"Cubano Sandwich-The Real Deal Recipe

Ingredients

1 bone-in pork shoulder
Brine
4 cups orange juice
2 cups water
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup spiced rum
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 stems each coarsely chopped fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, and oregano
1/2 cup salt
1 head of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
Mojo Marinade
Cubanos Marinade1/2 cup olive oil
Zest and juice from 3 oranges
Zest and juice from 6 limes
2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 head of garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp cumin
Sandwich Ingredients
Cuban loaves of bread
You can find Cuban loaves at Latin markets, or substitute with soft loaves of French bread
Yellow mustard
Thinly sliced ham
Sliced Swiss cheese
Thinly sliced sandwich pickles
Butter

Preparation

Step 1

Brining Pork:

Trim excess fat away from the fat cap. Score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern. Place the pork shoulder into a bowl or other container for brining. Trimming and scoring allow for better penetration for the brine and marinade.
Note: Trimming the fat cap is optional. If you leave the skin on, you’ll have an extra-crispy crust on the outside of your pork shoulder. Yum!

Mix together all brine ingredients until well combined.

Pour the brine over the pork and cover with a lid or plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
NEXT DAY

Make the Mojo Marinade:

Combine all marinade ingredients and stir well.
Remove pork shoulder from the brine and pat dry.
Cubanos Collage 3

Place the pork in the marinade and massage the marinade into the surface of the pork. Then marinate for 3 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Cook the Pork:

Preheat your oven to 300°F (149°C).
Remove the pork shoulder from the marinade and place onto a wire rack set over a foil-lined baking sheet.
Cubanos Collage 5

Baste the pork shoulder with some of the excess marinade.
Place ChefAlarm probe into the thickest part of the center of the meat, avoiding bone.
Set your ChefAlarm’s high alarm to 165°F (74°C).

Place the roast into the oven and cook until your ChefAlarm’s high alarm sounds.
Once the high alarm sounds, plunge the probe of a Thermapen Mk4 into the pork shoulder and pull it back through the center, watching for the lowest reading, to be sure that the lowest temperature in the pork is 165°F (74°C).
If a lower temperature is found, reposition the ChefAlarm probe so it is tracking the lowest temperature found in the roast and continue cooking until the pull temperature of 165°F (74°C) is reached, as verified with the Thermapen Mk4.

Remove the pork shoulder from the oven and increase the oven’s temperature to 500°F (260°C).
Once the oven is preheated, place the pork shoulder back into the oven to form a crisp, brown crust—about 10 minutes.
Cubanos Collage 8

Remove the pork from the oven once the crust has developed to your preference, and let it rest, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle, slice the pork into 1/4″ thick slices against the grain.
Sandwich Assembly:

Slice Cuban loaves in half lengthwise.
Heat a plancha, flat-top grill, or cast iron pan to about 350-400°F (177-204°C) (you can use an infrared thermometer like the IRK-2 to verify the pan surface temperature). Melt butter in the pan and toast the bread cut-side down in the butter until brown and crisp.

In the buttered pan, cook slices of ham and roasted pork until browned.
Cubanos Collage 11

Spread mustard on the bottom half of the bread.
Start with a layer of roasted pork, then ham, slices of Swiss cheese, then 3 slices of pickle.
Spread mustard on the cut side of the top half of the loaf of bread and place on top of the sandwich.

Spread butter on the top of the sandwich bread and melt butter on your plancha, flat-top grill, or cast iron pan.
Press the sandwich and cook until heated through, the cheese is melted, and the bread is golden brown and crisp.
If cooking on a flat-top grill or in a cast-iron pan, heat a Dutch oven on the stove top and use that to press down your sandwich. Turn over and cook until the sandwich is heated through and both sides of the bread are brown and crisp.
The sandwich should be pressed enough that the final result is quite flat and thin.

Slice diagonally and serve immediately.