THE “sandwich”

Cubans call it “sandwich” when ordering this delectable pork, ham, swiss and pickle sandwich. Many Cubans will tell you the “right way” to make the sandwich, not too much unlike the many variations of barbecue that’s out there. Cubans do agree, however, that in order to properly make a Cuban Sandwich, you need to make it sort of like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Aficionados of this treat, argue about the details and enthusiastically try to attract your affection for their way of making the sandwich.

I used a recipe out of the cookbook I bought a few weeks back titled “In a Cuban Kitchen” by Alex Garcia. We had the “sandwich” this afternoon for lunch and it was mouth-watering!!

Here is one that is very comparable that I found online and will give you lots of juicy details. Comment and let me know how you like it!

Authentic Cuban Sandwich Recipe – How to Make a Cubano
Traditional Cuban recipe – Added October, 2001

There are plenty of recipes to make a Cuban sandwich, but only one recipe is traditional. An authentic Cuban will not have mayonnaise, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, bell peppers, or jalapeños. Some Cuban restaurants don’t add mustard or pickles, but they will never leave off the pork. It’s the flavor that really ties the whole sandwich together.

You can also add more ham and roast pork than what’s called for below, depending on the size of the slices or your appetite.

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cook Time: 5 minutes – Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

4 slices of ham
4 slices roast pork
3 slices of Swiss cheese
3 or 4 pickle slices

Yellow mustard (not spicy or dijon)
1/3 cut Cuban bread hard crust (or French bread)

Instructions:

If you can get your hands on fresh, crusty Cuban bread, that would work best. But if not, you can also use a 12 to 16 inch loaf of French Bread, cut in half.

Cut your bread lengthwise into two pieces. Spread mustard on the inside of each half. Layer the ham slices on one piece of bread, then top with the roasted pork. If you don’t have sliced pork, “pulled” style roast pork will also work (some restaurants heap it on). Add Swiss cheese on top of the pork, and then add the pickle slices. Place the other piece of bread on top.

You have two options for cooking your sandwich if you are using an electric sandwich press. The first option is to use cooking spray on the press before placing the sandwich inside. The tastier option is to brush soft butter on the outside of both pieces of bread. You will find that it’s much easier to spread the butter on the outside of the bread before you actually start adding meat.

Place the sandwich inside of a pre-heated Cuban sandwich press, and press down firmly until the cheese has melted, and the bread is slightly hard to the touch. If you don’t have a press, you can place the sandwich in a hot skillet on the stove, and then press the sandwich down with another frying pan. Some people, believe or not, use a brick wrapped in tin foil when nothing else is available.

When finished, the sandwich should be flattened down to less than half the original size. Slice the sandwich diagonally across the middle, so that you have two triangle-shaped wedges. Buen Provecho! Serves 1.

Credit to this source:

http://www.tasteofcuba.com/cubansandwich.html

!Vamos!