Guacamole is only as good as the avocados you make it with, and much of the fruit’s goodness hinges on its ripeness. If you live in an area where they’re grown, you probably don’t have to worry about getting them at “the right moment.” (I love this for you, though I am jealous.) But if you live somewhere they have to be imported to (i.e., most of the country), and are planning on making guacamole for “The Big Game,” Reddit user Iceman838 suggests you go buy them right now—and I agree.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been able to waltz into an Oregon grocery store and grab a perfectly ripe avocado. The PNW is very good at produce in general, but alligator pears are not something the region excels at. This means that nearly every avocado I have bought while living here needs at least a day on the counter (or in a paper bag) to reach its peak, but it usually takes three or more.
Monday—or perhaps Tuesday—may seem a little early to buy produce for a dish you plan to serve on Sunday, but it is much easier to halt an avocado’s ripening process than it is to speed it up. Besides the paper bag trick—which still takes at least a day—I have not been impressed with any of the ripening “hacks.” Putting an avocado in the oven, for instance, results in a warm, slimy avocado, which is gross and bad.
If your guac-bound avocados ripen too quickly—pop off the stem to check—you can halt the ripening by popping them in the fridge until you’re ready to mash ‘em up. This may seem like overkill, but I’d rather err on the side of over-prepared than under, especially when it comes to guac.
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