Cuban Sandwich - the Miami way!!

[SouthernSmoked]

Cuban Sandwich - the Miami way!!


Miami Cuban sandwich recipe. Make your own great authentic Cuban sandwich at home.



Cuban bread or substitute French bread if you must, but NOT a baguette!

Cut the bread into sections about 8 inches long. Cut these in half and generously spread butter on both halves (inside.)

Make each sandwich with the ingredients in this order: pickles...



I substituted Smoked Pork for (Roasted Pork)... Be generous!



3-4 slices of Ham sliced thin, but not shaved (Use a good quality ham.)



Swiss cheese, sliced (Use a mild Swiss -- we like Baby Swiss -- it has only a few holes.)...



Yellow Mustard!... Mayonnaise (NEVER!!)



Spread a little butter on the hot griddle or fry pan and place the sandwich on the pan. Use a heavy skillet, bacon press, or foil-wrapped brick to flatten the sandwich. (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 then flip them over to toast the other side. Once the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown on both sides, the sandwiches are done.



My Cuban Sammie!!!



Butter's, my daughters puppy, was making sure that no one was able to Grab-and-Dash until ready.



Let's Eat!

[NePaSmoKer]

YEAH BUDDY

I did the same cast iron pan-inni press too  ;D

Your pup is sayin....wheres mine at  :D

[ArnieM]

That really looks good SS and I love the looks of that pickle!

[Mr Walleye]

The look on Butter's (the dog) face says it all.

Come to think of it.... that's the same look I had on my face when I looked at your sandwich!  :D

Great job SS!

Mike

[ronbeaux]

Oh heck yeah!

[smoker pete]

That really looks good SS and I love the looks of that pickle!

Ditto on the sandwich SS.  Just ate lunch but I may have to go try one of those suckers!!

I'm with ArnieM when it comes to a good kosher and/or deli pickle.  When I was a kid I used to sweep out a Deli everyday after school and was rewarded by eating as many deli pickles as I wanted  ;D  Back then the pickles were still in barrels and I didn't know any better.  Course that was in the early 60s ... Ooops, I think I just dated myself but to this day I think I got the better half of that deal.

[hal4uk]

Lookin' good SS!!!  The Cuban bread is awsome if you can get it, but it helps to live in Florida.
(I've had it shipped, and it's not cheap - not even reasonable, so I don't do it very often)

I have a commercial sandwich (flat) press that I bought just for Smashed BBQ sandwiches and Cubanos...
(Of course, cast iron skillets, foil-wrapped bricks, etc do the same thing)...

[SouthernSmoked]

Dang Hal, that looks good!!

We had a cheap Panini Press that my daughter took to college.

Time to invest into another...

[NePaSmoKer]

The look on Butter's (the dog) face says it all.

Come to think of it.... that's the same look I had on my face when I looked at your sandwich!  :D

Great job SS!

Mike

I had the same look  ;D

[Pachanga]

Nice looking wich.

Nice looking hound.

And I love the press.

Looks like you know your Cuban Sandwich business.

Thanks for the post.

I am going to give that a try exactly the way you show it.

Now for Cuban bread research.  Any tips?

Also, do you heat the top press and do you flip?

Pachanga

[SouthernSmoked]

Hey Pachanga, below is a recipe that my wife uses every now and then but I actually purchased the French bread at Sam's this time around.


STARTER
3/4 tsp active dry yeast(1/3 envelope)
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup bread or all-purpose flour

The day before baking; mix the starter ingredients, dissolving the yeast in the water first. You want a thick paste when you add the flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let "ripen" in refrigerator for 24 hours. Leftover starter will keep for several days in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

DOUGH
4-1/2 tsp active dry yeast -(2 envelopes or 2 cakes of compressed yeast)
1 Tbsp sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water
3 to 4 Tbsp lard or solid vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 batch starter (see above recipe)
1 Tbsp salt
4 to 5 cups bread or all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 3 tablespoons of water in a large mixing bowl. When the mixture is foamy (5 to 10 minutes), stir in the lard, the remaining water, and the 1/2 batch of starter.

Mix well with your fingers or a wooden spoon. Stir in salt and flour, 1 cup at a time. You want to get a dough that is stiff enough to knead. You can also mix and knead in a mixer fitted with the dough hook or in a food processor fitted with the double blade, as the processor dough hook will not handle this job easily.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes, adding flour as necessary. The dough should be pliable and not sticky.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles its' bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down.

To form the loaves, divide the dough in 4 pieces. Roll out each to form a 14-inch long tube, with rounded ends (sort of like a long meat loaf) Put 2 of the loaves on a baking sheet, about 6 inches apart. Cover with dampened cotton dish towels and let rise in warm, draft-free spot until double their bulk, about 1 hour. If you want to let it rise at a slower pace, you can do it in a cooler spot and even in the refrigerator, but give it 3 to 4 hours instead.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Lay a dampened piece of thick kitchen string or twine (about 1/8 " thick) all along the top length of the loaf. Bake until the breads are lightly browned on top and sound hollow when lightly tapped, about 30 minutes.

Let them cool slightly and remove the strings. They will leave a distinct little ridge on top. Transfer loaves onto a wire rack for cooling.

(*)Pan con Lechon can be found in many little luncheon places all over Miami. Literary Bread with Pork. The pork is roasted Cuban Style, with the mojo marinade.

She found this recipe here. http://www.tasteofcuba.com/pancubano.html

[SnellySmokesEm]

I love a good Cuban sammie.  Living in FL there are a lot of sandwhich shops that sell cubans and your looked every bit as good as the ones I've had around here.  Great Job!

[Pachanga]

Hey Pachanga, below is a recipe that my wife uses every now and then but I actually purchased the French bread at Sam's this time around.


STARTER
3/4 tsp active dry yeast(1/3 envelope)
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup bread or all-purpose flour

The day before baking; mix the starter ingredients, dissolving the yeast in the water first. You want a thick paste when you add the flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let "ripen" in refrigerator for 24 hours. Leftover starter will keep for several days in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

DOUGH
4-1/2 tsp active dry yeast -(2 envelopes or 2 cakes of compressed yeast)
1 Tbsp sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water
3 to 4 Tbsp lard or solid vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 batch starter (see above recipe)
1 Tbsp salt
4 to 5 cups bread or all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 3 tablespoons of water in a large mixing bowl. When the mixture is foamy (5 to 10 minutes), stir in the lard, the remaining water, and the 1/2 batch of starter.

Mix well with your fingers or a wooden spoon. Stir in salt and flour, 1 cup at a time. You want to get a dough that is stiff enough to knead. You can also mix and knead in a mixer fitted with the dough hook or in a food processor fitted with the double blade, as the processor dough hook will not handle this job easily.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes, adding flour as necessary. The dough should be pliable and not sticky.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles its' bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down.

To form the loaves, divide the dough in 4 pieces. Roll out each to form a 14-inch long tube, with rounded ends (sort of like a long meat loaf) Put 2 of the loaves on a baking sheet, about 6 inches apart. Cover with dampened cotton dish towels and let rise in warm, draft-free spot until double their bulk, about 1 hour. If you want to let it rise at a slower pace, you can do it in a cooler spot and even in the refrigerator, but give it 3 to 4 hours instead.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Lay a dampened piece of thick kitchen string or twine (about 1/8 " thick) all along the top length of the loaf. Bake until the breads are lightly browned on top and sound hollow when lightly tapped, about 30 minutes.

Let them cool slightly and remove the strings. They will leave a distinct little ridge on top. Transfer loaves onto a wire rack for cooling.

(*)Pan con Lechon can be found in many little luncheon places all over Miami. Literary Bread with Pork. The pork is roasted Cuban Style, with the mojo marinade.

She found this recipe here. http://www.tasteofcuba.com/pancubano.html

Southern,

You had me at lard.  You had me at lard.   ;) (Jerry Maguire movie (1996)

That validates this as authentic.

You saved me a lot of research.  I'll give that a shot. 

Thanks.

Pachanga

PS  On your daughter's dog, it is hard to beat a good hound ----------- but I have scolded a few.

[classicrockgriller]

Here's some info that might help.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17262.0

[classicrockgriller]

And here is where I made a Cubano sammie:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17263.0

I later made MORE with black ham and swiss.

They Rock!