1. Take the head of garlic, place both hands over it, and using the weight of your body, press down on it. This will separate the cloves.
2. Remove the root of the garlic, which is holding the clove together. This will help remove the skin before crushing and mincing it. (Sometimes the garlic germinates, you will slice it in half and find a germ in the middle and you may want to remove that..late in the season it often germinates.)
3. Using a chef's knife, crush the garlic one clove at a time, and then the skin comes off very easily. Use the paring knife to remove the skin.
4. Clean up the peel and clear the surface.
5. Put the garlic cloves in front of you, crush again with the knife. Then you chop it.
6. Using two or three fingers, put about a half pound of pressure on the tip end of the knife, while holding the back end of the knife with your other hand. Hold the bolster, the handle of the knife, by very edge.
7. Begin by slowly rocking the knife up and down across the cloves of garlic, then go through the pieces faster. Then crush it again with the flat side of the blade, and repeat. Repeat again until it’s all minced into tiny pieces.

Note: The bolster of the knife should be off the end of the cutting board. This allows you to have a lot more leverage and movement with the knife. Use a long chef’s knife for better action.