Café Rio's sweet pork is a delicious, tender shredded sweet and savory pork that they serve in their tacos and burritos, THIS Café Rio sweet pork recipe is that same, tender delicious recipe but done in 15 minutes instead of hours. We all could use a quick, easy and fast dinner for busy nights.
Why 15 minute Café Rio sweet pork recipe works
It takes several hours to marinate and slow cook a large pork roast to perfect tenderness. There are so many delicious option of ready-to-eat smoked pulled pork for you to buy. When we buy the ready-to-eat pork (talking out that complicated step of smoking or slow cooking the pork) you just need 15 minutes to make a sweet savory sauce and simmer them together.
What do I need to make Café Rio sweet pork?
You will need to following
- red enchilada sauce, not green and I also use mild. If you want heat you can get a brand with more spice to it.
- brown sugar- don't sub for white cane sugar. You want the flavor and texture from the molasses for the brown sugar.
- green chilis- I like to use mild, but if you want a spicier flavor use hot.
- 12 oz coke (not diet)- regular sugar is best.
What kind of pulled pork do I buy?
I made this recipe a few times with a few different pulled porks to figure out which one had the best flavor. My answer? They all worked. They all have their own taste that will alter the flavor of your sweet pork slightly. Here are two of my favorite.
- Kirkland (Costco brand) smoked Pulled pork. This has a very mild flavor when it comes to spices, but it does have a heavier smokey flavor.
- Del Monte Carnitas. These carnitas have a little more flavor when it comes to spices in the meat, but I still felt they complimented to sweet pork sauce very nicely.
How to make Café Rio sweet pork in 15 minutes!
Yes it really is that fast and simple!
- In a medium sized saute pan on medium high heat add all your ingredients.
- Stir them together until the sugar is dissolved.
Thicken your sauce
Bring your sauce to a slow boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. The sauce will darken and thicken to a thin glaze.
Heat your Pork before adding to the sauce
While the sauce is simmering I heat up my meat according to the directions. Cold ready-to-eat pork is usually wrapped in an air tight plastic wrap and is very hard to separate. Warming it up allows you to shred it, and also remove any fatty pieces you don't want to eat.
Simmer your pork and sweet sauce together.
Simmering the pork and sauce together for a about 5 minutes allows the flavors to marry. It will slightly thicken a little more and then it's ready to serve.
How do I serve Café Rio sweet pork?
The possibilities are endless! We love to make them in tacos, burritos, or in big salads.
I always serve them with this dressing that I swear is better than cafe rio's. Be careful it is seriously addicting.
As sides we like to make these
FAQ's!
To the Casual eater they will taste the same. I'm sure there are differences in the ingredients but really they are similar. So if you are a costa vida fan looking for a quick and easy sweet pork recipe this will be a great costa vida sweet pork recipe.
The sweet pork will last in your fridge in an air tight container for about a week after cooking.
It doesn't, its pretty dang close for when you have a hankering for Café Rio sweet pork. If you would like an exact recipe for the Café Rio sweet pork and have a few hours to spend making it then I recommend using this recipe. It does have pressure cooker instructions.
CAFE RIO SWEET PORK
YES! if you have smoked pulled pork or leftover pulled pork you can totally use it!
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15 minute Cafe Sweet Pork Recipe
Equipment
- large saute pan or pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs smoked pulled pork I prefer kirkland smoked pulled pork
- 10 oz can red enchilada sauce mild
- 4 oz can diced green chilis mild
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 12 oz coke not diet
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 tsp onion salt
- ½ tsp oregano
Instructions
- In a large pan over med-high heat add all ingredients except the ready to eat pulled pork.
- Stir the ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved and comes to a slow bowl. Turn it down to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. The sauce will darken and slightly thicken.
- while the sauce is simmering cook the pulled pork according to package directions.
- Add pork to the sauce. Stir together and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve on tacos, burritos, salads, in enchiladas or on nachos!
Maren says
Just tried this yesterday for a family gathering. I didn’t expect it to taste as much like Cafe Rio pork as it did! I was pleasantly surprised and it was SO easy. I will definitely be using this recipe again.
Desarae says
Yay! that makes me so happy!