Cafe Rio Style Pork Enchiladas

I have heard about Cafe Rio pork and chicken for a while now because it has made the rounds in the blogosphere. We do not have a Cafe Rio in my area, but the recipes for their pork sounded delicious! I found a recipe at Tried and Tasty for Cafe Rio Sweet Pork. Her recipe involved draining and a food processor....sounded like a lot of work for shredded pork. I decided to use the crockpot and modified the recipe a bit to make it a bit more weeknight friendly. I used the Pioneer Woman's enchilada method that I used when I made her recipe for beef enchiladas. This dish takes some time to put together and it is important to plan ahead, but these enchiladas are worth the extra time!  I am not sure if my pork is exactly like Cafe Rio, but it sure was sweet, spicy and delicious. If you are an enchilada lover this recipe is out of this world yummy! I think you could easily use the meat for tacos, burritos, sandwiches or salads if enchiladas are not you thing.



Ingreidents

for pork:
2 lbs pork
2 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 cup brown sugar
Dash garlic salt
1/4 cup water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can red enchilada sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 jalapeno, diced

for enchiladas:
12-14 corn tortillas
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 punch of green onions, sliced
1/2 cup canola oil
Sour Cream, Chopped Cilantro & Shredded Lettuce(for optional garnish)

for enchilada sauce:
1 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl flour
1 can (28 oz) red enchilada  sauce
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbl chopped cilantro


Instructions
for pork (needs to be prepared first):
Place pork in crockpot. Mix all other ingredients together in a medium bowl, pour over pork and look on low 8 hours. Shred pork and return to crockpot for an additional 30 minutes to an hour.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken stock, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.
When the sauce is done simmering heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon pork and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas and serve with sour cream and shredded lettuce.

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