My substitute for Cafe Rio's Pork Salad with copycat Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Okay so I'm really behind on my blog so I thought I would add a few of my favorites that I've made lately. This recipe is a really yummy sweet pulled pork recipe. It can honestly be used for a ton of things like nachos, burritos, salads etc. We had it with a salad to make our copycat version of Cafe Rio's salad that we love so much and it was delicious! Here is the recipe for you! Here is also the original website I found it on: http://www.rockrecipes.com/apple-barbeque-pulled-pork-nachos/ Please note this recipe does take a long time so it's nice to do a big batch and then freeze some of it for later use.

Apple Barbeque Pulled Pork Salad

Begin by dry rubbing a 5 to 6 pound pork shoulder roast with a mixture of

• ½ tsp powdered ginger
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dry thyme
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dry oregano
• 1 ½ tbsp kosher salt

Rub all over the surface of the roast, cover and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

(I didn't do this step but you can if you want it more browned) Heat 4 tbsp oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and brown the roast on all sides. 

Transfer the roast to a covered roasting pan. To the roasting pan, along with the roast, add:

• 1 medium sized onion chopped
• 4 medium sized firm apples peeled and cut in chunks

Meanwhile mix together in a medium size bowl:

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup molasses
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard (In case you need to, I just used normal mustard and it turned out fine)
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons hot sauce (adjust to taste, I believe I did just one tablespoon)
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

Pour all over the roast, apples and onions in the roasting pan. Cover with aluminum foil then the lid of the roasting pan. Roast in a 300 degree oven for several hours ( approximately 4-5) until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone. Every so often I would baste the pork with the juices.

Remove the braising liquid to a saucepan, skim all the excess fat and reduce the liquid until it slightly thickens. At this point you can puree the sauce with an immersion blender or in a food processor to smooth it out and incorporate the cooked onions and apples. Pull the pork apart in finger sized pieces and pour the barbeque sauce over it.

For our salad I Combined the following:

Salad

Tomatoes

Cilantro (optional)

Black Beans

Rice (Optional)

Corn

Cheese

Pulled Pork

Copycat Cilantro Ranch Dressing (See recipe Below)

Copycat Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
• 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 jalapeno ( if you like it mild, just remove the seeds, I also started with half the Jalapeno and wished I would've stopped there but my husband liked it will all of it so it just depends on how hot you want it so slowly add this in)

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That’s it!