Cuban Food Recipe: Sandwich Cubano

[captain53]

I love Cuban Food and especially Cuban Sandwiches. In search of the best I have tried countless recipes and finally found the right one (also the most authentic one) and wanted to share it for every self respecting Cigar lover to try:



Jorge Castillo: One thing is certain. Once you've had a Cuban sandwich, you'll crave them forever!

Recipe from the book: "Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban"

Ingrediants:

Cuban bread or (Substitute French bread if you must, but NOT a baguette!)
Butter, softened
1 pound ham sliced (Use a good quality ham.)
1 pound lechón asado (roasted Cuban pork) sliced (Follow the lechón asado link or see the following recipe)
1/2 pound Swiss cheese, sliced (Use a mild Swiss -- we like Baby Swiss -- it has only a few holes.)
Sliced dill pickles (dill "Sandwich Stackers" work great)
Yellow mustard (optional)
Mayonnaise (NEVER!!)

To make four generous sandwiches:
Preheat a pancake griddle or large fry pan. Cut the bread into sections about 8 inches long. Cut these in half and spread butter on both halves (inside). Make each sandwich with the ingredients in this order: pickles, roasted pork, ham, and cheese. Be generous!

NOTE: Most people use a sweet cured ham (jamón dulce) or bolo ham for Cuban sandwiches. If you can find these hams in your area, great. Otherwise, look for a slightly sweet, soft textured ham with a mild taste. You don't want the flavor of the ham to overpower the rest of the ingredients! Also, never use shaved ham or pork in a Cuban sandwich!

Place the sandwich on the hot griddle (fry pan) sprayed with a little "Pam" or lightly greased. Place a heavy iron skillet or bacon press on top of the sandwich to flatten. (You really want to smash the sandwich, compressing the bread to about 1/3 its original size!)

Grill the sandwiches for two to three minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden. Make sure your griddle or fry pan is not TOO HOT! Otherwise, the crust will burn before the cheese melts. Slice the sandwich in half diagonally and serve.


Medianoche

Use all the same ingredients, except use a medianoche bread loaf. This sweeter bread, and smaller size, is the only difference between a medianoche and a Cuban sandwich!


NOTES:

Tip: Let your meats and cheese come to room temperature. This way you avoid burning the bread and the cheese melts perfectly! This is especially helpful when you have a lot of meat in your sandwich.

For extra flavor, sprinkle a little mojo (or meat juices if you make the recipe below) on the meat before adding the cheese.


[u]Roasted Pork:[/U]

Ingredients:
(1) 2 to 4-pound pork shoulder roast OR pork loin roast (NOTE: You'll only need about 1 pound of the cooked meat for the Cuban sandwich recipe above.)
1 head garlic -- about 10 to 15 cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 cup sour orange juice (If you can't get sour oranges in your area, use two parts fresh orange to one part fresh lemon and one part fresh lime) See Goya Shortcut Below!
1 cup minced onion
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 cup Spanish olive oil

Mash garlic, salt, and peppercorns into a paste, using a mortar and pestle. Stir in sour orange juice, onion, and oregano. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan until hot, but NOT deep frying hot! We’re looking for something in the neighborhood of 220 degrees F. Remove the oil from heat and quickly whisk in the garlic-orange juice mixture until well blended. Let cool before using as a marinade!

Pierce pork roast as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork. Pour garlic mixture (save a little for basting while roasting) over pork, cover and let sit in refrigerator for two to three hours.

Using a suitable roasting pan or rack, sprinkle remaining marinade over pork and cook uncovered at 325°F. Roast until completely cooked (160°F), about 20 minutes per pound. Baste occasionally. Bring pan juices to a boil and simmer until the juice is reduced by half. Sprinkle some juice onto the pork when you put it in the sandwich.

Simple Shortcut for marinade:

Use: Goya Mojo Criollo Marinade available at most grocery stores in the mexican food section. It is a BitterOrange/Lemon/Garlic marinade. I add a couple of extra tablespoons of minced garlic and shake it in a zip-lock bag then put the roast in for24-48hours, the longer the better.
http://www.goya.com/english/products...11&prodCatID=4

[massphatness]

Thanks for the recipes.

How do I burn "Hecho a Mano" in the bottom of the sandwich?

[captain53]

Originally Posted by massphatness

Thanks for the recipes.

How do I burn "Hecho a Mano" in the bottom of the sandwich?

In TX we would use a Branding Iron.

[alley00p]

Originally Posted by massphatness

Thanks for the recipes.

How do I burn "Hecho a Mano" in the bottom of the sandwich?

Hey Vin, you think there might be a market for a sandwich branding iron?

[captain53]

Originally Posted by alley00p

Hey Vin, you think there might be a market for a sandwich branding iron?

Personalized Barbeque Branding Iron, Texas Iron $49.99




http://www.after5catalog.com/persona...p-139.html?cPa...

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by captain53

Medianoche

That's the one!

Originally Posted by massphatness

How do I burn "Hecho a Mano" in the bottom of the sandwich?

Same way you do the date stamp, Vin.

[massphatness]

dang dude, you think of everything!

[MarkinAZ]

I like this receipe. Thanks for sharing this Dave

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by captain53

I love Cuban Food and especially Cuban Sandwiches.

Didn't "Cuban Sandwich" originate in USA, Florida, to be precise? Modified Italian panini.

What makes it Cuban Food?

[Huskysibe]

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

What makes it Cuban Food?

The way the pork is cooked, if you have never been to a cuban restaurant and had the pork, you dont know what you are missing. I am glad someone cracked the code on the marinade and seasonings, I have been wondering how its done. Thanks!

[replicant_argent]

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

Didn't "Cuban Sandwich" originate in USA, Florida, to be precise? Modified Italian panini.

What makes it Cuban Food?

Cuban people (amongst others) really like them.

Or the Cuban Style roast pork.

I am going to go with:


Because the sammich needed a name that reminded people of how delicious Cuban roasted pork tastes.

Or,


Simon Bolivar was not only a heck of a guy, but a sammich artiste`.



He liked cake as well, coincidentally.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

Didn't "Cuban Sandwich" originate in USA, Florida, to be precise? Modified Italian panini.

What makes it Cuban Food?

Brought to US by Cubans.
Both Media Noche and Cuban sandwich originated in Cuba.

As already said, the pork makes it different than anything else as does the bread. The bread is equally important.

Anyone ever want to try a great one, get my wife or I to make you one.

[Don Fernando]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Anyone ever want to try a great one, get my wife or I to make you one.

promises promises Carlos.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by Don Fernando

promises promises Carlos.

True.

We did take the easy way out and took you to a very good Cuban restaurant instead.

Timing was just not right for the wife and the roast.

[joeobx]

This sounds like the same recipe I found on line a couple years ago. My son wont eat mustard or pickels on anything but will inhale these when I make them. A 1ft sq concreat paver wraped in foil and a flat griddel work well for a press.

[guitar4001]

yum.

[Zeuceone]

Medianoche from Portos Bakery.

[joeobx]

Do you deliver ? I'll take 2

[Bill86]

That sandwich looks

[Blueface]

We take the pork from when we roast the whole pig and shred it.
Most places slice it but the flavor is so, so much better when you shred and pile it up high.

Not sure if I noted it in the OP's original post but what we also do is after it has been pressed on the grille and is ready to serve, we put butter on one side of the hot bread (on outside). Just rub a stick of butter lightly on it.
The inside gets mustard on one side, butter on the other.
As said already, never use mayo on a Cuban. It will really hurt our feeling.

Well worth investing in a grille.
I have an Emiril brand that comes with the standard panini plates but also comes with a set of flat plates, which is what we use for Cuban sandwiches.
I think I paid well under $100 for it.