Cuban Sandwich

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By Jeanne Benedict
Celebrations Expert

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Recipe and Notes Courtesy of Taste of Cuba.

There are many variations on the Cuban Sandwich. On a traditional Cuban, there should not be any mayonnaise, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers or lettuce. Although you can use these to your own liking, you will find the authentic traditional recipe below.

The medianoche (my personal favorite) sandwich is sometimes served cold, as its name implies you might eat it very late as a midnight snack or coming back from dancing or a movie. Some make the medianoche smaller, with a sweeter variety of yellow egg bread (similar to Jewish Challah bread). In making a good Cuban sandwich, remember this: the Roast Pork is what will make the sandwich, so you can never leave it out.

Ingredients

3 thin slices of ham
3 thin slices roast pork hot or cold (I use hot, slow roasted pork)
3 thin slices of Swiss cheese
3 or 4 slices of pickles
1/3 cut Cuban bread hard crust (or French bread)

Steps

You should be using fresh, crusty Cuban bread, but you can always use a 12" loaf of French bread cut in half. Slice the bread open face so that both halves are still barely connected and spread mustard on both halves. Add the ham, and then the roasted pork. When in a hurry, you can use one whole piece of roasted pork. Add your Swiss cheese and then a few pickle slices.
Make sure to spray your sandwich press with a little butter flavored Pam, or for a tastier sandwich you can brush some softened butter on the outside of the bread. Place the sandwich in a Cuban sandwich press and press down until the cheese is melted and the bread is slightly hard to the touch. For those of you without a press, you can also place the sandwich in a hot skillet and press down on it with a heavy kitchen object, maybe a baking pan (some, believe it or not, use a brick wrapped in tin foil when nothing else is available).
For years I've used a Gaunaurd sandwich maker from the Cuban Food Market, it has removable plates and is easy to clean. Never use a panini grill, they simply don't heat sandwiches evenly and a real Cuban Sandwich doesn't have little lines grilled into it. When finished, slice the sandwich diagonally across the middle so that you have two triangle shaped wedges. Enjoy!
Jeanne's Note: Slice sandwich diagonally, every 2 inches for smaller appetizer portions. Cuban bread is available at Cuban Food Market.