Ok, I did quite a bit of research online for this recipe. Most of the ones I found were very similar to one another. Some used Coke and some Dr. Pepper. I made two attempts. The first attempt I used a pork roast because that's what most of the recipes used. It was cheaper than even a pork butt and shredded easily, but I found that when you went to eat it, you ended up chewing and chewing and chewing...not good. Sooo, I'm back to my old trusted friend - pork shoulder or butt. In the first attempt I used chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for the tomato base they all seem to have. Wow, what a blast of heat. I could hardly eat it. Actually, the flavor of the whole thing was great. It was just hot, hot, hot, and chewy. So I skipped the chipotle stuff and used enchilada sauce, which is what most of the recipes used - some used just straight tomato sauce (maybe for another try). So here is my version of the Cafe Rio sweet pork. Don't have a Cafe Rio anywhere close, so I'll never know how close I am, but it's really good so that's all I need. I have a recipe for the tomatillo dressing at the bottom.
Serves: 10-12
5 - ish lb. pork butt or shoulder
1 can Dr. Pepper (not diet)
15 oz. can enchilada sauce - I used Old El Paso or their Taco Sauce
3 cloves minced garlic
2-3 c. brown sugar (start out with less and work up to your desired sweetness)
4 tsp. cumin
3 Tblsp. molasses
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 Tblsp. salt
1-2 large onions
1 can green chilies
Cut up the pork butt and trim off as much fat as possible and trim off the bone, but keep the bone. Dump into a crock pot with everything but the green chilies. Cook on high for about 8 hours or until you can shred the meat easily. Add the green chilies and allow to cook with the lid off for about 1 more hour or so. Sometimes the meat ends up too liquidy, so either cook with the lid off for a couple hours right before it's done or after the meat is done, take out as much liquid as possible and put in a saucepan and reduce the liquid by boiling it for a bit, this usually takes anywhere from 1/2 hr. to 1 hr. It will look thicker and have lots of little bubbles on top. I also found that by taking the meat out a little at a time and using kitchen sissors to cut it up, doesn't make the meat really mushy like it sometimes gets if you shred it in the pot.
To make their quesadillas:
Take a really good tortilla (like the Costco uncooked ones or a fresh homemade one)
put it in a hot pan
Add cheese and pork and fold in half
allow to cook for a few minutes
turn over and allow to cook for a few more minutes on this side.
Dressing:
1 pkg. ranch buttermilk dressing mix
3 tomatillos
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a blender; process on high. Chill
Sunday, April 14, 2013
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