It’s Cinco de Mayo, and here in Austin we take our 5th of May partying seriously. Okay, so technically this is a Mexican civic holiday and not an American one, but being so close to the border ‘n’ all, Texans have unofficially adopted this reason to booze it up and consume mass quantities of tacos. (Like we don’t do that *every* day?)
If it’s your first time partying Cinco de Mayo style, here’s a quick lesson in what to eat, drink, and where to get your 1862 Mexican defeat of France on.
What to eat:
Via the Culinary School of the Rockies’ home chef newsletter, try this slow-cooker recipe for carnitas (pork tacos), which they’ve adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit.
Classic carnitas (photo by Flickr user Brandon Doran)
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 4 c (or more) chicken stock
- ½ large onion, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 avocado, sliced
- fresh cilantro sprigs
- salsa
- tortillas
Directions:
- Place pork in slow cooker with salt, black pepper and dried oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover with chicken stock.
- Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart — about 6 hours.
- Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to cutting board. Discard onion pieces. Using fingers or two forks, shred pork.
- Warm tortillas and place a heaping mound of carnitas, a couple slices of avocado, salsa and cilantro atop each tortilla to assemble tacos.
- Enjoy warm.
-OR-
If you can’t wait 6 hours for delicious taco goodness, check out our secret recipe for great homemade tacos instead — ready in about 30 minutes!
What to drink:
Obviously, anything Mexican goes. Instead of playing it safe with a boring old Corona, why not take the plunge with a tasty Michelada? You can grab a canned version called the Chelada at your local grocery store (in a tall-boy can), or make one from scratch. DIY it like so:
- 12 oz. Mexican light beer (Corona, Dos XX, etc.)
- 6 oz. Clamato (yes, this is a drink that combines tomato and clam juice)
- 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 dashes Tabasco sauce (or more, if you like it spicy!)
- juice from 2 limes
- 1 pinch coarsely ground pepper + 1 pinch sea salt
Michelada (photo by Flickr user Tom Karlo)
Just shake everything but the beer together with a few cubes of ice, then pour the beer and Clamato into a tall glass together simultaneously. Be careful not to overfill, as the beer will foam up. You can rim your glass with celery salt, if desired. (Thanks to Ruben the “real Mexican” who posted this recipe in the comments section at DrinksMixer.com!)
If you’re not into Clamato, well, I guess there’s always Margaritas, but you’ll have to locate a recipe for those on your own, friendo!
Where to party:
Once you’ve had some tacos, some Micheladas, and located some peeps waving Mexican flags, you probably want to know where the heck you can get out and PAR-TAY, am I right? Here are but a few of the overwhelming options in town this evening:
- Three Amigos Quote-Along at the Alamo Drafthouse (7 PM at both the Ritz and Lake Creek locations) – featuring all-you-can-eat tacos! A classic gringo comedy, featuring Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short getting their asses whupped by banditos.
- Free Cinco de Mayo Dance Party with GOBI and Friends
- La Condesa Downtown Block Party (5-10 PM)
Also happening, like they do every Thursday:
- First Thursdays SoCo
- Social Cycling ATX’s Thursday Night Ride (check their Twitter for more info)
