Cuban Sandwiches

I first came across cuban sandwiches at a local deli, they did not call it a cuban sandwich but it was delicious. I am not a big pickle or mustard lover but I loved this sandwich. It was one of the only items Adam ever had to run out and get when I was pregnant as I HAD to have it.

I decided to give them a whirl at home, as how hard could it really be right? These were excellent and rather simple to make.

I followed this recipe for the pork, and thought it was very time consuming and didn’t add a whole lot to the taste of the sandwich. Next time I would just throw a roast in the crockpot with a can of coke and shred when I get home.

Cuban Sandwiches (From: icuban)

• Cuban bread or French Bread (I planned to use different bread but turned out to be moldy so I just used white bread)
• Butter, softened
• 1 pound ham sliced (Use a good quality ham.)
• 1 pound lechón asado (roasted Cuban pork) sliced
• 1/2 pound Swiss cheese, sliced (Adam doesn’t like swiss I subbed provlone)
• Sliced dill pickles
• Yellow mustard

Preheat a pancake griddle or large fry pan. Cut the bread into sections about 8 inches long. Cut these in half and spread butter on both halves (inside). Make each sandwich with the ingredients in this order: pickles, roasted pork, ham, and cheese. Be generous!

Place the sandwich on the hot griddle (fry pan) sprayed with a little “Pam” or lightly greased. Place a heavy iron skillet or bacon press on top of the sandwich to flatten. (You really want to smash the sandwich, compressing the bread to about 1/3 its original size!)

Grill the sandwiches for two to three minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden. Make sure your griddle or fry pan is not TOO HOT! Otherwise, the crust will burn before the cheese melts. Slice the sandwich in half diagonally and serve.