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Listen up!!! THIS IS A CUBAN SANDWICH!!!

As I watch various food shows and read food blogs, and see reviews of local restaurants, I continually run across some bozo who is selling a 'cuban sandwich'. Except, they're NOT selling a cuban sandwich.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the cuban sandwich. The classic cuban sandwich was born in Tampa Florida during the 1880s and was consumed mostly by the cigar factory workers in the Ybor City section of town. It is a very specific thing which I will describe below.

Before I do though, let me explain why I feel it necessary to do this. All my life I've been seeing cooks, institutions, writers and various other folk mislabeling all kinds of different concoctions as the cuban sandwich. I mean, even going to school in the Tampa Bay area, they would serve us bologna sandwiches on longbread for lunch and call it a cuban sandwich. When one cares about food, and when one experiences this kind of thing long enough, one feels the need to set the record straight. So here we go.

The Cuban Sandwich

This sandwich, while being incredibly tasty and satisfying, is pretty simple. However, it is IMPERITIVE to use the right ingredients!

  • Cuban bread - cuban bread is very similar to a french baguette, but the body of the bread tends to be a bit lighter and less dense. One can get away with a good baguette, but it's not the same as cuban pan.
  • Sliced roast pork - not pulled pork, not mexican carnitas. This should be pork butt, or loin roasted, cooled and sliced in about 1/8" slices.
  • Serrano ham - this is a cured, dense, flavorful ham from Spain. Similar to prosciutto or a real Smithfield ham. Smithfield will substitute if need be. The ham should be sliced at about 1/8".
  • Swiss cheese - not fontina, not parmesan, certainly not cheddar! Regular swiss cheese with the holes in it. Sliced at about 1/8".
  • Pickles - nothing fancy here, just regular old dill pickle chips. The kind you get on a fast food hamburger.
  • Margarine - that's right margarine. As an avowed butter addict, it's hard for me to list margarine, but that's what they use on the real cuban sandwich, so use it!
Slice the bread horizontally (cubans are typically like a big submarine sandwich, say 6-12 inches)
Slather both sides with margarine
Lay the swiss cheese out on one side of the bread
Lay the roast pork out on the opposite side of the bread
Lay the ham on top of the pork
Lay the pickles on the cheese
Assemble the sandwich and put into a sandwich press until the cheese is melted and the bread toasty

That's a Cuban Sandwich. I like mine with a Batido de Chocolate (chocolate shake).

Comments

icequinn said…
You must come to visit and have the real deal from Versailles!!!
October 10, 2013 at 8:44 AM
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