Seriously regretting not buying those £1295 tickets to SXSW? Don’t. (Don’t ever regret not spending that much money) Instead, bring SXSW to you with a party that's got all the good bits of the festival (food, drink) and none of the bad things (queues, 40 degree heat in the shade). So turn the heating up to 11 and waft the smells of BBQ in front of you. It's time to party - Texas style.
The Drink
It’s all about bourbon down south and the Old Fashioned is the perfect cocktail to enjoy it with. Here's Mixed Cocktail's recipe.
Ingredients
**50ml Dewars Bourbon
10ml sugar syrup
Orange peel
4 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Instructions
Muddle sugar, bitters and orange peel
Add ice and bourbon
Stir gently
The Food
We’ve been reliably informed that the tacos at South By are some of the best on offer. Also a Texas staple? Pulled pork. It basically makes the most sense in the world then to combine the 2 and go for pulled pork tacos – we’re fans of these ones from How Sweet It Is.
Pulled Pork Tacos with Sweet Chili Slaw
Ingredients:
4 pounds pork roast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces beer
2 cups sliced green cabbage
3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 lime, juiced
A bunch of (4-inch) tortillas, for serving
Cotija cheese, for crumbling
Cilantro avocado cream
1 avocado, chopped
1 lime, juiced + zested
3 tablespoons sour cream or greek yogurt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Cover the pork with the salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. Sear the pork on all sides just until it is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the pork and place it in a casserole dish. Pour your favourite beer over the top, cover and cook for 8 hours on low. After 8 hours, remove the top and pull the pork apart with tongs or forks. Toss it well with the beer and then cover it and let it cook for another 15 minutes or so. You have to really toss the meat with the juice to combine everything. Taste the pork and season it additionally if desired.
To make the slaw, add the cabbage to a large bowl. Toss it with the sweet chili sauce and the lime juice, adding in a pinch of salt. You can make this a few hours ahead of time and keep it in the fridge if desired.
To make the avocado cream, add the avocado, lime juice and zest, sour cream or yogurt and the cilantro to a food processor. Blend until pureed and creamy.
Assemble the tacos by adding some pork to each tortilla and covering it with a drizzle of the avocado cream. Add the slaw on top and crumble on a bit of cheese.
The Film
Jon Favreau’s indie flick Chef is due to get it’s world premiere at the festival. Written and directed by Favreau, the film follows a man who loses his job and sets up a food truck in a street food kinda way. Tres contemporary no? Use this as a chance to visit some of Jon’s early work (before he appeared in Wimbledon and The Break-Up) such as the cult classic Swingers or the heartwarming Rudy.
For more great cocktail recipes you can make at home download the Mixed Cocktail app.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.