How To Make Guacamole

fastermx

I feel somewhat chastened by the Mexican who said here, quite emphatically, to never use jalapenos. I'm not a native of Mexico, so I bow to greater expertise. And I have known all along that serranos are the classic chile for guac. Nevertheless, I find the pickled jalapenos are teriffic, and have a richer flavor than raw serranos. I have lived for nine years with a Huichol family as my houseguests, and they never once put serranos in their guac; they used the jalapeno can I had on hand. I didn't force them to do that! They liked it that way as much as I did. They do use serranos in certain egg dishes - I find them WAY too chiloso! But it IS true that the serrano chile is the traditional one for guac. Go easy on it, though, because it's VERY easy to overdo it. I would guess there are many Mexicanos who use the pickled jalapenos, too. Not every Mexican loves food that is volcanic!

fastermx

This sounds like a very tasty dish, to be sure, but it is NOT guacamole. I'm sure this dish would taste just fine with fajitas. Trouble is, the REAL THING would tast a lot better! "Anonymous" asked what goes well with guac. Better to ask what DOESN'T! Steak, fried chicken, seafood - anything at ALL. Except desserts. I have never seen guac made with tomatillos. Ripe red tomatoes - any kind. Nice presentation, but he didn't really do his homework! I've lived in Mexico for 15 years, and have never had guac without tomatoes and a lot of garlic. Nor is it EVER pureed in a blender; it's mixed by hand. Takes no time or work at all - a blender takes much more bother. Guac is a one-bowl dish. If you mix ALL the ingredients I mention, without the avocados, you have: picante sauce! So you can make that for one use, and add avocado to the rest of it for your guac. Two in one. While I'd not really object to bell pepper in my guac, I wouldn't feel it's adding anything much to it. And I've never seen guac made by a Mexican that had bell peppers. Still, if you want them, I suppose they can't do any real harm! Guacamole is a classic, because nobody has yet actually improved on it! Food of the gods, my dears! He leaves out the garlic! THAT is only left out if someone who'll eat it hates garlic. Then that person's portion is dished out, and the garlic added to the rest of it. Garlic is essential! Guac is supposed to be HIGHLY aromatic - you can smell it across the room! This comes from using fresh lime, cilantro and garlic, mostly. The onion too, of course. Shallot? Maybe in England they don't have any real onions? You can use any kind of onion, but I wouldn't recommend the red kinds; they're too sweet. Even scallions will do, but just plain onion, white or yellow, is what most people use. The sizes of the pieces of tomato and onion are yours to decide. Some like big chunks of something, while others prefer them finely chopped. Either way is fine. Some people want the avocado almost pureed, but I think most people want some significant lumps of pure avocado - it helps in savoring its beautiful "nutty" taste. I use my pastry blender to chop the avocado to the right proportion of puree and lovely lumps! Then I add the chopped onion and tomato, mix it gently, then add the lime juice, salt, minced garlic and cilantro, plus some minced pickled jalapenos (I think the serrano pepper is the classic, though). Cayenne pepper? Yark. No FLAVOR. Just hot (chiloso). Jalapenos lend a fabulous taste of their own, and you can use them very sparingly and still get the taste without the burning. Or you can pile it on! Whichever you prefer. But cayenne or chili powder? No way. In the extremely unlikely event that you should have leftovers, imbed the seeds in the guac, slap some paper (not foil) smack on the surface (no air) and refrigerate. The seeds keep the avocado from turning black. Which it will do very rapidly. The lime juice does help, but if there's enough to prevent blackening, you may find there's too much lime. Remove the seeds when you take it out of the fridge. It can keep that way for a day or two. I can't say for sure, because it always gets snarfed up before I can see how long it keeps. Onions, garlic, avocado, tomato, chile peppers (jalapenos recommended), fresh lime juice (NEVER bottled), cilantro (which he calls coriander, but coriander is the seed of the cilantro), and salt. With the chiles, black pepper is redundant. These are the basic ingredients that make guac what it IS. No fats or greases, if you please. Actually, the quantities of these ingredients are entirely flexible to adapt to your personal taste, so amounts don't even need to be given. I've had it without cilantro, but it was because none was on hand; otherwise, it's basic to good guac. That lovely aroma... Well, at least he doesn't put mayonnaise into the "guac" he's making. That's at least something. I've seen recipes that use mayo - Eggh. It coats the tongue and deprives you of the beautiful flavors. Even sour cream might do that. Mexicans do NOT use much sour cream. For authentic cooking, it should be omitted, though I must admit that, with some recipes, like burritos or chimichangas, it's delicious. So add it, if you want. Just not on guac! Though many people think cumin is required for almost any Mexican dish, I've seen it used very little in the area where I live. Oregano is in FAR greater use. I look at a recipe book and find Mexican dishes, and almost ALL of them have cumin. I guess it's a stereotype or something. Nor is their food always hot (chiloso). A very few classic dishes are, like mole, but most let the person add their own "heat" at the table. Oh, and if you happen to have an "orphan" avocado, split it in two, remove the seed and just sprinkle it well with coarse black pepper. Salt to taste. Eat with a spoon, right out of the shell. Outstanding! Strangely, the black pepper does not taste hot at all; it heightens the flavor of the fruit. I don't like a lot of black pepper, but I lavish it on avocados! I've eaten guac with pieces of juicy succulent cooked chicken breast or shrimp. Very good indeed! A lightly heated flour tortilla, wrapped around some of that chicken, with slice or two of avocado and a dollop of picante sauce: heavenly. Chicken and avocados are almost soulmates. Just don't omit the picante sauce! On these videos, they serve up guac in a dish smaller than a custard cup! About 2 Tb to a serving. Eat your heart out; in Mexico they serve it up by the huge ladleful! They dish it out as lavishly as mashed potatoes. YUM! And, with ALL the ingredients I mentioned, it is extremely nutritious.

colin141985

Well I'm México and this is not Guacamole but a kind of avocado suace. The real Guacamole is like Goodnyou100 said =). Avocado, chopped onion, chopped red tomatoe, chopped coriander, chopped green peppers, salt, lemon juice and well you can add some mashed garlic if you want. Everything should be just mashed by hand, you can have bit with some tortilla chips and of course add some sour cream if you want.

Lillyusafan

Here In Germany we call it an Advocado Creme , i try it out and it taste very good to the Texas Fajitas. Thank you Lilly

headchef1234

guac-shmok! thats what i say!

xlrator

the way i see it, anybody can put any recipies here, why you guys make a real one and add it here insted

susanaks

mdude is absolutely right. This recipe is not guacamole at all God!!!!!!

mdude

powder chili - wrong blender - wrong no onion - wrong no red tomatoes - wrong this is not guacamole...

Goodnyou100

I have lived in San Diego, Ca for 15 years. I have many MEXICAN Friends. I have been making Guaqamole for 10 years now. 1. Avocados 2. White Onion. Chopped 3. RED Tomatoes. Chopped 4. Cilantro. Chopped fine. 5. Serrano Chili Peppers. Chopped Fine. 6. Garlic. Chopped Fine. 7. Lime Juice. 8. Salt and Black Pepper. 9. MIX. Should be Chunky. 10. Serve. **** If you leave out the Avocado you will also have a great SALSA FRESCA. I make the Salsa Fresca first AND THEN ADD IT TO MY AVOCADO.******

mayrami

this is a "Salsa de aguacate" not guacamole, although we don't use powder chile in it. it taste much better if you use fresh chiles such serrano, Jalapeño, guerito, or any other fresh mexican chile. there are more than 150 types of chiles in mexico. guacamole is chunky and fresh nothing like this salsa de aguacate you made in the video.