Mexican Sweet Pork

So, there are one and a half billion recipes for "Cafe Rio" pork out there. All of them are good. Never had one I didn't like. However, none of them are quite right. Even Our Best Bites, and you KNOW I worship that blog. I had it in my mind that the first recipe I got 5 years ago was too complicated, but guess what . . . it's not complicated at all. Dumping a few spices in is not hard. Just grab your measuring spoons and stand in front of the spice cabinet with your bowl. And guess what else? We really liked it better than the other recipes we've had  when I made it a couple of weeks ago. One HUGE tip - enchilada sauce is a major ingredient, so it's going to really alter the flavor of your final product. Find one that's really good, or make your own. That's what I've done the last couple of times.

As far as the lime-cilantro rice, I like Our Best Bites' version. Simple and yummy. Cook the rice in chicken broth if you want it to have an extra-good flavor.

As far as the dressing, I think I like the recipe that is already on this blog. Our Best Bites recipe has a better consistency, but needs tons more lime, cilantro, and green salsa.

Okay, on to the pork!

2.5 - 3.5 lbs pork loin roast (smaller works fine, too)

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and brown all surfaces on a hot skillet with a little oil in it. Place in a crock pot, then mix up the following:

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cups Worcestershire sauce (I use Lea and Perrins)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 T dried minced onion (This is sooo cheap at winco. If you have none, use 1/2 cup regular minced onion.)

Pour on top of the pork, then cook on high for approximately 4 hours. You can also just dump all of the stuff right onto the pork, just mix it up in the crock pot. When the pork is done, shred it up, put it back in the crock pot, then mix up:

1 can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Pour on top, mix it up, and you're good to go.

Some notes: Browning the pork roast was not in the original recipe I got from Helen the camp director. It's an Our Best Bites idea, and it makes it less greasy and a little more flavorful. However, you don't have to.

As far as juiciness: Some recipes have you drain all of the goodness it cooked in before serving. No, no, that cannot be done. I have thought it was a little flavorless each time I have done that. However, the juiciness can be a little much, so what I do is pour it all out, shred the pork roast, then pour back in however much I think looks right for the consistency.

As far as sweetness: Cafe Rio pork is really, really sweet. I haven't seen a recipe as sweet as it is. So, keep adding dark brown sugar if you would like it to be sweeter.

As far as Coke, reduced-Coke, Dr. Pepper, reduced-Dr. Pepper . . . all of the recipes I've had with those in there are good. However, the entire half cup of a good Worcestershire sauce tastes better than all of those. That's my opinion. Sarah said she'd like to make a few recipes side by side for a taste test. Go for it, peeps, and let me know how it turns out.

As far as the enchilada sauce - I cannot stress how much it matters that you use a good one. I don't know what's a good one, because I so rarely use red enchilada sauce. Let me know if you make a discovery. I used half El Pato, half tomato sauce, and dumped in chili powder, garlic salt/powder, onion salt/powder, and cumin until I liked what I was tasting. Sorry, not a good recipe, I know, but it was easy, cuz dumping is easy.