Forums > Specific Focus > Mexican Kitchen

AlanMexicali

May 9, 2013, 4:55 AM

Post #1 of 17 (102935 views)

Shortcut

Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

I have seen here "Guacamole salsa" recipes but checked back a few pages and did not see any guacamole recipes without chilies. It appears these recipes have such a varied popularity regionally as I suspect. I have made Baja style here in San Luis Potosi and had a bad or mild acceptance to it.

Also I have noticed many asaderos and torta stands and shops do not have guacamole available in many places and the ones that have avocado available simply put a very small thinly sliced portion on the torta. Taco stands usually do not have any avocadoes at all.

In Baja all asaderos and torta stands or shops have Baja style guacamole in bowls and you add as much to the taco or torta as you like and the more commercial torta shops put a large portion of simple mashed avocado on the torta if you ask, sometimes with that specially ordered torta and sometimes a few peso charge if that specialty torta does not have it listed on the board above the counter.

Very few there have guacamole salsa but here they have it here at many places and it is hot most times and very hot other times, depending on the place.

(This post was edited by AlanMexicali on May 9, 2013, 4:57 AM)

esperanza

May 9, 2013, 6:20 AM

Post #2 of 17 (102910 views)

Shortcut

Re: [AlanMexicali] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

It's been many a year since I ate tacos at El Güero in Tijuana. Guacamole was always on the counter, free for the taking. That was in the days when the cost of avocado was much, much less than it is today. I suspect that the current high cost of this oro verde--in Mexico City, we often pay as much as 40 pesos the kilo--has contributed to the scarcity of huge bowlsful to pile high on a taco.

Alan, would you kindly describe for the forgetful what 'Baja style' guacamole is like? Thanks!

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

AlanMexicali

May 9, 2013, 7:00 AM

Post #3 of 17 (102905 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

In Reply To

That makes perfect sense. The price of the large flour tortilla tacos has risen in Baja from the decade old price of $10.00 pesos per taco now to $14.00 or even $15.00 there over a few years but here in San Luis Potosi they are still the small corn tortilla tacos for $5.00 or $6.00 pesos per taco but keep the free guacamole there on the tables or counters in Baja.

Take 2 large avocados and mash them completely with a fork. Add juice from 1/2 a sweet Baja key lime, water, salt and granulated garlic powder or blenderized fresh garlic. Keep the 2 seeds in the mix. It should be watered down enough to where it is the consistency of mayonnaise. Alan

robt65

May 22, 2013, 10:31 PM

Post #4 of 17 (102773 views)

Shortcut

Re: [AlanMexicali] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

This may help you understand why the price of both avocado's and limes have gone through the roof on prices . . . . . . . which of course reflects on the price of your Baja Tacos.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...exico_n_3322373.html

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/...ain/article12043852/

Regards,
Robt65

(This post was edited by robt65 on May 22, 2013, 10:36 PM)

tejolot3

Jul 16, 2014, 8:42 PM

Post #5 of 17 (91289 views)

Shortcut

Re: [AlanMexicali] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

When I first got a molcajete, I tried being creative with guacamole. That was a mistake. I have been successful in converting guac-haters into guac-lovers, but only by making it SIMPLE. Here it goes...

A small amount of salt,
Cilantro leaves,
Avocados,
Key lime juice (1 lime for every 2 avocados)

Anonimo

Jul 17, 2014, 6:00 AM

Post #6 of 17 (91269 views)

Shortcut

Re: [tejolot3] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

In Reply To

Agreed. Except that I might add a little grated or finely minced onion. And, chunky, not smooth puree.

tejolot3

Jul 17, 2014, 7:56 AM

Post #7 of 17 (91256 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Anonimo] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

I haven't found the consistency of the mash to make a huge difference one way or the other objectively. Just make it whichever way you like it the best. I do want to stress the "small" part of the "small amount of salt". It's very easy to add too much salt to guacamole.

esperanza

Jul 17, 2014, 3:54 PM

Post #8 of 17 (91220 views)

Shortcut

Re: [tejolot3] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

Everybody's got a guacamole recipe. Here's what I do.

2 large just-ripe avocados, scooped out of their skins with a table spoon
About a Tablespoon of finely minced onion
1 finely minced chile serrano
1 ripe Roma tomato, small-diced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
Sea salt to taste

Barely mash the peeled avocados with a potato masher, leaving plenty of chunks. Add everything else and mix together--lightly. Cover and refrigerate for an hour so the flavors marry.

Serve with Salmas.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

(This post was edited by esperanza on Jul 17, 2014, 3:56 PM)

hunteradvisor

Jul 18, 2014, 9:14 AM

Post #9 of 17 (91129 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

Sorry I have to add garlic and cholula in addition to lime, red onion, tomatoe, S & P. Practically a whole meal and with a nice cold, day seasoned Gazpacho we're doing the healthy raw food thing. Freeze some bananas and put them through the blender for a raw, ice cream treat to finish.
Isabel
www.RanchoSolyMar.com

sioux4noff

Jul 19, 2014, 4:23 PM

Post #10 of 17 (91024 views)

Shortcut

Re: [hunteradvisor] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

I'm not much of a fan of guacamole to begin with, but the idea of putting garlic in it makes me shudder. :)
When I do make it, I use avocados, onion, cilantro ( if I have it), jalapenos, lime juice and some finely chopped tomato, and salt.
Really, what usually do is just take the avocados, mash them but not too smooth, and stir in some fresh salsa.

chinagringo

Jul 19, 2014, 5:18 PM

Post #11 of 17 (91018 views)

Shortcut

Re: [sioux4noff] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

Like any recipe or method of preparation - to each their own! We have worked long and hard to replicate what we consider to be the best guacamoles we have found in Mexico. In our opinion, Tony's at Lake Chapala makes one of the best since it not only has a snappy taste but also a texture created by finely chopped onion, some tomato and even a bit of shredded lettuce. Hard for me to believe that some recipes don't mention any type of chile. In our case, we use a freshly roasted Jalapeno and also use a mild dose of garlic.

The way that I view the highly pureed concoction that some people might call guacamole is: I gave up Gerber's way too many years ago and am not about to start liking it again in my old age!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

esperanza

Jul 20, 2014, 5:56 AM

Post #12 of 17 (90984 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chinagringo] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

Neil, that Gerber's guacamole consistency you mention is most common in restaurants in the USA. Why? Because many, if not most, so-called Mexican restaurants buy dried, powdered avocado to cut down on loss due to spoiled fresh avocados, ease of storage, and ease of preparation. Home cooks then come to believe that what they've eaten in restaurants is the way it's supposed to be, so they all but purée fresh avocados in order to attain the consistency of baby food.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

chinagringo

Jul 20, 2014, 10:23 AM

Post #13 of 17 (90957 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

We don't drink tequila out of a baby bottle through a nipple either. For us, our initial impression of a restaurant comes from the guacamole and carries forward from there. With the availability of avocados in this area, we would walk out if served guacamole made from a powder. The so-called Mexican food is bad enough and if they can't even try proper guacamole, then forget it!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

Anonimo

Jul 20, 2014, 4:50 PM

Post #14 of 17 (90936 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chinagringo] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

My sister in New Jersey once bought frozen guacamole in a bag to serve at a party. I tasted it. It wasn't at all bad, if you thought of it as a dip, not the roughly textured, fresh guacamole we prefer.

I could tell you next about the amazing piña coladas she made from a prepared mix, but that would be off topic. ;-)

chinagringo

Jul 20, 2014, 6:16 PM

Post #15 of 17 (90931 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Anonimo] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

Besides, I can't stand anything made with coconut!

Until we fully developed a Guacamole that met our standards, we use to buy a credible guacamole that came in a plastic container with chunks of tomato, diced onions and chunky avocado. But lets not talk about the multitude of conservatives, they probably use.

Granted it took us some time to get our recipe just right for our tastes but now that it is engraved in stone, it goes together fairly easily.
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

tejolot3

Jul 30, 2014, 8:38 PM

Post #16 of 17 (90494 views)

Shortcut

Re: [AlanMexicali] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

Having shied away from it in the past, I took my first plunge into adding avocado to salsa the other day. Despite my trepidation, it turned out pretty well. I was going for a spicy salsa, which I succeeded in doing, but the avocado really made it a whole different type of salsa. It smells like guacamole, but tastes like green salsa. Here's my "recipe", as well as I can remember it (I don't actually use recipes, so all measurements are approximations):

I make salsa in a [large] molcajete, so the ingredients are listed in order for grinding.

Step 1: the paste
1 Tbsp coarse sea salt
2 black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
3 cloves garlic, toasted then peeled
the leaves from about 15 sprigs of cilantro

Grind the above ingredients into a paste.

Step 2: the heat
4 serrano chiles, oven-roasted and stemmed and peeled

I left all the seeds in. Leave some out for less heat. Grind the chiles into the paste.

Step 3: the wet
10 medium-large tomatillos, stemmed and parboiled and peeled
Half an avocado
Juice of 1 Persian lime

Grind the tomatillos and avocado into the mixture. I ground the tomatillos before the avocado, which left some chunky bits of avocado. If you're going for a smoother texture, then you should grind the avocado before the tomatillos. Then squeeze the lime juice in and mix it all together. I prefer key limes, but didn't have any on hand. Three key limes would probably be about right. I also found the consistency to be a bit too thick, so I added some water at the end; ymmv.

Because the tomatillos and lime juice are acidic, they keep the avocado from turning brown. I made this guacamole/salsa two days ago, and it's still as green as it was then. It's really good with beef, or just with some tortilla chips.

(This post was edited by tejolot3 on Jul 30, 2014, 8:39 PM)

Caarina12

Aug 5, 2014, 10:22 PM

Post #17 of 17 (90100 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Guacamole recipes

Can't Post | Private Reply

Esperanza, this is how I make guacamole as well. I occasionally use red onion instead of white. My two strict rules about guacamole is no lime and no garlic.

YUM!

BTW, Salmas rock.

C

(This post was edited by Caarina12 on Aug 7, 2014, 7:38 PM)