Salsa de Aguacate Estilo Tijuana
Salsa de Aguacate Estilo Tijuana·(sahl-sah deh ah-gwah-kah-teh ehs-tee-loh tee-hwah-nah)
Chapter 1 — Salsas & Sauces: The Foundational Layer
This is the luxurious, bright green sauce you find in squeeze bottles at the best late-night spots from Mission Street to Baja. While many taqueros save a buck by blending Mexican squash with oil to fake the texture, true Tijuana-style carne asada demands the real thing: an unapologetic emulsion of perfectly ripe Hass avocados and lightly simmered tomatillos. Unlike our rustic, molcajete-crushed table salsas, this specific taqueria staple absolutely requires a high-speed blender. You want the blades to shear the avocado fat and tomatillo pectin into a velvety, cooling blanket that binds the hot, charred meat to your hand-stretched tortilla.
Before you start
Plan ahead for perfectly ripe avocados.
Supermarket Hass avocados are often sold rock hard, so buy them two to three days in advance and leave them in a brown paper bag on the counter to soften properly before making this salsa.
Ingredients
- tomatillos1/2 lb
- serrano chiles3 med
- white onion1/4 med
- garlic2 large cloves
- Hass avocados2 large
- fresh cilantro1/2 cup
- fresh lime juice2 tbsp
- coarse sea salt1 1/2 tsp
- water1/2 cup
Method
- 01
Simmer the aromatics gently.
Place the tomatillos, serrano chiles, white onion, and garlic in a saucepan, cover them with enough water to submerge, and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat.
- 02
Pull the tomatillos before they burst.
Watch closely; the moment the tomatillos shift from bright, vivid green to a muted olive green—about five to seven minutes—remove them from the heat so they don't become bitter and waterlogged.
- 03
Blend the base ingredients first.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the hot tomatillos, chiles, onion, and garlic to a blender, reserve a half cup of the hot cooking liquid, and blend on medium speed until smooth.
- 04
Emulsify with the avocado.
Add the scooped avocado flesh, cilantro, lime juice, coarse sea salt, and the reserved cooking water, then blend on high speed for a full minute to shear the fat and pectin into a velvety emulsion.
- 05
Adjust the consistency and seasoning.
If the sauce is too thick to run smoothly off a spoon, blend in cold water a tablespoon at a time; taste and add more salt if the cold avocado has muted the seasoning.
- 06
Store the salsa with the avocado pits.
Transfer the emulsion to a squeeze bottle or storage container and drop the reserved avocado pits directly into the sauce, an old taquero trick that helps hold its shocking, vibrant green color for days.
Notes
Do not substitute the Hass avocados.
They must be perfectly ripe; if forced to use under-ripe, hard avocados, your emulsion will fail and the salsa will end up watery and grassy.
Test your chiles for heat.
American supermarket serranos vary wildly in heat depending on the season, so cut a tiny piece from the tip and taste it before committing all three to the blender.
The Falso Guacamole alternative.
If avocados are exorbitantly priced, you can emulate the famous Mexico City taquero shortcut by boiling one medium zucchini with the tomatillos and emulsifying the mix with a quarter cup of neutral oil instead of avocado.