One of my favorite things about living in Provo, is that cafe rio is a hop skip and a jump away.
I grew up on Mexican food, and I know some people complain about how it isn't "real" Mexican food, but I don't care. It's good. And that is all that matters.
One day at work, the mouthwatering scent of cafe rio's sweet pork wafted in to my office and I had to go investigate. Turns out my coworker Kyle had not brought cafe rio for lunch, but instead made it himself.
So I knew I HAD to get the recipe.
There are so many copy cat cafe rio recipes that never end up tasting anything like the real thing but I can swear by this one.
All thanks to Kyle
Here is what you will need:
2 lb pork loin roast, 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoon of molasses, 1 can of yellow el pato sauce, 1 can of tomato sauce, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, and 2 cups of Dr Pepper.
Mix everything together in the crock pot, and then add the pork,
Let it sit for 8 hours on low
Then remove just the pork and put it in a big pot or a large skillet.
Shred it well.
Then place on the stove over medium/low heat and add back about three quarters of the left over liquid from the crock pot
Let the liquid reduce down to a thick sauce.
Stir occasionally making sure it coats the pork.
Then transfer into a bowl and you are done!
You can use this pork for nachos, quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas (like my friend Kyle used it for. Check out his recipe here) or just eat it with a fork... no judgements here.
ENJOY!
