead of mincing it, speeding up the process significantly. This method transforms the garlic into a pulp that allows the flavor to be released with ease into the foods around it. 

When mincing a large quantity of garlic, America's Test Kitchen suggests smashing each clove with the flat side of a knife, scooping the squashed cloves together in a bunch, and chopping them. By eliminating the cloves of their "roundness," you will be better able to mince them quickly without chasing them around the chopping board. 

Chef Michael Symon shares a fun post on Facebook with a tip for peeling volumes of cloves while annoying those around you. He recommends putting the cloves in a salad bowl and placing a same-sized bowl on top. Simply shake the contents vigorously (and noisily) and the cloves will pop out of their skins. 

You are now thoroughly versed on how to peel and mince garlic like a pro. Perhaps, you are ready to tackle a few sublime garlicky dishes like chunky garlic chicken breasts or pan-seared tilapia with garlic oil.