Friday, February 27, 2009

Food Photo Friday--Pork Barbacoa (Sweet Pork)

About a month ago, I started getting comments from Hero-boy about how fabulous Costa Vida's sweet pork was. I think he dreams about it sometimes. Needless to say, I was intrigued. Then, one Sunday, I was tipped off about not one, but TWO possible recipes for sweet pork--or Pork Barbacoa. Stacie directed me to the Close-To-My-Heart owner's blog, and Natalie gave me her own recipe that she had recently acquired. Well, the recipes were similar, but each contained intriguing ingredients of their own, so, not being able to choose between the two, I decided to combine them. I think it worked out very well, and Hero-boy must have agreed, because in a two-day span, he consumed six loaded sweet pork burritos. I cooked my roast in the oven, but the original recipes gave instructions for a crock-pot. I will include those instructions at the end*. You would need a pretty good-sized crock-pot. Here we go with the ingredients!


6 LB pork roast--shoulder or rump I bought a large shoulder roast from Costco and cut it in half.

coarse salt (if you only have table salt, use only 1/2 the stated amount)

1 12 oz. can Embasa brand Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
2 heaping Tbsp. minced garlic

1 12 oz. bottle taco sauce--La Victoria from Macey's has mild and medium. I used mild and it was barely spicy.
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 to 1 1/2 cups brown sugar--vary this according to your own taste. I used 1 1/2 cups and will use 1 cup next time
1 20 oz. bottle of Coke (just the regular--Diet will not work right)

Take the can of chipotle peppers and the 2 heaping Tbsp. Garlic and blend to a smooth paste in a blender. Set aside. You will be using 1/4 of this rub. Freeze the remainder in 1/4 portions in ziploc bags.

Take the 6 LB. roast and sprinkle it with about 1 1/2 Tbsp. coarse salt, rubbing it in to the roast. Place roast in an oven safe approx. 6 qt. pan with a tight fitting lid. Fill with water until roast is about 3/4 covered. Wrap a couple of layers of foil over top of pan and cover with lid. Cook in a 275 degree oven for 5-6 hours. Remove pan from oven and pour liquid into another container. Rub with 1/4 of the chipotle rub. Return roast to pan. Remove the fat from the reserved liquid and return 1/2 of it to the roasting pan.

Mix the taco sauce, cumin, brown sugar, and Coke together and gently pour over the roast trying not to wash off the rub.

Reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees and cover again and cook for 1 more hour. Remove roast from pan and shred. Return to liquid in pot and cook 1 more hour, or until desired tenderness. Serve with however much sauce you prefer. Use for burritos, tacos, salad, enchiladas, or whatever. We used it for burritos:


I also made homemade Mexican Rice, Cilantro Dressing, Pico de Gallo, and had sour cream, black beans, lettuce, and cheese as well. The only thing missing was guacamole! Next time, I guess!

*Crock-Pot times: 1st cooking period--12 hours on low
2nd cooking period--6 hours on low
3rd cooking period--2 hours on low

2 comments:

Jameson said...

Those burritos were so good i can't even stand it! They are every bit as good as costa vida!

kellieanne said...

This sounds soooooo delish. I loved the chicken - now I will attempt the pork. I swear, I am your biggest food fan. Nice picture, by the way. I like the colors!

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