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Of all the delicacies that Utah has to offer, I don't think that there are any that are yummier or more addictive than Cafe Rio's sweet pork barbacoa, I mean, MAN...this stuff is good. The only problem is...you can't always just run to Cafe Rio. And leftovers only last me one day. And when you're sitting at Cafe Rio, you can't stuff a handful of the pork into your mouth with your bare fingers and feel the sweet sauce drizzle down your chin without feeling that creepy sensation that someone is watching you. Well folks, problem solved. I give you: Cafe Rio's sweet amazing barbacoa pork. The best part about It's just about the easiest thing to make and it stays great in the fridge. You can thank me later.
Cafe Rio Pork
2 pounds pork (I buy a pre-packaged pork tenderloin from Walmart, pictured below)
2 cans Coke (Don't get Diet. I just bought a liter and made it two weeks in a row.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup water
1 small can diced green chiles
3/4 of a LARGE can of red enchilada sauce (or two of the 10 oz. cans)
1 cup brown sugar
MARINATE (at least for a few hours, but I prefer to do it overnight)
-one can (or a cup and a half) Coke
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-pork
Just throw them all together in a ziploc bag and stick in the fridge. I had closer to 2.5 pounds of pork (which cost around $8 from Walmart...and lasted my husband and me four hearty meals)
In the morning drain your marinade and stick your pork loin into the Crock Pot. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt over the pork and then douse it with 1/4 cup of water and half a can (or almost a cup) of Coke. Cover your Crock Pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours.
Once your pork is done, drain the liquid and shred your pork up. Perhaps ahead of time, or perhaps while you're waiting for the pork to cool down (or you could be like me and just shred the hot pork with two forks because you simply can't wait any longer for your Cafe Rio pork), blend together your enchilada sauce (I've done 3/4 of a big can before, but this time decided to do two small cans so I didn't get stuck with leftover enchilada sauce), the cup of packed brown sugar, the small can of green chiles, and the rest of your can of Coke (or I just use about a cup from my liter bottle). It takes about 20-30 seconds to blend until smooth. Return your shredded pork to the now empty Crock Pot (you drained the liquid out, remember?) and pour your blended sauce over it. I'll warn you--the sauce itself does not taste fantastic before you put it on the pork. The first time I made this I hadn't been super careful about measuring things so I tasted the sauce to make sure it was alright. Blech. It was freaking nasty. Nevertheless, I poured it over my pork, and voila--I didn't think there was going to be any left by the time my husband got home. It's really that good. Recover your pork and leave on warm or low until everything is warmed through.
But now that you have this whole Crock Pot of absolute delciousness, what are you to do with it?! Well, if you're me, you're going to find lots of excuses to go past the kitchen so that you can snitch a bite of it every time you walk past. BUT, we also like to eat it:
-on salads
-in quesadillas
-in wraps with lettuce
-and, in the ever-famous Cafe Rio burrito
To make a Cafe Rio burrito, simply heat up your tortillas (sometimes I make them from scratch, sometimes I buy the raw ones from the store that you throw on the griddle--they're just so much tastier than pre-packaged tortillas). Fill your tortilla with yummy Cafe Rio pork:
Add your beans and cheese
Close the burrito and flip seam-side down. Cover with Cafe Rio sauce (I usually just scoop it out of the Crock Pot with a spoon or pour it from the Ziploc bag that I store the pork in if I've already refrigerated it). Sprinkle with more cheese. Heat. Serve with salsa, sour cream, pico, lettuce--whatever your choice of condiment may be...
So yummy, so easy, and so worth it!
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"Cafe Rio" Pork
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