Pickled Roasted Garlic

I love garlic. I love grilling. Playing around with the fire, I thought why not find a way to combine the two. I first learned about the idea of roasting garlic from Rachael Ray. She gave a simple recipe. Slicing off the top of a garlic bulb, she drizzled it with olive oil, and then baked it. Naturally, I tried this on the grill with great results.  Add wood smoke, it was even better. Once finished, it spreads like butter. The only issue I had was that the garlic peels made a mess and I couldn't get all the garlic past out. Apart from buying bulbs, we could get these huge bags of pre-peeled garlic from Sam's Club. But, we could not go through them fast enough before they went moldy. Yes, they were cheap and convenient, but I hated wasting precious garlic. I said to myself, "There has to be a way to preserve this garlic and add roasted flavors." So, I played around. I've heard of pickled garlic, and marinated garlic. I combined the idea of the two, and this is what I came up with. 

Start by adding peeled garlic cloves to a cast iron pan. To get an idea of how much you will need, fill the mason jar you will use with the cloves, then add them to the pan. They will shrink, so add a few extra. Or, another trick I learn, is that a filled-to-the-brim 6.5 inch pan will fill a 16 oz mason jar. Once the garlic is in, coat the cloves with olive oil and salt. Place on a hot grill and roast until soft, stirring often. 

After the garlic is soft and browned, submerge the cloves in vinegar. I used regular white vinegar. I am curious about how other vinegars would work, and I plan on experimenting with apple cider vinegar and applewood smoke. I haven't got that far yet. (If anyone tries it before I do, let me know how it turned out.) Once the vinegar comes to a boil, pour everything into your mason jars, add red pepper flakes (or any other herb or spice you wish to add) and seal. I'm not sure if it needs to be stored in the refrigerator, but I store it there anyway. I am not even sure how long it will last, but I had my first batch just over a month, and it was still good. You will notice that the fat from the olive oil will float to the top after it cools. I don't think this affects the taste. If it bothers you, you can use less garlic and more vinegar then scrape the fat off the top. 

Once pickled, I found various uses for this garlic. You can eat it plain. My wife likes to add it to salads. I use it in my sauces, and made a great Chinese dish with it. Another trick is to blend it with mayonnaise and sour cream to create a great dip/dressing. Try it out, let me know what you let. Did it work out well? Did you try different vinegars, spices or herbs? What recipes did you use it with?