Filed under: Domestically Dormant (?)
I can’t believe Whip It Up is over! This little recipe challenge has done amazing things for my cookery/lack-of-cookery skills. I actually feel comfortable in the kitchen with all the pans and gadgets and things. I have been saving the best of my summer domesticity for last, partly because I wanted to feel a little more comfortable in the kitchen before attempting to make Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad from scratch…and partly because I didn’t actually find the recipe (hiding in the bottom of my pile of recipes) until recently. For those of you who know the goodness, nay, the divinity of Cafe Rio, you are about to enter . Mecca. Please remove your shoes and give your toesies a good scrub before proceeding. For those of you who do not subscribe to the Cafe Rio religion, you are in for a TREAT! There are not many words in the English language (or possibly even the English AND Spanish languages combined, although I am nowhere close to even conversational in Spanish) that can accurately describe the epicurean nirvana that is Cafe Rio. So I’m not even going to try. All I can say is that regardless of your cookery skills, and despite the seemingly never-ending wait for the pork to get done (18 hours in a crock-pot, your nostrils will be tantalized for HOURS!), this is so worth it. On Sunday I threw a little dinner party, and if you are questioning the edibility of these recipes, please contact Vanessa and Cole, or Aaron and Amy for their opinions. (Hint, in their opinion(s), this was a-MAY-zing!).
My Cafe Rio night consists of several different recipes, all super-easy, although I did have a very Handsome Sous Chef at my disposal. (Is it against Policy to sneak the Sous Chef a kiss? Hope not!) After the break will be recipes for Pork Barbacoa (sweet and spicy shredded pork) and the Creamy Tomatillo dressing, as well as a quick guestimation of my Pico de Gallo recipe. Also required for a true Cafe Rio salad is Cilantro Rice, which I posted about here. To build your salad, you start with a flour tortilla, add a smidge handful of cheese, a spoonful or two of black beans, a spoonful or two of rice, as much pork as you think you can get away with, pile on shredded romaine lettuce, a couple of spoonfuls of pico, some guacamole if you have it, the tomatillo dressing and then homemade tortilla strips (which I forgot to take pictures of…sorry). This high-piled concoction will change your life. Seriously.
See? Don’t you feel changed? Don’t you believe me? A-MAY-ZING! Before I get into the details of the cookery, here are the nitty gritties:
Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa
5-6 lb. pork roast
21 oz. Dr. Pepper (or Coke, do NOT use diet soda)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
7 oz. can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
6-ish oz. red taco sauce (I used hot)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Place roast in crock-pot, cover half-way with water and cook on low for 12 hours. (I started my Pork Adventure at midnight and everything worked out perfectly for Sunday dinner at 6:00 pm.) After 12 hours, drain pork (retain liquid if you want sauce for burritos, simply mix with a can of verde enchilada sauce and away you go).
Mix remaining ingredients until sugar dissolves. I didn’t keep the actual chilies, I dumped the can into a bowl and added enough Dr. Pepper to get all the sauce off of the chilies, then I tossed them. I also rinsed out the can with Dr. Pepper for more adobo goodness. My version had a fairly good kick to it, but if you LOVE hotness, then blend everything + 2 or 3 chilies in the blender. (Also, the adobo sauce tends to stain plastic, using a glass or metal mixing bowl will make your clean-up of adobo sauce considerably less frustrating).
Add Dr. Pepper mixture to the roast and cook on low an additional 4 hours.
Take out roast and shred, add back into sauce and cook for 2 more hours. At this point the meat was so tender it practically shredded itself.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing
Do not skip this part, the dressing is my favorite part of the salad! Creamy and spicy and zesty, it is absolute heaven. I actually use leftover dressing for a tomatillo-cilantro salsa, this stuff makes regular, everyday corn-chips taste like exotic, savory treats. (Because we all know, corn is not exotic on it’s own.) If it can transform corn chips, just IMAGINE what it will do for your salad! Besides, it takes 3 minutes to put together.
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
3 tomatillos (remove papery skin), rough chop
1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup (or more) cilantro, rough chop
3 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp green Tabasco sauce
juice from 1 lime
Dump everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate in air-tight container (or your entire fridge will smell like garlic and cilantro).
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Easy Pico-de-Gallo
3 tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, minced
1/2 sweet onion, minced
1 section of green pepper, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
about 1/3-1/2 cup vinegar (use your best judgement)
salt and pepper
Mix it up really well and refrigerate. I put my pico in a Tupperware and shook it up really well right before serving to re-mix.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Now, invite some people over and get cooking! Do you remember how to put together the salad?
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Tortilla – you can make your own, mine came from a package.
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Cheese -it is a good idea to warm these two up so the cheese is a little melty.
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Beans – black or pinto (mine came straight out of the can, warmed in the microwave with a little garlic powder and green Tabasco sauce).
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Rice – don’t be stingy now!
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Pork - I am actually salivating while writing this post…
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Lettuce – Shredded Romaine, you want small enough pieces to get a little of everything on your fork
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Pico de Gallo – I like extra pico, so I give myself an extra scoop.
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Tortilla Strips – slice a corn tortilla into strips, brush with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake on a foil-covered sheet for 15-20 minutes at 350-ish.
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Creamy Tomatillo Dressing – I like to keep mine on the side so my lettuce doesn’t get too slobbery.
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This is really best served with a cold Dr. Pepper with a few slices of lime squeezed into it, but if that seems like Dr. Pepper overload, your beverage of choice will probably be fine.
Enjoy a little ginormous taste of the Utah original, Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad.
39 Comments so far
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That looks absolutely delicious…I need to get myself a crock-pot
Comment by Emily 2008 August 29 @ 4:55 amthis looks so incredibly tasty. and bookmarked
Comment by katelin 2008 August 29 @ 12:59 pmhey heidi! I found your blog through vanessa’s blog and i love it! Yum! That salad looks delicious! Hope you are doing well!=)
Comment by ennlee 2008 August 29 @ 3:05 pmMiss Ya!
Ennlee
Again, this looks delicious! All of your recipes sound so tasty!
Comment by Erin 2008 August 30 @ 5:02 pm[...] Heidikins took a page out of the book of one of her favorite restaurants with Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad. [...]
Pingback by Definitely RA | The Final Whip It Up Wrap-Up 2008 August 31 @ 3:16 pmThis came at the perfect time. I just ate at Cafe Rio the other night & while I love the food I hate the atmosphere. I never have enough personal space there. I wonder how long tomatillo sauce lasts or if it can be frozen. I guess I can just drink it.
Comment by Sarakastic 2008 September 1 @ 7:02 pmThat looks so good…thanks for the inspiration!!!
Comment by Trish Ryan 2008 September 2 @ 9:39 amIt’s so pretty too! What a great summer dish.
Comment by Larissa 2008 September 2 @ 11:37 amhey i hope you are having fun in hawaii. does this dressing taste like cafe rio, i am always worried about that!
Comment by Lacey 2008 September 4 @ 3:10 pmWOW! That does look good. I am usually not a fan of anything Cafe Rio. You may have converted me!
Comment by Lex 2008 September 5 @ 6:24 amAloha!
I’m trying this tonight! Can’t wait…
Comment by jenn 2008 September 6 @ 3:19 pm[...] Pork Barbacoa Salad with Tomatillo Dressing Jump to Comments (This post originally published here as part of the Whip It Up [...]
Pingback by Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad with Tomatillo Dressing « heidikins cooks 2008 October 9 @ 5:22 pm[...] public links >> guacamole Whippin’ It Up: Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad with Tomatillo Dressing Saved by jacklau on Thu 09-10-2008 Guacamole and Cheerios Saved by JPvanArnhem on Sat 04-10-2008 [...]
Pingback by Recent Links Tagged With "guacamole" - JabberTags 2008 October 10 @ 9:34 pm[...] now that we may be serving this Sunday at our monthly sibling dinner. The recipe can be found at heidikins.com. I’ll let you know how it turns out. For now, I’m a little worried, because I’m [...]
Pingback by Eli’s Blog » Blog Archiv » Cafe Rio Barbacoa 2008 November 11 @ 8:08 am[...] on Nov.12, 2008, under Daily events In a previous post, I mentioned that I was going to try out a recipe for Cafe Rio’s pork babecoa. It’s awesome stuff, it’s like Kentucky Fried Chicken [...]
Pingback by Cafe Rio barbecoa, ham & cheese soup - Eli’s Blog 2008 November 12 @ 8:19 pmI am so glad I found this! My family loves Cafe Rio; but we are a military family. Now that we are here in Texas we havent found any Fresh Mex places to go. Now I can make it at home. I now dont feel as homesick or hungry. Thank You!!!
Comment by Katherine 2008 November 15 @ 9:36 pm[...] and I promise to post the recipe(s) on Friday for my final Whip It Up cooking adventure. Updated: Link Here) At any rate, with all this Mexican food, I wanted a dessert that would be small-ish, but [...]
Pingback by Key Lime Pie-cakes « heidikins cooks 2008 December 1 @ 6:59 pmThanks for the detailed instructions!
A couple of points to add though.
1. The tortillas used by Cafe Rio are sweeter than those you can buy in the store. Not sure why, but it does make a difference when you roll the tortilla up to get all of the leftover goodness.
2. The reason the tortillas are already in the tinfoil pan when you get the salad is that they sprinkle cheese on the tortilla and run it through the broiler so that the cheese melts and browns on the tortilla. Helps the tortilla keep its shape and is rather tasty.
Comment by Chris Hansen 2009 February 4 @ 2:30 pmHow many does this recipe serve?
Comment by Marilyn 2009 February 12 @ 11:12 pmAmazing!! Almost better than Cafe Rio!! The entire family loved it. Thank you
Comment by Princass 2009 April 13 @ 8:54 amLooks SO yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Comment by Krisi 2009 May 6 @ 1:10 amHey girlfriend, next you’ve gotta try homemade tortillas!
Comment by Cher 2009 June 8 @ 12:39 pmOh, are they good!
I tried your dressing recipe, and had another one from my friend. both almost identical but hers had sour cream in it. yours tasted a little too mayonaisey…but i put 2 spoonfuls of sour cream and it doesnt taste too mayonaisey anymore. your meat mixture marinade is much much better though
Comment by Carly 2009 July 17 @ 11:15 pmLoved it!!! Much easier than I thought it would be.
Comment by Becca 2009 November 11 @ 1:10 pmWarning!!!!I tried this and it is wayyyy too spicy even for my husband that loves spicy food. I wasted all the meat because we couldn’t even eat one bite. I think it is the adobe sauce.
Comment by allwett 2009 December 18 @ 6:55 pmIt’s Pico de gallo the whole name if you say just pico you’re just saying point and it sounds funny. Thanks for the sauce though
Comment by Jacky 2010 February 23 @ 5:50 pmHi! Just wanted you to know that I LOVE this recipe… it tastes almost better than the original!!! I have one recommendation, instead of using precooked tortillas, I buy the kind that you cook at home and fry ‘em up just before eating, they are very fresh that way. again thanks for posting this recipe, love it, love it, LOVE IT!!!!!
Comment by Marti 2010 March 10 @ 9:26 amI just have to say, this meal was SO DANG GOOD!!! My friends and family LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!! I made this Sunday, but didn’t have a full 18 hours to devote, so Sunday night when I went to bed, I put it in the fridge after shredding the meat, then put it back in the crock pot for another 2 hours on Monday, before serving.
I didn’t have any cayenne pepper, or powder mustard, so I left those out…and I used mild taco sauce. It tasted GREAT!!!
I used your dressing recipe too, but as one reader suggested, added a couple spoonfulls of sour cream.
I found a recipe for Cilantro-lime rice.
I heated a can of pinto beans, added some garlic, and served that.
I bought the raw tortillas and cooked them up fresh right before we ate.
Possibly the best meal I’ve ever eaten. I don’t think I’ll ever need to go to Cafe Rio again!!!
Thanks so much!!!
Comment by Rachel 2010 June 29 @ 12:42 pmIf you don’t want all that spice in the barbecue, drain the adobo sauce from the Chilies and just use the sauce. Toss the peppers or rub them on your arthritic knees when you run out of Icy Hot. I ruined a batch of sauce by using the whole can of peppers as they came out of the can. Also, watch for the hot pepper seeds. Mine was full of seeds and oh so very spicy.
Comment by D Bohnsack 2010 July 19 @ 9:39 pmI did a pulled pork in the crock pot. I used the sauce recipe but forgot the Dr Pepper. It was almost better than the first time I made it with the Dr Pepper. Made great sandwiches.
I am salivating too! Hahahaha! We drove from TX to get us some Cafe Rio’ in St George UT,(we moved from there 10yrs ago) this summer and I vowed I would figure out the recipe! Thanks a million!
Comment by Debbie 2010 August 13 @ 11:50 amThis is the best recipe ever!!!! It is EXACTLY like Cafe Rio’s! Thanks so much.
Warning… it makes a ton of meat, we eat it for a week!
To make the pico de gallo more authentic though, there are no green peppers and you use lime juice not vinegar!
Comment by Joyce 2010 August 18 @ 11:00 amit’s jalapenos not green peppers
Comment by Joyce 2010 August 18 @ 11:02 amI’ve made this recipe about 4 times. Each time I try something a little different but ultimately the original recipe here is rock solid! A HUGE family favorite, my kids ask for it once a month at least!
One new addition, there are “fresh” tortillas in the refrigerator section that you prepare in a skillet…definately the way to go! They have whole wheat too!
Comment by Chris 2010 September 3 @ 9:49 pmoh yes, there is a green goddess dressing you can buy over the counter that’s close, if pressed for time. Add fresh cilantro and it’s all goooooood~
Comment by Chris 2010 September 3 @ 9:52 pmI wanted to make the cafe rio pork and this was the first recipe I came across and it is perfect!!!!!!! we are about to eat and everything turned out amazing!!! I will definitely be saving this recipe
Comment by anthony 2010 September 5 @ 3:07 pmWe made this for a big family dinner. It was fabulous!! Not a bit left over (I was very disappointed). We are making it again this weekend. Thanks for the great recipe.
Comment by Steffany 2010 November 26 @ 12:15 am[...] recipe here.) This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged beans, pork, Recipes, slow cooker. Bookmark [...]
Pingback by Recipe: Pork Barbacoa Salad with Tomatillo Dressing | See Jane Run Blog 2011 January 17 @ 4:13 amThanks for sharing this recipe. I made it last week and plan to make it again! I LOVE this salad and must say your recipe yeilded a pretty good copy cat! I would use a little less vinegar in the pico next time, I used 1/3 cup. Other than that, this recipe was AWESOME! Oh, and I also had “light” mayo on hand instead of the real deal and it wasn’t noticeable at all. Thank you!
Comment by Sarah 2011 July 29 @ 1:38 pmI just want you to know how handy the photos are. For some reason I forgot to put the ingredients for the pork on my grocery list, bu I pulled this up on my phone in the grocery aisle, wasn’t sure what can of chiles to get, but hey, there was a picture to help me get just the right thing! Ain’t technology grand?
Comment by Becki K 2012 February 26 @ 3:52 pm