Pork Salad or Pork Burritos

If you've heard of Cafe Rio then you probably know somebody who has a copycat version of their pork salad (or you have one yourself).  But just in case you don't have one or access to one, here is mine.  This is one of go-to meals for guests.  It's pretty easy to get prepped mostly in advance and it lets people personalize their own a bit.  Once I have all the parts made, I just set everything out and let everybody assemble their own--that way they can do a salad or a burrito, they can decide which things they want and how much of each, etc.  You will have extra pork and extra salad dressing leftover...save that.  I have another great recipe for you coming soon.

Pork Salad or Pork Burritos

Time to Prepare: 10 hours
Number of Servings: 6-8

Pork

• 4-6 lb pork roast
• water
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
• 1 (12 oz) can Coca Cola

Pico de Gallo

• 4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 5 green onions, sliced (green and white parts)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
• kosher salt to taste

Cilantro Ranch

• 1/4 cup Herdez green salsa
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup mayo
• 2 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 bunch cilantro

 Green Chili Cilantro Rice

• 1 cup water, divided
• 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies
• 1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup packed cilantro
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp butter

Salad/Burritos

• Flour tortillas
• Chopped romaine lettuce
• Shredded cheese (I like Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack)
• Canned black beans or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• Tortilla strips or chips
• Lime slices

For the pork, place the roast in a crock pot and cover with water.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  About 2 hours before eating, remove from crock pot and shred.  Dump out the water.  Combine the brown sugar, enchilada sauce, and Coca Cola in the crock pot and stir until well mixed.  Place the shredded pork back into the crock pot with the sauce and keep on low until ready to serve.  Use a slotted spoon to serve it so you don't get too much liquid on your salad/burrito.

While the pork cooks, you can make the pico de gallo and dressing, as well as shred the cheese, chop the lettuce, prep the beans, slice the limes, etc.

For the pico de gallo, combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (it is better if it has a few hours to sit and really let the flavors meld).

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Refrigerate.

About 30 minutes before you want to eat, start the rice (everything else can pretty much be ready at this point).  In a blender, combine 1/2 cup water, chopped green chilies, onion, garlic, and cilantro and blend until smooth.  Set aside.  In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add rice, cooking and stirring for one minute.  Stir in green chili mixture, chicken broth, and remaining 1/2 cup water.  Drop in butter.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for 5 minutes.

Set out all ingredients and let everybody assemble their meal!

Produce Used: Tomato, green onion, garlic, lime, cilantro, jalapeno, onion
Source: slightly adapted from a recipe given to me by my good friend, Lia