Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

By NicoleS

Ingredients

• SWEET PORK:
• (Marinade):
• 2 pounds pork (we like to use boneless pork ribs)
• 1 1/2 cans Coke (NOT diet)
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• (Slow Cooker):
• 1/2 can Coke
• 1/4 c. water
• dash garlic salt
• (Sauce):
• 1/2 can Coke
• 1 can diced green chilies, drained
• 3/4 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 packet sazon seasoning (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• CILANTRO-LIME RICE:
• 1 c. uncooked rice
• 1 tsp. butter or margarine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 can (15 oz) chicken broth (add water to equal 2 cups)
• (Sauce):
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
• BLACK BEANS:
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/3 c. tomato juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
• CILANTRO RANCH:
• 1/2 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1 tomato, diced (optional)
• 1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/4 jalapeno (seeds removed)

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

SWEET PORK:

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..), salt, pepper, sazon seasoning, chili powder. If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!


CILANTRO-LIME RICE:

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.


BLACK BEANS:

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (**NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it's not "traditional Cafe Rio")


CILANTRO RANCH:

Mix all ingredients together in the blender.

ASSEMBLY:

Here is how we put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them.. they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo). Add guacamole (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and sour cream. Add crushed tortilla chips, a shake of Parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch or vinaigrette dressing and there you have it!