Best The Ultimate Cuban Sandwich Recipes

EASY CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375ºF and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
• Place the pork tenderloin on the prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl whisk the olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, garlic cloves, oregano, and cumin together and pour over the pork.
• Cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145ºF. Thinly slice the meat and set aside.
• Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise and then cut into 4 equal parts.
• Begin layering the ingredients by adding half of the cheese to the bottom layer of the sandwich bread. Top with the smoked ham, sliced pork, and pickles. Place the remaining cheese on top. Spread mustard on the top piece of bread and place on the sandwich.
• Melt the butter in a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and set a heavy skillet, such as an iron skillet, on top of the sandwiches to press them down. Once toasted flip the sandwich and repeat.
• Slice the sandwiches in half before servings.

CUBAN SANDWICH (CUBANO)

Steps:

• Heat your skillet or griddle: I like to use two cast iron skillets nested on top of one another, pressing the sandwich in between. To use this method, place both skillets (one on top of the other) over medium heat and let them heat through. If using a panini press set it to medium heat. The skillet or griddle shouldn't be screaming hot, but it should radiate enough heat to toast the bread slowly. If you aren't using the double pan method or a panini press, just use anything you have to weigh the sandwich down - a foil wrapped brick, your spatula, whatever you have will do.
• Serve: Remove your sandwich from the skillet or griddle. Slice your sandwich according to the number of guests you need to serve and serve the sandwich with a handful of chips and a pickle or two. LEFTOVERS! Leftovers should be wrapped in foil and stored in the refrigerator. They may be reheated by cooking the same as above.

CHEF JOHN'S CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Mix mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne together in a bowl to make the sauce.
• Trim off ends of bread. Cut loaf in half and evenly split bread to make tops and bottoms of 2 sandwiches. Spread each half on both sides generously with the mayo/mustard sauce.
• Divide sandwich ingredients between the two bottom halves in this order: 2 slices Swiss cheese, 3 slices ham, hot cooked pork, pickle slices, and 2 more slices of Swiss cheese. Place tops on sandwiches.
• Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place sandwiches in skillet and press down with a heavy weight (such as another skillet or foil-wrapped bricks). Toast sandwiches until bread is crisp and filling is heated through, 3 or 4 minutes per side.

GRILLED CUBANO SANDWICH

Steps:

• Cut the pork tenderloin in half crosswise with a sharp knife, creating two 5-inch-long pieces. Make a vertical cut down the middle of each piece, about 3/4 of the way through. Open the pieces like a book. Lay them cut-side down on a piece of plastic wrap, cover with another piece and use a meat mallet to lightly pound the pork to about 1/2 inch thick.
• Add the pork, 1/4 cup of the yellow mustard, olive oil, pickle brine and garlic to a quart- or gallon-size resealable bag. Close the bag, and rub the marinade into the pork. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare a grill or large grill pan for medium-high heat.
• Once the pork has marinated for 30 minutes, transfer it to a plate, shaking off any excess marinade. Lightly oil the grill grates with vegetable oil. Sprinkle both sides of the pork liberally with salt and pepper, and grill until charred on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium doneness. Transfer the pork a cutting board, and let it rest for 5 minutes. Reduce the grill heat to medium. Slice the pork across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Brush the outside of the Cuban loaf with the butter, and lay the loaf halves cut-side up on a very long piece of aluminum foil. Mix the remaining tablespoon yellow mustard with the mayonnaise, and slather the mixture onto both pieces of bread. Layer the ham, pickles, pork and Swiss cheese on one half of the bread. Top with the other half, and wrap the sandwich up in the foil.
• Put the sandwich on the grill, place a large baking sheet on top and weigh it down with a large cast-iron pan or 2 large cans of food. Grill for 5 minutes, remove the baking sheet and weight, flip the sandwich, weigh it down again and grill until the Swiss cheese has melted, about 5 minutes more.
• Unwrap the sandwich, cut into 4 pieces and serve immediately.

CUBAN SANDWICH RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C, and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together all the pork marinade ingredients (olive oil, orange juice, lime, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper).
• Place the pork tenderloin on the baking sheet, and pour the marinade over the pork so it's well coated.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F/63°C.
• Remove from the oven, let it rest for 5 minutes then transfer to a cutting board and slice into ¼ inch thin slices.
• Slice the bread in half lengthwise. If using a large loaf, then cut in halves to make a total of 4 sandwiches.
• Layer half of the cheese over the bottom piece of the bread, followed by ham, pork, pickles, and the remaining cheese.
• Over the top pieces of bread, spread mustard, and cover the sandwiches.
• In a skillet/pan, melt the butter, place one or two sandwiches in the pan, and press down with something heavy (cast iron pan). Cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until the cheese has melted and the bread is lightly golden. Repeat the same process with the rest of the sandwiches.
• Cut the sandwiches in half, and serve with potato chips.

THE ULTIMATE CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• You can do this in a regular Dutch oven, but for convenience and time use a pressure cooker as follows:
• Begin by braising the pork shoulder. Tie the shoulder in 4 places with kitchen twine so it will hold its shape while being cooked or ask your butcher to do this for you. Season the pork with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Set the base of a pressure cooker over low-medium heat and add a 2 count of olive oil.
• Add garlic and chili flakes and as the oil heats up it will become fragrant and infuse the oil. Add the pork. Add onions around the pork and brown slightly before adding orange juice, lime juice, stock and bay leaves.
• Secure the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of your pressure cooker. The pork should be tender when done. When done allow to cool in juices before removing twine and slicing.
• To prepare Cuban sandwiches, split bread in half then layer the sandwich with mustard, cheese, pickles, ham, pork then cheese again (the cheese glues everything together). Season with salt and pepper in between the ham and pork layers. (Optional: drizzle a little of the pork braising liquid over the meat as well).
• To cook, heat a large cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat and lightly coat with olive oil. Place the sandwiches on the skillet and top with another heavy skillet and a couple of heavy weights (bricks, or cans of tomatoes work well). Press down firmly and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side until the sandwich has compressed to about a third of its original size and the bread is super-crispy. Serve with beans, rice and plantain chips.