Make a Cuban Sandwich

Cuban sandwiches are a favorite in Miami and Tampa, where you can buy them at restaurants or from street corner vendors. Although it's a relative of the regular ham and cheese sandwich, the perfect combination of flavors and the crisp warmth of the grill rockets the Cubano into sandwich heaven.

Ingredients

• Cuban, French, or Italian bread loaf
• Yellow mustard
• 8 to 10 dill pickle slices
• 2 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 thin slices mild-flavored ham
• 4 slices roast pork (or a heap of pulled pork)
• Butter
• Sandwich press, panini maker, waffle iron or other pressing tool
• Non-stick spray (optional)

Steps

Traditional Cuban Sandwich

1. Cut a fresh loaf of Cuban bread lengthwise. Cuban bread is long and thin, and turns crisp in the panini press without getting uncomfortably hard. You can find similar bread at a Latin bakery. The next best substitute is a long, soft French or Italian loaf (but nothing as narrow and hard as a baguette), followed by a hoagie roll. Cut it about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} long, or to a size that matches your appetite.
   • Leave one long edge of the bread intact for a tidier sandwich.
2. Brush butter on the outside of the bread. This will stop it from sticking to the sandwich press. It's easiest to do this before adding the ingredients.
   • If you're using nonstick cooking spray instead, spray it on the inside of the sandwich press.
3. Spread the yellow mustard. Spread about 2 tbsp (30 mL) of regular yellow mustard evenly over both sides of the bread.
   • Almost all recipes include mustard, but you can serve it on the side if you're using extra-flavorful pork.
4. Add cheese to both sides. Cover both halves of the bread with mild Swiss cheese. Many traditional recipes use an equal ratio of cheese, ham, and pork, but you can cut the slices thinner if you prefer.
5. Cover one side with dill pickles. Slice two large dill pickles to make eight or ten long, thin slices (or buy them pre-cut into "sandwich stuffers"). Lay these onto one side of your sandwich.
6. Add a layer of ham slices. Fold four slices of very thin ham over the pickles. You can use any ham you like, but the most traditional choice is a mild, sweet-cured ham such as York ham, bolo ham, or any honey-cured ham.
   • You can even Cook-a-Ham.
7. Pile on the roast pork. Now for the star of the show. Warm several slices of roast pork in a pan over low heat, then add it to the sandwich. For extra flavor, use pork marinated in Cuban mojo sauce, or drizzle on the sauce in the pan. The sauce's main ingredients are garlic and sour orange (or orange, lemon, and lime where sour orange isn't available).
   • You can use pulled pork if you don't have any sliced pork.
8. Heat a sandwich press or similar tool. Although traditional Cuban sandwiches are made with a grill press called a plancha, most cooks outside of Florida have to make do with one of these options:
   • Sandwich press or panini maker
   • Waffle iron, with the metal plates flipped so their flat sides are inward (if possible)
   • Griddle or frying pan, with a heavy cast iron skillet or foil-wrapped brick to press the sandwich down
9. Press the sandwich. Once the press is hot, put in the sandwich and press it down to about a third of its original thickness. Cook the Cuban sandwich until the bread is brown and slightly crisp, and the cheese is melted. This usually takes two or three minutes on each side.
   • Remember to butter the bread or add nonstick spray to the press surface if you didn't do it earlier.
   • If the sandwich is falling apart or a little too large for the sandwich press, wrap it in foil.

Variations

1. Make a medianoche. The medianoche ("midnight") has the same filling as the Cubano, but placed on smaller pieces of a sweet, yellow egg bread. If you don't live near a bakery that sells pan suave (or the Mexican version, pan dulce), use challah rolls.
2. Add salami, Tampa-style. In Tampa, Florida, some people make Cuban sandwiches with an Italian flair. Add a layer of Genoa salami between the ham and pork to try it out (but don't tell the sandwich purists in Miami).
3. Make your own variations. Mayonnaise? Tomatoes? Lettuce? Sacrilege according to some, but it's your sandwich. Just give the traditional recipe one try before you bring it into the mainstream of American sandwiches.
   • The cheese is an easy place to experiment. Try Jarlsberg, provolone, or baby Swiss if you aren't a fan of Emmentaler (the cheese most commonly sold as Swiss in the United States).
4. Grill the ham. To add a little sear, grill the sandwich open-face for a minute or two, with the ham touching the grill. Do this before adding the pork and pressing as usual.

Tips

• Although pork roast made at home is best, good quality pork roast purchased at a supermarket deli work well in Cuban sandwiches. Alternatively, use slow roasted pork.
• Crisp the bread on the grill before building the sandwich for extra crispness.
• Take the meat and cheese out of the fridge in advance so it reaches room temperature before you cook the sandwich. This makes it easy to warm the meat and melt the cheese without burning the bread.

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Use Pita Pockets
• Make Grilled Cheese Roll‐Ups
• Order a Subway Sandwich
• Make a Healthy Sandwich
• Make a Portobello Mushroom Sandwich
• Make Pigs in a Blanket
• Make a Stromboli
• Make a Chip Butty
• Make a Panini
• Make a Sandwich

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