In this edition of Epicurious 101, professional chef Saúl Montiel demonstrates how to make guacamole the Mexican way–from choosing the right avocado to mashing all the components together, your tortilla chips are about to level up.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Hi, I'm Saul Montiel.
00:01 I'm a professional chef.
00:02 Today, I'm gonna teach you how to make guacamole
00:04 the right way, Mexican way.
00:06 I'm gonna teach you everything you need to know
00:08 to make the creamiest guacamole.
00:10 This is guacamole 101.
00:12 What I'm looking at the perfect guacamole
00:15 is a mix of chunky and creamy,
00:17 spicy without being too overpowering,
00:19 and crunchy just from the chip.
00:21 Making guacamole is one of the easiest things to do at home.
00:24 You just have to be prepared.
00:26 Who's ready to make the best guacamole?
00:28 (upbeat music)
00:30 The most important part of making a guacamole
00:33 is choosing the right avocado.
00:35 What I choose today is avocado husks
00:37 from the state of Michoacan, Mexico.
00:39 They taste better, they're richer in flavor.
00:41 In front of me, I have the same avocado,
00:44 but on different stage.
00:45 Unripe, the perfect one, and the overripe.
00:47 I recommend you not to squeeze,
00:49 but you wanna get a bruise onto the avocado.
00:51 So just by looking at the color,
00:53 I can already tell which one is the best avocado
00:55 out of those three.
00:56 We don't wanna choose green.
00:57 We don't wanna choose too dark brown.
00:59 Another way of finding out if your avocados are on point
01:02 is by the stem right here.
01:04 When you remove this part of the avocado,
01:06 if it's too yellow brown, that means it's overripe.
01:09 So this is already no bueno.
01:11 The perfect one has to be kind of like a green
01:14 with a little bit of yellow.
01:15 This is perfect.
01:16 The safest way to cut an avocado
01:22 is choosing the right avocado.
01:24 If it's too green,
01:25 you're gonna put more force into the knife
01:28 and you have more chances of you cutting yourself.
01:29 You're gonna use a bigger knife.
01:31 It will be easier for you to cut the avocado
01:34 all the way around.
01:34 When cutting an avocado,
01:36 you're gonna grab it from the bottom
01:37 because it's wider and you can control it easier.
01:40 And you slice.
01:41 Once you feel the seed, you wanna go around.
01:44 You're moving the avocado.
01:45 You're not moving the knife.
01:47 That's it.
01:48 Now you're gonna remove the knife,
01:49 put it away, and then twist.
01:52 And that's how you cut an avocado.
01:53 You see this brown part right here?
01:55 This is because somebody put their fingers into my avocado
01:59 to not smash the avocado with your fingers.
02:01 Now, what do you do with this?
02:02 You remove it with a spoon.
02:03 That's it.
02:04 Not a big deal.
02:05 Now, how you remove the seed?
02:07 Bigger knife.
02:08 Slam it a little bit just to cut the seed.
02:09 You twist, right?
02:10 Comes out.
02:11 Now, with this finger, you kind of push it.
02:14 And it comes off.
02:16 So let's do our second avocado.
02:17 Grab it from the bottom, slice, twist.
02:20 Then just twist.
02:21 Beautiful avocado.
02:22 Bend it a little bit.
02:24 Then you twist and push it.
02:26 Okay, now I'm gonna dice the avocado for my guacamole.
02:29 And for this, I'm gonna need a smaller knife.
02:31 Now, I kind of leave like maybe almost an inch free.
02:35 So I'm gonna cut it in half through here.
02:37 You're gonna do four.
02:38 I like to pre-dice my avocado
02:40 because it will save you energy when you smash it,
02:43 'cause you're gonna need a lot of energy to eat it.
02:45 The best trick to avoiding cutting your hand
02:47 is take your time.
02:48 Do it slowly.
02:49 If you do it hard or you use so much force,
02:52 you probably cut really deep.
02:53 Now, I'm going to remove this part right here
02:57 'cause we don't want this on my guacamole.
02:59 So now I'm gonna scoop the avocado out of the shell.
03:02 And here is my avocado diced for my guacamole.
03:05 Let's move to dicing our vegetables.
03:07 To make guacamole, you need six ingredients.
03:12 Avocado, cilantro, onions, serrano, tomatoes, lime.
03:17 I'm gonna start with the onion.
03:18 Remove the bottom part, the top part.
03:21 Cut it in half.
03:22 I'm removing these parts.
03:24 I'm gonna use only half an onion.
03:25 I'm gonna hold it from where the heart of the onion is
03:28 and dice it from the end of the onion.
03:30 Small dices.
03:31 The smaller, the easier to smash.
03:33 So I want the onion to be all over the guacamole,
03:36 not only on just little parts of the guacamole.
03:39 I'm not slicing all the way in.
03:40 I kind of want to leave this end without touching it
03:43 so it will hold the onion and it will be easier to slice.
03:45 So don't cut all the way through, just halfway.
03:48 That's it.
03:49 And then just dice it a little bit.
03:51 So now I'm gonna add it into the molcajete.
03:54 Why I choose a serrano?
03:56 Because I'm Mexican.
03:57 It's a beautiful spice without being too overpowering.
04:02 You can make it even spicier by smashing them.
04:05 And now I'm gonna dice this with entire seeds
04:08 because I want this to be nice and spicy.
04:11 You can remove the seeds.
04:13 No problem, that's all up to you.
04:15 If you want to find out how spicy your serrano is,
04:18 smell it.
04:19 Whoa, if you got a strong smell,
04:21 that means it's spicy.
04:23 Also on the serrano, if you see like a little scratch
04:26 on the skin, that means it's gonna be spicier.
04:28 This is okay because it's nice and smooth.
04:30 So now I have my diced white onions, diced serrano pepper,
04:33 and I'm gonna add a little bit of lime.
04:35 So you see the skins between this one and that one?
04:38 Guess which one is gonna be more juicy, the smoother.
04:41 Now, if you want to get more juice out of this one,
04:43 you just want to smash it like that
04:45 and it will be easier to squeeze.
04:47 I'm gonna squeeze some of it here.
04:49 Don't do all the lime because you don't know
04:51 how acidic it's gonna turn.
04:53 Now I'm gonna do some cilantro,
04:55 get rid of the bottom part.
04:56 I like to use the stem of the cilantro,
04:58 it's better and richer.
05:00 I'm gonna put it here.
05:01 It's always good to save some for garnish.
05:03 Now I'm gonna dice some tomatoes.
05:05 I'm using plum because they're nice and firm.
05:07 And I'm gonna add the tomatoes into the end
05:09 'cause I want that to be chunks.
05:10 So I'm not gonna smash this.
05:12 I'm only gonna use the outside of the tomato.
05:14 I'm removing the insides of the tomato.
05:16 This will make your guacamole liquidy.
05:18 We want big chunks 'cause I wanna see the tomatoes in it.
05:22 I'm gonna add the tomatoes later on.
05:23 So my ingredients are ready.
05:25 Let's mash all these ingredients together.
05:27 [upbeat music]
05:30 First, I'm gonna tell you about my friend right here,
05:32 molcajete en a tejolote.
05:35 Mexican, more of the pesto.
05:37 It brings the flavor out of the serrano,
05:39 the onions, the cilantro, and the lime stronger.
05:42 If you don't have these at home,
05:43 get yourself a model of pesto.
05:45 [laughs]
05:46 And if you don't have a model of pesto,
05:48 get yourself a bowl.
05:49 Smash it with a wooden spoon.
05:50 Dice the ingredients a little bit thinner.
05:52 It will make it easier for you to smash.
05:54 Now I'm going to smash my onions, serrano, and cilantro.
05:57 I want the flavors to come out.
05:59 And also when I mix it with the avocado,
06:02 you won't find chunks of serrano or chunks of onion.
06:05 So what I'm doing here,
06:07 I'm making this into a little paste.
06:09 So look at this, it's almost ready.
06:10 It's like I'm making a salsa.
06:11 Now when we mix this with the avocado,
06:14 the flavor is gonna be even.
06:15 You might find some brown little pieces.
06:18 It's okay to eat it.
06:19 I'd rather don't serve it because I'm a professional.
06:22 So we have the avocado there.
06:24 I'm gonna do a little bit of salt.
06:26 And now a little bit more smashing.
06:28 And look how easy it is.
06:29 And this is why we dice our avocado.
06:32 This makes me happy.
06:33 Food alone makes me happy.
06:35 I don't see the onions.
06:37 I don't see the serranos.
06:38 'Cause they just got married.
06:40 We don't want to over smash.
06:41 We're not making puree.
06:42 We're making guacamole.
06:44 Guacamole should be creamier and chunky.
06:46 Now I'm gonna add some of these lovely tomatoes.
06:49 The reason why I add tomatoes last
06:50 because tomatoes release water.
06:52 Oh my gosh.
06:53 Look, this is what a perfect guacamole looks like.
06:56 Now, before you put it on a plate or serve it, taste it.
06:59 It needs salt.
07:01 And it needs a little more lime.
07:03 Gosh, I can't believe I get paid to do this.
07:05 Okay, second shot.
07:07 So good.
07:12 So good.
07:13 My guacamole, it's ready.
07:16 [upbeat music]
07:19 So normally in Mexico,
07:20 we serve the guacamole in the molcajete.
07:22 The rock is cold,
07:23 so you will keep the guacamole fresher
07:25 for a longer period of time.
07:27 I'm gonna garnish it with a little bit of queso fresco.
07:29 This is optional.
07:30 So this adds like a saltiness element to my guacamole,
07:33 which is always good.
07:35 There's some chips that are very fragile, like my heart.
07:38 I'm gonna use corn tortilla chips.
07:40 They need to be strong.
07:41 Guacamole, it's normally heavier.
07:43 So you need something that holds that really well.
07:46 And these tortillas are my favorite.
07:48 And we save some cilantro, right?
07:50 And there is the perfect guacamole right in your kitchen.
07:53 Now to my favorite part, eating the guacamole.
07:56 Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm.
08:00 I don't feel any chunks of onions.
08:02 I don't feel any chunks of serrano peppers.
08:05 It's just creamy, chunky, delicious.
08:08 I just need a beer now.
08:10 Maybe two.
08:10 How easy was this process?
08:11 It was very easy.
08:13 My daughter Ella and Elena, she's eight and six.
08:16 They already know how to make guacamole.
08:17 It's very simple.
08:19 The key is the avocado.
08:21 Choose the right avocado.
08:22 (upbeat music)