The Cuban Sandwich

I was watching an episode of Diners. Drive Ins, and Dives and they made what they called a Cuban Sandwich and I thought.....hey, I could make that!

This is what they did....

First, you take a pork butt (which is actually a bone in pork shoulder, in case you were wondering.) and you jab it with a knife and stuff the holes with minced garlic and then smear the outside with garlic. Then salt all over liberally. Then, you cook it for 7.5 hours at 250 degrees. I have a giant roaster that I put it in.

Once its done cooking, allow it to cool for a bit and then tear it all apart with your hands into small pieces so you have a huge pile of pulled pork.

Next, take a loaf of French Bread or a baguette and slice it horizontally. Cover the bottom slice completely with mustard. Then cover that with full layer of hamburger sliced pickles. Then a slice of ham, then the pulled pork, then a slice of cheese. The joint on the show used mozzarella but traditionally Swiss is used. I used Swiss and Havarti. Then on top of that you sprinkle garlic salt and top with the other part of the bread.

So, here are the layers in the order if you were looking at the sandwich:


Bread
Garlic Salt
Cheese
Pulled Pork
Ham Slices
Pickles
Mustard
Bread

Then, slather on a little melted butter and if you have a panini press, you can press it in there and toast it up. If you do not, then I took my cast iron griddle and warmed it up, then put the sandwich down on it and topped it with a cast iron pan and put a can of soup on top for weight so it really smushes the sandwich down. I cut my big French loaves into 3s to make this easier. You toast it until it is crispy brown and then flip over and do again. Then, cut them into triangles about the size of a normal sandwich cut into two vertically.

These were great! I made 2 French breads and a small baguette and had plenty for 6 adults plus enough for almost everyone to take a sandwich and eat for lunch the next day.

I hope you try this! It was relatively simple and the flavor was great!

Have a great Friday!
Heather

Recipe:Balsamic Roasted Pork Tenderloin that morphs into Pulled Pork BBX Sandwiches the next day

Good Evening all,

I made this pork loin this weekend and it was simple and easy so I am sharing. The pork loin recipe comes from Robin Miller of Quick Fix Meals. I really love balsamic vinegar, so this is a great way to add some rich flavor. You could also do this with pork chops.

Balsamic Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
Two 2 pound pork tenderloins trimmed of silver skin if necessary.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme or about half as much dried.

Directions:

Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Place the pork in the pan and season the top and sides with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, and thyme. Spoon the mixture over the pork then roast for about 45 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. Baste every 15 minutes if possible.

Let the pork stand for 10 minutes before slicing enough for your dinner, I think this will feed 4-6 people.

The leftover pork can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months.

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches:

Ingredients:
The 2nd pork loin from the above recipe and any leftovers
a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, I like KC Masterpiece
Kaiser rolls

Take the pork tenderloin and with 2 forks, pull apart the pork so it is shredded. Take the port and put it in a pot, empty the bottle of barbecue sauce in and mix. I would probably add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to thin it out a little if it seems too thick. Cook until warmed through and the pork is coated in the sauce.

Warm Kaiser rolls in over or toast them. Serve the BBQ pork on Kaiser rolls, I would add mustard and a pickle, but that is just me.

And there you go...2 meals and basically just one prep and a warm up!

YUMMMMM!