One Recipe, Two Methods of Preparation
Guacamole can be prepared in two ways: with a bowl and fork or in the molcajete, a Mexican mortar and pestle. Making it in the molcajete gets the most incredible results. Let us show you both methods of preparation.
Start With the Ingredients
Fresh ingredients make the dish. Guacamole just requires a few ingredients: avocado, onion, tomato, chile serrano, and cilantro. Because it is an uncooked dish, what you choose to make it with really counts. Unripe or poor quality ingredients have nowhere to hide. And, please, please, please don’t add those guacamole seasoning packets. They have no place in a properly made guac.
How to Tell if an Avocado is Ripe
When you are choosing avocados, you want ones that are ripe but not overly mushy. To tell if an avocado is ripe, use your thumb and gently push on the top where the stem connects. This is the narrower end of the avocado. The flesh should give a little. If it doesn’t give a little, it isn’t ripe enough. If it gives too easily, it is too ripe and won’t make a good guacamole but it will make a great salsa in the blender. Don’t throw out mushy avocados.
How to Pit an Avocado
Avocados large pits which need to be removed. The most common method for removing the pit is to use a kitchen knife cut all the way around the avocado lengthwise then twist the two halves of the avocado until one side pops off. Then holding the side of the avocado with pit in the palm of your hand with the pit facing up hit the pit with with the sharp side of the knife blade to embed the knife in the pit. Twist the knive sideways and the pit will pop out. A word of warning: Avocado injuries that send people to the emergency room are common. Use a great deal of caution when removing the pit to avoid cutting your hand.
To Lime or Not To Lime?
Should you add lime to your guacamole? I say no. I side with the great Diana Kennedy who says you should never add lime to your guacamole because it spoils the delicate balance of flavors. Can you add lime? Of course. I would recommend that you add lime sparingly to gently give the flavor an acidic boost. You want to enhance the flavor not overpower it.
Method 1 – Guacamole Made in the Molcajete
Making guacamole is easy. If you have a molcajete, use it to make the best guacamole. The results are incredible. (Check out our Video Guide to Using a Molcajete which includes a great recipe for making a rustic salsa. Molcajetes are a must-have in a Mexican kitchen.)
Build the Flavors in Layers
Add the onion, serrano chile, cilantro, and salt to the molcajete and grind until you have a uniform paste. The paste takes on a beautiful dark green color from the cilantro.
Grinding the ingredients releases the volatile oil of the vegetables and more evenly disperses the flavors throughout the guacamole.
Method 2 – The Fork and Bowl Method
Here is the classic way to prepare basic guacamole if you don’t have a molcajete. You just need a large bowl and a sturdy fork. The avocados are mashed instead of ground.
How to Serve Guacamole
Serve guacamole with homemade corn tortilla chips. Guacamole tacos are a thing. To make, spread a couple of spoonfuls on a warm corn tortilla fold and eat. It is a great side dish for carne asada. It is enjoyed throughout Mexico and for that matter the world.
Authentic Guacamole Recipes
Prep
Total
Yield 4 servings
How to make guacamole. 2 methods of preparation: the best-known method, prepared with a bowl and fork or made in the molcajete, a Mexican mortar and pestle. Both methods have the authentic Mexican taste.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe avocados
- ¾ cup finely chopped Roma tomato
- 2 serrano chiles very finely chopped (seeded and deveined)
- 3 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons of minced cilantro
- Salt to taste (usually about ¾ of a teaspoon)
Instructions
- STANDARD METHOD
- Remove the flesh of the avocados.
- Mash the avocados with the back of a fork.
- Add the other ingredients and incorporate evenly.
- Add salt to taste.
- MOLCAJETE METHOD
- Add the chopped onion, serrano chile, cilantro and salt to the molcajete.
- Grind until you have a smooth paste.
- Add the avocados to the molcajete and grind until slightly chunky.
- Add the tomatoes to the molcajete and incorporate. Do not grind the tomatoes.
- Adjust the salt.
Notes
Preparation
- Guacamole should be served as soon as you make it. Don't make it in advance. It doesn't keep well. It turns brown very quickly.
- Don't chill the guacamole. It should be served at room temperature.
- The recipe calls for two serrano chiles which make a moderately hot guacamole. Add up to 2 more serrano chiles if you want it hotter. Leaving the seeds and veins in the chiles will make it even hotter.
- You can add lime juice to give it an acidic boost but add sparingly so not to overpower the flavors of the other ingredients.
Courses Appetizer
Cuisine Mexican
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 265 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 20 g | 31% | |
Sodium 488 mg | 20% | |
Total Carbohydrates 11 g | 4% | |
Sugars 1 g | ||
Protein 10 g | 20% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Tanya says
First try was way to hot. 2nd try, I feel like a pro! My family loves it. Recipe is defanetly a keeper.
Jay says
Isn’t cumin in guacamole
Douglas Cullen says
In Mexico, Guacamole isn’t typically made with cumin.
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Kelly Bowden says
no lemons or limes!!!???
Robert says
I add lime
By I feel it balances out flavor and tomatoes are overkill for me since there is usually salsa. I also had a bit of garlic powder. Just mho. Love the blog!
Janette says
Thank you for the molcajete instructions! I have been trying to make guacamole at home that tastes like the good stuff I’ve had in Mexican restaurants and could never replicate the flavors…until now! Making a paste with the molcajete made a world of difference.
April Hoeller says
Best guacamole ever! I used a hand-turned wooden molcajete which I bought from the woodworker in Leona Vicario (near Puerto Morelos) two weeks ago. It has very hard ridges worked into the bottom. It worked just great.Thank you.
Sam Thiel says
If you don’t want to overpower more delicate flavors you should leave out the cilantro!