Copycat Sweet Pork

I made this back in March for a 'do-it-yourself' pulled pork bar that included all the fixings, cilantro lime rice, salsa black beans, tortillas (we mostly ate this like a salad piled on plates with the different sides, but some did tacos) and a creamy cilantro dressing - and it was a hit. Why did it take me over 3 months to tell you about it? I 'dunno. Cuz I'm lame and I forget is all I can say. But I'm telling you now and you really, really want to try these recipes! I'll break them apart as separate posts so you don't get bogged down in all my words and long rambling posts. First up - a copycat recipe from Melskitchencafe.com for cafe rio sweet pork. I have no idea what cafe rio is, is it a chain? Whatever it is, this recipe is great - it might look like a lot of ingredients but is pretty much just dump everything together in the crock pot and let it go. Mmmmm we love this!

Seasoning mixture:

• 1 T. cumin
• 1 T. paprika, regular or smoked
• 1 T. onion powder
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 2 t. coarse salt
• 1/2 t. coarse pepper

Pork:

• 3-5 pounds boneless sirloin pork roast, or pork shoulder (don't use loin, not fatty enough)
• 1 cup root beer or cola (Jill's note: I used root beer)
• 1 cup green salsa or green enchilada sauce (Jill's note: I used Herdez brand)

Sauce:

• 2 cups red enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 8 oz. chopped green chiles
• 1 cup green salsa or green enchilada sauce

1. Combine all the seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl. Measure out 2 T. of the mixture and save for later.

2. Cut the pork roast into large chunks (4-6") and rub the remaining seasoning mixture (not the reserved 2 T) evenly over all sides of the pork. 

3. Add the soda and 1 cup green salsa/enchilada sauce to the insert of a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add the seasoned pork. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 5-6 hours until tender. Transfer the pork to a cutting board or pan and shred. Discard all but 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker. Add the shredded pork back to the slow cooker. 

4. Add the 2 T. of reserved seasoning, red enchilada sauce, brown sugar, green chiles, and green salsa/enchilada sauce and stir/toss to combine. Cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes until heated through. Keep warm until serving. 

note: on her website melskitchencafe.com, Mel has directions for doing this in a pressure cooker if you're interested. She also has info on different cuts of meat, freezing the meat, etc. Click here for her post.