THE CUBANO (PRESSED GRILLED HAM, SWISS & PICKLE SANDWICH)

Cuban immigrants to Tampa and Key West who came to work in the cigar industry are credited with the creation of this perfect grilled ham and cheese, although exact provenance is a little hazy. There are records of it being a worker’s lunch in Cuba first, where it would have been made with Cuban bread and pressed in a plancha, before it came to Florida.

Without a plancha you can finish the sandwich in a panini press, or just pan griddle it in a little butter with a heavy skillet plunked on top of the bun as I’ve done. I like it with yellow mustard on the top half of the bun and mayo on the bottom, but you can sub in a little butter for the mayo if you like. And if you can’t find Cuban bread, soft fresh bakery sub rolls work really well (you don’t want the bread to be too crusty). Depending on your appetite, you can make the sandwiches stacked with more, or less, meat and cheese, but these measurements will give you ample supply.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CUBANO SANDWICH

• 6 soft fresh sub rolls
• 2 lb thinly sliced ham
• 2 lb pork tenderloin, marinated, roasted, and thinly sliced (recipe below)
• 1 ½ lb thinly shaved Swiss cheese
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup yellow mustard
• 2 cups cornichons (tiny pickles, sliced in half lengthwise)
• ½ cup butter (1 stick), divided into pats

FOR THE MARINATED PORK TENDERLOIN

• 2 lb pork tenderloin
• 3 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp (3 or 4 limes) fresh squeezed lime juice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp freshly ground cumin seed

METHOD

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil—pulling the foil up a bit at the edges to make a basket for the pork. Rub tenderloin all over with pepper, salt, and oregano. In a bowl, whisk together orange and lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, and ground cumin seed. Pour over the tenderloin and roast in oven for 40 minutes or until internal temperature of pork is 145 degrees. While tenderloin roasts, prep sandwich ingredients. On your work surface, slice sub rolls in half lengthwise. Spread inside of the top buns with mustard and inside surface of the bottom bun with mayo. Set aside. Thinly slice ham and Swiss cheese. Once tenderloin is roasted, remove from oven. (Note: I serve the hot marinade/ roasting juices in a dipping cup with the sandwiches for dunking, French Dip style.) Thinly slice the pork. Layer bottom of each bun with thinly shaved Swiss cheese, then ham, then pork (I fold the thin slices in half), then more cheese, and top with the other half of the bun. From the sides, shove cornichons into the middle of the sandwich all the way around, leaving the ends poking out a bit. Melt a few pats of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Place two sandwiches in the pan and plunk a heavy skillet on top. Sizzle sandwiches for about 2 minutes; lift off weight, flip sandwiches, add weight, and fry again. Remove sandwiches from pan, cut each in half, and keep warm. Repeat with the rest of the sandwiches. Serve hot with a pile of plantain chips, using the reserved roasting pan juices in a cup for dipping if you like, and more pickles.