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sweet pork in a tortilla on a plate with small bowls with sides around it
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5 from 1 vote

Cafe Rio Style Sweet Pork

All you need are 7 simple ingredients and either a slow cooker or a pressure cooker to make a restaurant style barbacoa sweet pork that is incredibly tender and juicy! Use the meat in tacos, burritos, nachos, or a salad for a family favorite dinner recipe that everyone will ask you to make over and over again.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time7 hours 30 minutes
Total Time7 hours 40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 274kcal
Author: Jade Jones

Equipment

  • Cutting board
  • Chef Knife
  • Slow Cooker
  • Electric Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

Sweet and Spicy Pork

  • 3 lbs pork roast
  • 1 1/2 cups Coca-Cola just the classic version not the diet
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2-3 Tbsp El Yucateco Red Habanero Hot Sauce
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp garlic minced

Instructions

How to make this in the slow cooker:

  • In a slow cooker mix together Coca-Cola, sugar, El Yucateco Hot Sauce, ground mustard, cumin, and garlic.
  • Add pork roast and press down to submerge. Cook pork on low for 6-7 hours. Shred meat with 2 forks. Allow to cook for at least another 30 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.

How to make this in the pressure cooker:

  • In the pot of the pressure cooker mix together Coca-Cola, sugar, El Yucateco Hot Sauce, ground mustard, cumin, and garlic.
  • Cut pork roast into roughly 2 inch cubes. Add the pork to the Coca-Cola mixture. Place the lid on the pressure cooker, turn the valve to sealing, and set the pressure cooker to manual high pressure cooking for 35 minutes.
  • Once cooking time has finished, turn the valve to release the pressure and wait until the pin drops. Shred meat with 2 forks. Replace the lid, set the seal to sealing, and cook for an additional 5 minutes on high pressure.
  • Once the second cooking time has finished, turn the valve to release the pressure and wait until the pin drops. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Notes

Pork shoulder can be kind of fatty. You can trim the fat before cooking but I also find I need to pick through and pull of some of the fattier bits before shredding.
There are lots of fun ways to serve up this meat. We really like to make it up smothered burritos style. Wrap up the meat with rice and beans in a tortilla. Pour enchilada sauce over the top of the burrito and sprinkle with cheese.