Ron and I vacationed in Puerto Rico a few years ago and besides falling in love with plantains we fell more in love with Bacardi (we already loved it...the love just grew). The Cuba Libre's origins are not entirely known, but what is for sure is that it was originally sipped in Cuba around 1900. When touring the Bacardi factory we were told that it was a toast to newly freed Cuba, but other accounts have stated it was a battle cry. Battle cry or social toast one of my favorite drinks is a Cuba Libre and it is usually my husband's drink of choice. We have been playing around with different types of booze and beer lately and I wanted to try and create a cuba libre style taco. When I was creating this recipe I was trying to get the sweet flavor of the rum and coke with the fresh flavor of the limes. Ron and I really loved how the meat turned out. It was juicy, flavorful and hit the notes I was going for. We used really simple topping for our tacos, but you can use whatever you like (just don't forget the fresh lime). The meat would also be great over rice or as a sandwich (maybe with a citrus mayo).
A perfect meal for us to remember our trip to Puerto Rico and a delicious Cuba Libre cocktail.
Ingredients
3 lb pork roast
1 can of Coke
1/3 cup Bacardi (you can use a different clear rum if you want)
1/2 cup ketchup
Juice and zest of 1 lime (plus an additional lime to squeeze at the end)
2 Tbl brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp adobo seasoning
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, scored down the side and left whole
Salt and Pepper
Corn tortilla
Cheese, Sour Cream, Chopped Cilantro (you can top with whatever toppings you like. I used cheese, sour cream and fresh corn)
Instructions
Place pork into crock pot and season with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, mix coke, rum, ketchup, lime juice, lime zest, garlic, brown sugar and spices. Pour over pork. Add the scored jalapeno to the crockpot. Cover and cook low 7-8 hours.
Remove jalapeno from crockpot and shred pork. Serve in warm corn tortilla, top with desired toppings and squeeze a little fresh lime juice over the top.