Chips
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I've kept this one close to the chest since I came up with it in college despite several requests. It always held an edge over anyone else's, but I finally shared it with friends and family, so I figured I'd post it publicly. It's really the only recipe I truly have that's entirely mine. I apologize for the lengthy nature, this is mostly just a cut and paste of the email I sent out to my F&F, most who aren't super into cooking, so I walked them thru my reasoning. TLDR, just skip to the recipe if you don't want my explanation of the odd ingredients.
I fiddled and tweaked this recipe for something like six months until I got it right and continue to adjust over the years. Exact proportions aren't important, what's important is flavor balance and that you don't do anything that'll overshadow the flavor of the avocados. There's about 4 minor tweaks to the recipe that is different than whatever random Guac recipe you could Google and I'll explain their importance. Aside from these little tricks, the thing that matters the most is tasting frequently as you're building it, because all avocados are different and you don't want to mess up the focus on the flavor of the avocado. If you can taste any of the "odd" ingredients, you've screwed something up. Which is why I aways reserve one or two avocados if I need to bring the focus back onto the flavor they provide.
This recipe will take forever to type out, because of explaining what would only take 5 seconds to show in person. It's worth it. Build the recipe in order that the ingredients are listed and it'll also help prevent the avocados from turning brown. The vitamin C (citric acid) from the limes will prevent oxidization (browning) of the diced avocados, as well as Saran Wrap pressed directly onto the smoothed, flat surface of the guac in the bowl, while you let it chill and flavors meld in the fridge.
The "weird" tweaks in red are what make the guacamole so damn good and came from countless amounts of trial and error.
What I like about this recipe is it's not hard and fast. I don't worry about wandering a bit here or there on the ratios a bit, depending on how everything is coming together when tasted, mainly because the size of avocados aren't consistent, and sometimes they have amazing intense flavor, and sometimes they're a bit dull and things need to be tweaked. Lime juice is what will lift up the dull flavor of avocados that aren't at their peak flavor-wise.
I tend to make a big batch since it's a bit labor intensive. Scale accordingly if you like.
You're going to make what looks like the beginning of an incredibly finely diced salsa (minus tomatoes) in one large mixing bowl, and only at the last moment, add the diced avocados and stir gently, breaking things down and tasting, mixing more to get the consistency you like. It always tastes better if you let it rest in the fridge for about 4 hours, covered with plastic wrap that is literally pressed completely against the surface, to prevent any browning.
The importance of the honey is that it adds a subtle, maybe floral sweetness, which compliments the avocado and it has a bit more flavor than plain sugar. You'd never know it was there if I didn't tell you, but it makes a huge difference. Same for the soy sauce. That's why this big recipe doesn't use much salt. The soy sauce adds saltiness, but also adds umami flavors and rounds things out nicely. Again, you'd never be able to tell it was there, nor should you. But it makes a difference.
That's it, all in one spot. There was a time, literally like a decade or more ago, when I added some very very ripe, finely diced mango into it during one of our summer get-togethers. It adds nice color contrast, but it's not in my usual rotation.
The more you stir and taste for seasoning, the more it'll break down and become creamy.
A different batch, showing the diced onions after de-flaming them.
A batch whipped up for some keto friendly "burrito bowls" a while back.
Enjoy.
I fiddled and tweaked this recipe for something like six months until I got it right and continue to adjust over the years. Exact proportions aren't important, what's important is flavor balance and that you don't do anything that'll overshadow the flavor of the avocados. There's about 4 minor tweaks to the recipe that is different than whatever random Guac recipe you could Google and I'll explain their importance. Aside from these little tricks, the thing that matters the most is tasting frequently as you're building it, because all avocados are different and you don't want to mess up the focus on the flavor of the avocado. If you can taste any of the "odd" ingredients, you've screwed something up. Which is why I aways reserve one or two avocados if I need to bring the focus back onto the flavor they provide.
This recipe will take forever to type out, because of explaining what would only take 5 seconds to show in person. It's worth it. Build the recipe in order that the ingredients are listed and it'll also help prevent the avocados from turning brown. The vitamin C (citric acid) from the limes will prevent oxidization (browning) of the diced avocados, as well as Saran Wrap pressed directly onto the smoothed, flat surface of the guac in the bowl, while you let it chill and flavors meld in the fridge.
The "weird" tweaks in red are what make the guacamole so damn good and came from countless amounts of trial and error.
What I like about this recipe is it's not hard and fast. I don't worry about wandering a bit here or there on the ratios a bit, depending on how everything is coming together when tasted, mainly because the size of avocados aren't consistent, and sometimes they have amazing intense flavor, and sometimes they're a bit dull and things need to be tweaked. Lime juice is what will lift up the dull flavor of avocados that aren't at their peak flavor-wise.
I tend to make a big batch since it's a bit labor intensive. Scale accordingly if you like.
You're going to make what looks like the beginning of an incredibly finely diced salsa (minus tomatoes) in one large mixing bowl, and only at the last moment, add the diced avocados and stir gently, breaking things down and tasting, mixing more to get the consistency you like. It always tastes better if you let it rest in the fridge for about 4 hours, covered with plastic wrap that is literally pressed completely against the surface, to prevent any browning.
- 2 medium limes, juiced into a big metal mixing bowl. I'll usually reserve one half of one, set aside to correct the acidity and balance at the very end. Acidity will perk up flavors and correct for any dull avocados.
- A large handful of cilantro, pick off only the leaves, no stems at all, diced super fine.
- One very large white onion, very, very finely diced. You don't want big chunks. And here's the important trick that keeps the onion intensity in check, but still gives you a great texture. You have to "de-flame" the onions. After finely dicing them, you need to put them in a very fine mesh strainer and rinse them under the faucet really good, stir them around, just make sure you're reducing the amount of the strong onions flavor, basically letting a bunch of potent onion juice go right down the drain. Use your hand and gently press the residual water out. You can use a few paper towels if you want, but its not super critical to get them completely dry. But you don't want them soggy either, because it'll just dilute the flavor of everything and make the guacamole soupy. No bueno.
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin, yes you can toast whole cumin in a hot pan then grind, it does make a subtle difference, but not critical.
- 2 jalapeño peppers, carefully de-seeded, internal ribs removed (if you're a wuss) and very very finely diced.
- One big clove of garlic, also minced. Don't make the mistake of adding more garlic than this until you've played with the recipe and decided for yourself. But garlic, as beautiful of a flavor it is, will quickly mask the much more expensive and delicate flavor of avocados, so don't go over two medium or one large clove to begin with.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoons Soy Sauce. (Yes, odd)
- 1.5-2 teaspoons Honey (Yes, again, odd)
- 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- 8 ripe avocados, prep 6 or 7 of them and keep 1 or 2 set aside if you need to balance out the flavor (mainly because the size of the avocado will dictate exactly how many you need. Carefully remove the rock hard nib that's on the top where it grew from the tree, throw all these bastards out before you move on (I used to prep hundreds of avocados daily after high school when I worked briefly at a local pizza restaurant. That was the pro tip from the owner because of the risk of dental damage claims). Use a sharp knife to cut it in half lengthwise, twist till the two sides release, then very very carefully using the heel section of that sharp chef's knife stab into and twist out the seed. Then grab a simple butter knife or any dull knife and slice cube shaped cuts into the flesh, all the way thru till you feel the knife blade scraping against the back of the avocado skin. Take the biggest tablespoon you have and scrape out these "cubes" into a bowl. It's dealer's choice how thick you want them, since it'll affect the final texture. Use the spoon to scrape every last bit of the avocado out, you'll have some mushy stuff, but mostly cubes. Scoop them out right onto your "salsa" and stir.
The importance of the honey is that it adds a subtle, maybe floral sweetness, which compliments the avocado and it has a bit more flavor than plain sugar. You'd never know it was there if I didn't tell you, but it makes a huge difference. Same for the soy sauce. That's why this big recipe doesn't use much salt. The soy sauce adds saltiness, but also adds umami flavors and rounds things out nicely. Again, you'd never be able to tell it was there, nor should you. But it makes a difference.
That's it, all in one spot. There was a time, literally like a decade or more ago, when I added some very very ripe, finely diced mango into it during one of our summer get-togethers. It adds nice color contrast, but it's not in my usual rotation.
The more you stir and taste for seasoning, the more it'll break down and become creamy.
A different batch, showing the diced onions after de-flaming them.
A batch whipped up for some keto friendly "burrito bowls" a while back.
Enjoy.
