Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burritos, Cilantro Lime Rice and Blackbeans

Whenever I visit Utah, I always have to make at least one pit stop to Cafe Rio.  Have you heard of it?  They serve incredible sweet pork burritos and salads.  I seriously crave it all the time, and I envy those people who are lucky enough to have one nearby.  🙂

I found this recipe for Sweet Pork, Cilantro/Lime Rice, and blackbeans a while back and made it, hoping it would satisfy my craving since I can’t travel hundreds of miles to get the real deal whenever I get the itching.  Well-it lived up to the hype, and that’s why I’m sharing it today.  I don’t think any copy-cat recipe could fully match up to the actual “Cafe Rio Burrito”, but this comes pretty darn close.  And we don’t mind eating it for 3 days after, either.  In fact-we look forward to it (which is saying something coming from me-a loather of leftovers).

The key to the pork’s tenderness is the overnight marination in coke and slow cooking it on a low heat.  It’s a must-do.  Trust me-I’ve tried to abbreviate the marinating process and cooking it on high and it’s still good, but not nearly as good.

The cilantro/lime rice is unique, yet a perfect compliment to the pork and black beans.  Melt a little cheese on top, and these burritos are to die for.

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade.  Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar.  Each coke can=about 1 1/2 c., if you’ll be using the liter size.  Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crockpot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don’t let it get too dry) or on low for 8 hours.  Remove pork from crockpot and drain any liquid left in the pot.  Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can of coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste).

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.  That’s it!

In a saucepan, combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 t. lime, chicken broth and water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender.  Remove from heat.  While rice is cooking, combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro in a small bowl.  Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.  Rice will be very moist.

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it.  Add beans, tomato juice or sauce, and salt.  Continually stir until heated through.  Just before serving, stir in the cilantro.  (You can also add a can of drained corn to the beans.  Even though it’s not “traditional Cafe Rio”, it’s awesome!)

**The secret to a flavorful, moist meat is to marinate it the night before and then to let the shredded meat cook in the enchilada sauce/coke mixture for the full two hours prior to serving.  Don’t skip or abbreviate these steps, if at all possible!

To make your burrito, grab a tortilla, add a generous helping of pork, some rice and black beans, then roll up and enjoy!