Was chatting with some old friends in Texas yesterday and I mentioned that there isnt much BBQ in New Mexico but lots of barbacoa. I was just joking but realized the words were pretty similar. Turns out BBQ is Texan for barbacoa.

Barbacoa was later adopted into the cuisine of the southwestern United States by way of Texas. The word transformed in time to “barbecue”.

Today in a mailing from The Bite I learned about a local tradition called “matanza” (sorry no wiki page). It is a sort of village pig barbecue.

But in the New Mexican tradition of the matanza—an annual pig slaughter and feast—sharing with neighbors was what made the whole endeavor practical. Because even a single pig typically produces far more meat than a family could feasibly eat themselves, unless they were equipped with a heroic amount of freezer space.