Café Rio Style Sweet Pork is a go to, at our home. I love that you can put it in the slow cooker, and in a few hours have a wonderful meal.

I also like the fact that you can put tortilla shells with your meat, or I love to have corn chips with mine. 

Cilantro rice not only tastes wonderful, it also makes the meat go a lot further; that way you can have more leftovers, or serve more people. 

Finally, the tomatillo dressing is just like the icing on the cake.

What Ingredients Do I Need For Café Rio Style Sweet Pork?

Here’s a list of ingredients you’ll need to make this Pork (scroll down for the full recipe):

Pork:

• Boneless pork shoulder roast
• Salsa, mild or medium
• Cumin
• Brown sugar
• Coke or Root beer (I do mine without)

Rice:

• Rice
• Butter
• Garlic clove
• Freshly squeezed lime juice
• Chicken broth
• Sugar
• Freshly chopped cilantro

Dressing:

• Hidden Valley Ranch Traditional mix
• Mayonnaise
• Buttermilk
• Tomatillos
• Fresh cilantro
• Garlic clove
• Juice of 1 lime
• Tabasco sauce

Optional:

• Grated cheese
• Black or pinto beans

How Do I Make Café Rio Style Sweet Pork?

Here’s the simple steps you’ll follow to make this Pork (scroll down for the full recipe):

Pork:

• Place the pork in a crock pot.
• Mix the salsa, cumin, and the brown sugar, and place on top of the roast.
• If you are adding the Cola/Root Beer soda, pour it into the bottom of the crock pot.
• Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours on high for 3-5 hours or until tender.
• Put the pork on a cutting board or pan and shred.
• Add the shredded pork back into the cooking juice in the slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Rice:

• In a saucepan, combine the rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp lime juice, chicken broth and water.
• Bring the rice to a boil over medium heat.
• Cover and cook on low for 12-20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat.
• In a small bowl, combine the 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice, sugar and the cilantro, then pour it over the hot cooked rice.
• Mix together as you fluff the rice.

Dressing:

• Place the ranch mix, mayonnaise, buttermilk, diced tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and a drop or two of Tabasco sauce into a blender and mix together.
• To assemble your pulled pork, you can make a salad by using a bed of chopped lettuce, then add, rice, meat and top with dressing.
• Or you may want to use a flour tortilla shell and add meat, rice, chopped lettuce and dressing.

This is what the pork looks like after it cooks and you shred it.

How Do I Serve Café Rio Style Sweet Pork?

• We like to eat this sweet pork served on a flour tortilla shell with layers of cilantro lime rice, sweet pork, toppings of our own choosing, and then topped off with cilantro lime ranch dressing.
• Personally, I like to put my sweet pork, cilantro lime rice, some lettuce, and cheese, on top of corn chips, and then drizzle cilantro lime ranch dressing on the top.
• Or we make it into a salad by using a bed of chopped lettuce, then adding sweet pork, cilantro lime rice, and topping it off with dressing and any other toppings that we like.
• My children use this sweet pork, along with cilantro lime rice, and cheese in a smothered burrito, that is topped with cheese and cilantro lime dressing.
• Really the ways to serve this Café Rio Style Sweet Pork are limited only by your imagination. Pick your favorite Sweet Pork dish and use this recipe to make that dish.
• Some suggested sweet pork dishes are: Nachos, Enchiladas, Quesadillas, and Tacos.

What is a Tomatillo?

• Sometimes tomatillos are called husk tomatoes, as they look like green, unripe tomatoes with a dry, leafy husk that wraps around the outside.
• Tomatillos have a slightly more acidic, slightly less sweet flavor than tomatoes.
• Their interior texture is denser and less watery than tomatoes.
• Prepping a tomatillo is pretty straight forward.
• Do not eat the husks, they can easily be removed with your hands and discarded.
• The color of the fruit is a beautiful bright green, which fades a bit once you cook them.
• Tomatillos are a good source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, as well as dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, niacin, potassium and manganese.

This is what the pork looks like before it cooks!

More Crock Pot Recipes For You To Enjoy:

Crock Pot Orange Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

Easy Crock Pot Lasagna

Perfect Pork Chops

Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken

Amazing Crock Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

Continue to Content

Yield: 12 people

Café Rio Style Sweet Pork

Print

Café Rio Style Sweet Pork is a great dish for a large group. Add cilantro lime rice and cilantro ranch dressing and your meal is complete.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours 4 seconds

Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes 4 seconds

Ingredients

Pork:

• 3-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast
• 1 (16 ounce) bottle of salsa, mild or medium
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 can Coke or Root beer (I do mine without)

Rice:

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

Dressing:

• 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Traditional mix
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tomatillos, remove husk and dice
• 1/2-3/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Tabasco sauce to taste

Optional:

• Grated cheese
• black or pinto beans

Instructions

Pork:

1. Place the pork in a crock pot.
2. Mix the salsa, cumin, and the brown sugar, and place on top of the roast.
3. If you are adding the Cola/Root Beer soda, pour it into the bottom of the crock pot.
4. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours on high for 3-5 hours or until tender.
5. Put the pork on a cutting board or pan and shred with 2 large forks or bear claws that are made for shredding meat (a baking pan works well, since it has sides to contain the meat and juice).
6. Add the shredded pork back into the cooking juice in the slow cooker.
7. Cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Rice:

1. In a saucepan, combine the rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp lime juice, chicken broth and water.
2. Bring the rice to a boil over medium heat.
3. Cover and cook on low for 12-20 minutes or until the rice is tender.
4. Remove from the heat.
5. In a small bowl, combine the 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice, sugar and the cilantro, then pour it over the hot cooked rice.
6. Mix together as you fluff the rice.

Dressing:

1. Place the ranch mix, mayonnaise, buttermilk, diced tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and a drop or two of Tabasco sauce into a blender and mix together.
2. To assemble your pulled pork, you can make a salad by using a bed of chopped lettuce, then add, rice, meat and top with dressing, or you may want to use a flour tortilla shell and use meat, rice, chopped lettuce and dressing.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 917Total Fat 56gSaturated Fat 18gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 34gCholesterol 183mgSodium 439mgCarbohydrates 53gFiber 2gSugar 35gProtein 48g