Barbacoa & Big Red Festival
[San Antonio, TX] The Barbacoa & Big Red Festival tells us that its festival showcases “the region’s most mouthwatering barbacoa dishes and the iconic Big Red soda to pair it up.
“This festival offers an unrivaled experience that celebrates the rich culinary and cultural heritage of San Antonio, a weekend tradition for many families in the Alamo City.”
Barbacoa got our attention … but they set the hook in our mouth with Big Red.
Barbacoa is a method of cooking meat that has its origins in Mexico. Lamb or goat ‒ and sometimes beef or pork ‒ is stewed with dried chilies and spices until it is tender and juicy.
Big Red is a soft drink. Originally concocted in 1937, it was known as Sun Tang Red Cream Soda. Big Red is a variety of cream soda that used to be considered an elusive regional soda … until the North American beverage producer Keurig Dr Pepper acquired it and started distributing it everywhere.
Texas Monthly adds that Big Red is “an essential ingredient for an authentic South Texas barbecue, the perfect palate-cooling antidote to the spicy heat of the meat.”
And so, we have the pairing.
But we digress.
Alongside the culinary delights, the Barbacoa & Big Red Festival will feature a lineup of live music. Local and regional artists will take the stage, infusing the festival with the soulful sounds of Tejano, Conjunto, and other genres deeply rooted in the cultural fabric of Texas. You will dance into the night.
The 11th Barbacoa & Big Red Festival makes its return Oct. 7 & 8, 2023. Please save us an iced bottle of Big Red and a cabrito gordita. Muchísimas gracias.
BARBACOA & BIG RED FESTIVAL LINKS