When we lived on the north side of the city, our favorite go to place when I was feeling too lazy to cook was this wonderful Cuban market which had an attached cafe. They made one of the best Cubano sandwiches there and it always hit the spot. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been back in our old ‘hood and I had a hankering for that Cubano sandwich today. With that sandwich on my brain, I did the next best thing… make the sandwich at home!
The Cubano sandwich is pretty much a grilled ham and cheese variation that includes slices of roasted pork and pickle slices. You really can’t go wrong with the combination of ham, swiss, pork, pickle and mustard. Now imagine those delicious fillings in between crispy, hot bread that’s been pressed to a golden brown. And in my opinion, this sandwich goes best with some garlic yucca chips, which I picked up from a latin market. Mmmm… say hello to my delicious friend…
1 loaf Cuban bread or Mexican ‘bolillo’ roll
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 sandwich length pickle slices
5 slices Polish or Virginia deli ham
2 slices roast pork
2 slices imported Swiss cheese
1-ounce butter
Slice Cuban loaf or Mexican bolillo roll in half horizontally. Spread the mustard on both the top and bottom cut sides of the loaf/roll evenly.
To begin building the sandwich, on the bottom half of the loaf/roll, layer the ham. Top with the roast pork, followed by the pickle slices and finally the swiss cheese. Place the top half of the loaf/roll to complete the sandwich.
Heat a cast iron skillet. Spread butter on top of the sandwich (top half of the loaf/roll) and lay the sandwich buttered side down into the hot skillet. Press down on the sandwich with a large spatula to get a nice crisp sear of the bread. Leave the sandwich on the skillet until the buttered side turns a golden brown and is crisp.
Repeat by buttering the other side of the sandwich (should be the bottom loaf/roll) and flip the sandwich onto the newly buttered side down into the hot skillet. Leave the sandwich on the skillet until the buttered side turns a golden brown and is crisp.
After the sandwich is crispy on both sides and the cheese has melted, remove the sandwich carefully and slice it diagonally.
Mmm, I LOVE Cuban sandwiches!!! I've actually never made them at home before, though. Maybe I'll have to give it a try soon – these look wonderful!
I'm from Miami and now I live in Michigan. I haven't had a Cuban sandwich since we moved- I gotta find me some Cuban bread now!
It sounds like the bread makes the sandwich. I wonder where I could get Cuban bread in Seattle? I'm thinking my husband would love this sandwich.
I love any sandwich that has pickles! Luckily, it's easy to find Cuban bread where I live.
That sandwich looks really good!
yum this looks great! i love cuban sandwiches
Where do you get roast pork?
Sara, here in Chicago I'm able to get it at some ethnic delis and also Latin/Mexican markets fully cooked. If you don't have those available in your area, you can always roast a pork loin, cool and slice to use in this sandwich.
I'm doing some today with a smoked pork tenderloin I have leftover from a BBQ. Sliced it pretty thin on my meat slicer and got all ingredients ready to go for later. I am trying one with Genoa Salami and one without just to test the Miami version (with salami). I expect it will be an unnecessary addition to perfect samich. Also, could not find Cuban bread, gotta call my baker buddy next so I am using an Italian bread.