Homemade Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Now, I have to warn you...this is going to be long! In this post I'm going to include my collection of recipes to make a Cafe Rio Pork Salad but of course you can make burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and whatever you want, really! I have made these a handful of times now (always for a party!) and it always gets rave reviews!! And I do admit, it does have a process and it is a little time consuming, but it is well worth it and it does get easier/quicker the more times you make it! This is a collaboration of recipes that I got from different places or they are my own. I got most of these, though, from my sister-in-law who got them from Tara Heaton.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Layer in this order:

• Tortilla (buy the uncooked kind from Costco then cook yourself...so so worth it!)
• Cheese 
• Black Beans (I just warm these up from out of the can)
• Lime Rice (Recipe Below)
• Sweet Pork (Recipe Below)
• Romaine Lettuce
• Guacamole (Recipe Below)
• Sour Cream
• Pico De Gallo (Recipe Below)
• Tortilla Strips (Sometimes I order these from Cafe Rio)
• Tomatillo Ranch Dressing (Recipe Below)
• Lime Wedge (optional)

Lime Rice

4 cups Chicken Broth
2 cups Rice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Butter
1/2 tsp lime juice (or more if you want)
2 tsp sugar

Add all ingredients to your rice cooker, stir, cook.

Sweet Shredded Pork

5 lbs Boston Butt Pork Roast (Bone In)
1 cup salsa
1 cup brown sugar

Place Roast in crock pot. Dump salsa and brown sugar. Cook on low all day.

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 fresh garlic bulbs, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth

When ready to serve, take roast out of crock pot and shred. In a saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over pork and serve. (This is also really yummy served over sticky rice as a main dish.)

Guacamole

 3 Avocados
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Salsa
2 tsp Season All
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Combine all ingredients and cut with a pastry cutter until well blended.

Pico De Gallo

1 can S&W diced tomatoes (Seasoned with Jalapeno)
1/2 chopped Purple Onion
1/2 bunch Cilantro (just leaves), diced
1 Garlic, minced

Mix together. Chill and serve.

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

2 cups Mayo
1 Garlic Clove
1/2 bunch Cilantro (just the leaves)
2 T water
2 T white vinegar
1 Jalapeno without seeds
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Tomatillos (Peel off the paper like skin)

Blend in the blender until smooth.