Cola-Chipotle Pork Tortas

A can of cola adds the just-right amount of sweetness to the sauce that coats each bite of this slow cooker pork recipe. To serve these pork tortas, spread rolls with mayo, pile on the super-tender pulled pork, then finish with a spoonful of the reduced sauce.

Cola-Chipotle Pork Tortas
Photo: Karla Conrad
Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
8 mins
Slow Cook Time:
8 hrs
Total Time:
18 mins
Servings:
8

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 3 canned chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce*

  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 12 ounce can cola

  • 1 2.5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast

  • Salt and ground black pepper

  • ½ cup mayonnaise

  • 8 sandwich rolls or bolillos, split and toasted

  • 1 recipe Cebollas Encurtidas or thinly sliced red onions (optional)

  • Sliced avocado

Cebollas Encurtidas

  • 1 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices

  • ¼ cup grapefruit juice

  • 2 tablespoon orange juice

  • 2 tablespoon lime juice

  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, crushed

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Directions

  1. In a blender or food processor combine onion, chipotle chile peppers, lime juice, garlic, and cumin. Cover and blend or process until smooth, adding as much of the cola as needed to make a smooth mixture. Stir in remaining cola.

  2. Trim excess fat from meat. Season meat generously with salt and pepper. If necessary, cut meat to fit a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Place meat in slow cooker. Pour cola mixture over pork.

  3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

  4. Remove meat from cooker; remove cooking liquid from slow cooker and reserve. When meat is cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred meat, discarding any fat. Return meat to cooker. Skim fat from cooking liquid; transfer 1 cup cooking liquid to a small saucepan. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Season to taste with salt.

  5. Stir 1 tablespoon reduced cooking liquid into the mayonnaise. Spread mayonnaise on cut sides of rolls. Add remaining reduced cooking liquid to shredded meat and stir to moisten. Use a slotted spoon to remove meat from slow cooker; serve on buns topped with Cebollas Encurtidas, if desired, and sliced avocado.

Cebollas Encurtidas

  1. Preheat broiler. On a 15x10x1-inch baking pan, place red onion slices. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until onions are charred and tender, turning once halfway through broiling time. When cool enough to handle, separate onions into rings, discarding any large dry blackened pieces.

  2. In a medium bowl combine onion, grapefruit juice, orange juice, lime juice, salt, oregano, garlic, and pepper. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Serving suggestion: Serve with roasted potato wedges.

*Because chile peppers contain volatile oils that can burn your skin and eyes, avoid direct contact with them as much as possible. When working with chile peppers, wear plastic or rubber gloves. If your bare hands do touch the peppers, wash your hands and nails well with soap and water.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

648 Calories
37g Fat
44g Carbs
34g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 648
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 37g 47%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 120mg 40%
Sodium 586mg 25%
Total Carbohydrate 44g 16%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 34g 68%
Vitamin C 3mg 3%
Calcium 30.3mg 2%
Iron 1.3mg 7%
Potassium 699mg 15%
Folate, total 16.1mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.8mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.7mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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