Yes, the lime or lemon helps prevent the oxidation that turns it brown and ugly-looking as quickly.
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Others have mentioned garlic. I think it is key to good guacamole. I paste the garlic so that there is no chunk or bits in a bite. Its a balance on how much, so you just have to try it a few times to figure out where you want it. I also add some type of hot sauce, cholula is my favorite, or a very good salsa. Then salt, pepper, onion, lime. CIlan tri is used occasionally, but really it’s 6 ingredients. Tomato is added sometimes, but not really my favorite thing to add. I think it changes the flavor too much.
but, usually I just halve an avacodo, make slices each way add some hot sauce, S/Pand eat it straight out of the peel! Hahaha. That’s my lunch a few times a week.
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Interesting how many small twists we get on a pretty similar recipes. I like to go heavier on the garlic, lime and cilantro but a bit careful on the salt. I oversalted a couple of times cause I love salt and it kind of ruined the guacamole.Comment
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My secret ingredient is garlic scapes. They won't be available until June, but if you can find some I highly recommend using them. (Hint: They are pricey, but the reality is that garlic farmers dump tonnes of them. If you know a nearby garlic farm you might be able to score some at a discount, or free.) Garlic scapes are a centre shoot from a hardneck variety. They are excellent sauteed in olive oil and served like a green bean. Tossing several into a food processor and pureeing will turn them into a paste, which is used as a base for a pesto. It looks like guacamole as it stands, but mixing it with avocado gives it a garlic kick, but not too overpowering as the scapes are milder than cloves. Here's what they look like in the field:
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I add one ingredient that has not been mentioned yet. Just a little bit of smoked paprika.Comment
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Here's Alton Brown's. I add more garlic and use red onion, I've also used yellow onions before, but prefer red. The cayenne gives it some nice heat and the cumin gives it great flavor.
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Resurrecting a thread... I have found Alton Brown's recipe with minor tweaks to be the best guac I've made. These are my personal preferences, YMMV... but I have won guac making contests.
#0) buy at least one more avocado than you think you need. This will come in handy later, and if you don't need it, put it on a sammich. Buy MANY more limes than you think you need. In fact, just plan on making margaritas and buy ALL THE LIMES.
#1) NO CILANTRO. (This has been discussed at length in another thread.)
#2) No tomatoes. I have nothing against tomatoes, in fact I quite like them. I just don't like them in guac because they make it watery and the tomatoes get mushy. Now... if you're serving it salad style on some lettuce, then mixing in tomatoes per bite... then that's fine and darned delicious. In fact, if you want to dice tomatoes and put them in a bowl next to the guac for diners to add at the time of serving, that's also acceptable. I suppose you COULD do the same with cilantro......
#2.5) Instead of tomatoes get one serrano or jalapeno (depending on how hot you want it) remove the seeds and membrane and dice it up fine.
#3) I prefer red onion instead of white or yellow, but white is ok.
#4) Don't mash all the avocados. Save one out and cut it into small/medium chunks and fold it in to the mix after you're done.
#5) less cayenne (since live peppers are added,) more cumin.
#6) at least double the garlic, minced or pestled as fine as you can get it.
#7) juice about 3-4 times as many limes as you think you'll need. Limes are notoriously inconsistent where juice is concerned and the juice of 1 lime may be 1 tablespoon and another lime the same size from the same bin might be 1/4 cup. I find more lime juice is better than less, and whatever you have left over will go in the margaritas.
#8) more salt may be necessary. Taste as you go. This also applies to the lime juice. Add a little at a time and add more as needed. If it winds up too salty, add another avocado and adjust as needed. Nobody will complain about too much guacamole as that isn't a thing.
#9) tear off a piece of saran wrap and press it down to completely cover the surface of the guac, then cover the bowl with another lid. This will prevent the dreaded browning due to oxidation. The extra lime juice will also help. Let it sit for a couple hours for the flavors to meld. Sometimes I make mine the night before and then take it out of the fridge about 2 hours before it should be served.
The key to remember is that the avocado is the star, but the lime, garlic, and salt all work in harmony, like backup singers. They're just as important to the overall taste, if not the leading flavor. All the other chunkies and sprinklies are the instruments. They're awesome, but we don't want them to overpower the star... if you can't hear the lyrics over the instruments, you won't enjoy the song.Comment
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After making our guacamole we like to sprinkle TajÃn on the top. It adds color and a nice hit of limey-salt, sorta like salting the rim of a margarita. It only seems to have enough chili pepper to make it red. I think they might have a spicier version but we haven’t tried it.Comment
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