The Ultimate Cuban Sandwich Recipes

Steps:

• Mix mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne together in a bowl to make the sauce.
• Trim off ends of bread. Cut loaf in half and evenly split bread to make tops and bottoms of 2 sandwiches. Spread each half on both sides generously with the mayo/mustard sauce.
• Divide sandwich ingredients between the two bottom halves in this order: 2 slices Swiss cheese, 3 slices ham, hot cooked pork, pickle slices, and 2 more slices of Swiss cheese. Place tops on sandwiches.
• Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place sandwiches in skillet and press down with a heavy weight (such as another skillet or foil-wrapped bricks). Toast sandwiches until bread is crisp and filling is heated through, 3 or 4 minutes per side.

Steps:

• Cut the pork tenderloin in half crosswise with a sharp knife, creating two 5-inch-long pieces. Make a vertical cut down the middle of each piece, about 3/4 of the way through. Open the pieces like a book. Lay them cut-side down on a piece of plastic wrap, cover with another piece and use a meat mallet to lightly pound the pork to about 1/2 inch thick.
• Add the pork, 1/4 cup of the yellow mustard, olive oil, pickle brine and garlic to a quart- or gallon-size resealable bag. Close the bag, and rub the marinade into the pork. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare a grill or large grill pan for medium-high heat.
• Once the pork has marinated for 30 minutes, transfer it to a plate, shaking off any excess marinade. Lightly oil the grill grates with vegetable oil. Sprinkle both sides of the pork liberally with salt and pepper, and grill until charred on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium doneness. Transfer the pork a cutting board, and let it rest for 5 minutes. Reduce the grill heat to medium. Slice the pork across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Brush the outside of the Cuban loaf with the butter, and lay the loaf halves cut-side up on a very long piece of aluminum foil. Mix the remaining tablespoon yellow mustard with the mayonnaise, and slather the mixture onto both pieces of bread. Layer the ham, pickles, pork and Swiss cheese on one half of the bread. Top with the other half, and wrap the sandwich up in the foil.
• Put the sandwich on the grill, place a large baking sheet on top and weigh it down with a large cast-iron pan or 2 large cans of food. Grill for 5 minutes, remove the baking sheet and weight, flip the sandwich, weigh it down again and grill until the Swiss cheese has melted, about 5 minutes more.
• Unwrap the sandwich, cut into 4 pieces and serve immediately.

Steps:

• You can do this in a regular Dutch oven, but for convenience and time use a pressure cooker as follows:
• Begin by braising the pork shoulder. Tie the shoulder in 4 places with kitchen twine so it will hold its shape while being cooked or ask your butcher to do this for you. Season the pork with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Set the base of a pressure cooker over low-medium heat and add a 2 count of olive oil.
• Add garlic and chili flakes and as the oil heats up it will become fragrant and infuse the oil. Add the pork. Add onions around the pork and brown slightly before adding orange juice, lime juice, stock and bay leaves.
• Secure the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of your pressure cooker. The pork should be tender when done. When done allow to cool in juices before removing twine and slicing.
• To prepare Cuban sandwiches, split bread in half then layer the sandwich with mustard, cheese, pickles, ham, pork then cheese again (the cheese glues everything together). Season with salt and pepper in between the ham and pork layers. (Optional: drizzle a little of the pork braising liquid over the meat as well).
• To cook, heat a large cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat and lightly coat with olive oil. Place the sandwiches on the skillet and top with another heavy skillet and a couple of heavy weights (bricks, or cans of tomatoes work well). Press down firmly and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side until the sandwich has compressed to about a third of its original size and the bread is super-crispy. Serve with beans, rice and plantain chips.