Tampa Cuban Sandwich

By Addie

Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

• For the Pork:
• 5 pounds boneless pork shoulder
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 8 large cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 bay leaves
• .................................................
• For the Sandwich:
• 1 9-inch piece Cuban bread
• 4 thin slices glazed ham (about 4 ounces)
• 3-4 thin slices Genoa salami with peppercorns (about 1 ounce)
• 2 thin slices Swiss cheese (about 1 ounce)
• 2 pickle slices
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• Unsalted butter, softened, for cooking

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare the pork: Cut small slits all over the meat with a knife and put skin-side down in a roasting pan. Mix the lime juice and orange juice in a measuring cup. Transfer 1/4 cup juice mixture to a food processor; add the garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and pulse to make a paste. Rub over the pork and into the slits. Pour the remaining 3/4 cup juice over the pork; press the bay leaves on top. Cover and refrigerate 3 to 6 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Turn the pork skin-side up and roast until a thermometer inserted into the middle registers 160 degrees F, about 2 hours, 30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing. (Refrigerate leftover pork in an airtight container up to 1 week.)

Make the sandwich: Cut the bread in half lengthwise. Layer the ham, 3 thin slices roast pork, the salami, cheese and pickles on the bottom half. Spread the mustard on the inside of the top half. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Butter the outside of the sandwich, then add to the pan and put a heavy skillet on top to weigh it down; cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side (or cook in a sandwich press). Cut in half on the diagonal.

In any Cuban sandwich, mojo-marinated pork is key. Look for bottled marinade in Latin markets, or try this recipe from Tampa's legendary Columbia Restaurant.
..............................

REVIEWS:

This is an amazing recipe! When I tried it I cooked the pork in a slow cooker so the pork would be really tender (which made the sandwich even better!

It's fantastic, nature's perfect sandwich, and never better than when prepared at La Columbia. However, this is NOT a "Tampa Cuban sandwich"; it is simply a Cuban sandwich. It was invented in Tampa's Ybor City, so this recipe (w/ salami! is the real thing. Those South Florida salami-less pretenders are just Cuban-style subs. Also, why is this listed under "Mexican" recipes? You can't dump all Hispanic or Latin American-influenced food together. For shame, Food Network!

Well I found this in my recent FN magazine and since I love a good Cuban sandwich decided that I'd be adventurous and try it Tampa style. Other than using some boneless pork ribs I had left over (sliced those bad boys up wow.. this was definitely better for the added salami!