Cuban Sandwich: Miami's Claim to Fame

By Kevin D. Weeks.

Cuban Sandwich

Copyright 2009 Kevin D Weeks

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Cuban sandwiches (Cubanos or "sandwich mixto") are marvelous things consisting of roast pork, ham, salami (sometimes), dill pickles, Swiss cheese, and yellow ball-park mustard. It's built on a bread similar to Italian and then grilled. In this case I used Dijon mustard instead of ball-park and Spanish Mahon instead of Swiss, but it'sthe pork marinated in citrus juice that makes this sandwich particularly distinctive. (Larger image.) Serves 2.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. citrus-marinated pork; thinly sliced
• 1 12 loaf Cuban (or Italian) bread
• Butter; softened
• 4 oz. smoked ham; thinly sliced
• 4 slices Genoa salami (optional)
• Yellow ball-park mustard
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• Dill pickles; sliced

Preparation:

1. Slice bread in half length-wise and then in half horizontally. Butter outside faces.

2. Spread mustard on inside faces and layer each sandwich with 1/2 of remaining ingredients.

3. Place sandwiches in a large skillet or griddle, lay a cake pan or baking sheet on top and weight it down to flatten sandwiches.

4. Set stove to medium low and cook until bottom is well-browned and crisp - about 6 minutes - turn sandwiches over, restore weight, and cook another 3 - 4 minutes. Serve.

Note: Instead of a frying pan or griddle, I use my grill pan, which I preheat over medium heat until hot. This is non-traditional, but I like it.