Birthday Cubanos
August 26th, 2010 · No Comments · Posted in Ethnic, Recipes
Cubanos on challah bread
Every year we cook a birthday dinner for our friend Tomeika with her choice of entree. This year she chose Cubanos, the famous Cuban sandwich made with pork loin, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles. We had no idea she was a Cubanos fan.
The one missing ingredient in a Cubano made outside Miami typically is the Cuban bread. My wife substituted eggy challah bread. Otherwise, these sandwiches were made according to the traditional recipe. If you don’t already have cooked pork loin, season a loin with salt and pepper and cook it in a 350-degree oven to an internal temperature of 135-140 degrees.
When the loin is cool enough to handle, slice it thinly and place slices on one half of a sandwich roll, along with slices of Black Forest ham. On the other half of the roll, spread yellow mustard. Top the mustard with sliced Swiss cheese and sliced dill pickles. We use cornichons, sliced lengthwise.
Now for the fun part: squashing the sandwich under heat. Brush the outside of the sandwich with butter, then put it in a panini press or in a waffle iron. Press down. Alternatively, you can use two heavy skillets that fit inside each other, like this:
Squashing your Cubano is important
Maintain pressure on the sandwiches until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown.
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