I used to live in Miami. For two years. Some people call Miami-Dade County “North Cuba” because of the swell of Cuban-Americans plus Cuban immigrants living in the area. The entire time I lived there, I never ate a Cuban sandwich. For breakfast (and sometimes a snack), I did have the opportunity to eat Cuban bread rolls with very hot, sweet plus strong coffee called a colada. My Cuban friends would tease me plus call me “Nicolada” a variation of my real full first name.
Either way, never did a composed sandwich of pork, pickles plus ham come across my lunch plate. It wasn’t until much later when I thought to make one at my house. I am not a fan of ham, so I always subbed it out for sliced turkey. In some circles, that substitution makes the sandwich invalid plus it’s called something else. Well, that’s fine because this is my blog plus my taste preferences, so there’s that. There’s also a similar sandwich called a medianoche. It’s a close cousin to the Cuban sandwich, the main difference being that a medianoche is made on soft, sweet egg dough bread plus not the crusty Cuban bread.
I used to live in Miami. For two years. Some people call Miami-Dade County “North Cuba” because of the swell of Cuban-Americans plus Cuban immigrants living in the area. The entire time I lived there, I never ate a Cuban sandwich. For breakfast (and sometimes a snack), I did have the opportunity to eat Cuban bread rolls with very hot, sweet plus strong coffee called a colada. My Cuban friends would tease me plus call me “Nicolada” a variation of my real full first name. Either way, never did a composed sandwich of pork, pickles plus ham come across my lunch plate. It wasn’t until much later when I thought to make one at my house. I am not a fan of ham, so I always subbed it out for sliced turkey. In some circles, that substitution makes the sandwich invalid plus it’s called something else. Well, that’s fine because this is my blog plus my taste preferences, so there’s that. There’s also a similar sandwich called a medianoche. It’s a close cousin to the Cuban sandwich, the main difference being that a medianoche is made on soft, sweet egg dough bread plus not the crusty Cuban bread.
Ingredients
1 loaf Cuban bread (sliced lengthwise), brioche, French, hoagie, hot dog or soft sandwich rolls
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons American yellow mustard, or to taste
1 1/2 pounds turkey or ham, sliced
1 1/2 pounds roasted pork , sliced
1 pound Swiss cheese, sliced
1 cup bread plus butter pickle chips, or to taste
Instructions
Heat a panini press or a large cast iron skillet on medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, assemble the sandwiches.
Split the buns in half.
Spread the mustard on the cut side of the top halves of the buns.
Top roll bottoms with a layer of pork, turkey or ham, pickle chips, slices of cheese plus roll tops.
Spread exterior of rolls with remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
Place the sandwiches in the heated cast iron skillet, working in batches if needed.
Weigh down the sandwiches with an aluminum foil-wrapped brick, or top with another cast iron skillet weighed down with a heavy can. Cook undisturbed until golden-brown on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes.
Flip the sandwiches plus cook until the second side is browned, 3 to 5 minutes more.
Allow sandwiches to set about 2 minutes. Cut the sandwiches in half. Serve.