Everything for this guacamole is available at a good grocery store … except, perhaps, the chicharrón, Mexican hot sauce and Mexican queso añejo. Visiting a Mexican market will certainly provide what you’re after, though you have other options: crispy pork rinds can stand in for the similar chicharrón, your favorite hot sauce can stand in for the Mexican variety and Romano cheese is delicious and widely available.
Ideas for serving: Because getting chicharrón, hot sauce and queso añejo in every bite is my favorite part of this guacamole, I like to serve it in a wide, shallow bowl topped with an even layer of chicharrón, drizzled with hot sauce and sprinkled with the grated cheese. Passing a tray of sturdy tortilla chips or little tostadas (baked or fried) topped with fully garnished dollops of the guacamole insures that everyone gets a perfect bite. While I feel tortilla chips are the perfect scoop here, I’ve been known to put out baskets of chicharrón for scooping, too.
Rick Bayless is the author of seven popular cookbooks, including Mexican Everyday and Fiesta at Rick’s. With his wife Deann he owns and operates Chicago’s hugely successful Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and XOCO. Bayless is also the founder of the Frontera Farmer Foundation, an organization that supports small local farmers. His product line of prepared foods is sold coast to coast. He lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter.
