What is on a Cuban Sandwich

Cuban Sandwich on butcher paper sliced and served with pickles.

5 from 13 votes

What is on a Cuban Sandwich? Cuban Bread, Mustard, Ham, Swiss Cheese, Mojo Pork, and Mojo Sauce, all squished down into a crispy delicious sandwich that will leave you wanting more!

Prep Time10

Cook Time13

Total Time13 10

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American, Cuban

Servings: servings

Calories: 1392kcal

Author: Jeremy Klae

Ingredients

Cuban Bread (Starter)

2 ¼ tsp. Instant Yeast
½ Cup Warm Water
½ Cup Bread Flour

Cuban Bread (Loaves)

Starter
1 ¼ Cups Warm Water
2 ¼ tsp. Instant Yeast
3 ½ Cups Bread Flour
1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Salt
3 Tbsp. Lard

Mojo Sauce and Mojo Pork

10 lb Bone in Pork Shoulder
2 tablespoon Minced Garlic
2 Sweet Onions
Zest and Juice of 2 Oranges
Zest and Juice of 3 Limes
2 Tbsp. Oregano
2 Bunches of Mint Leaves
1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin
2 Serrano Chiles
1 Cup Olive Oil
1 ½ tablespoon Kosher Salt

The Cuban Sandwich

Mustard
Butter
Sliced Dill Pickles
Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese

Instructions

Cuban Bread (Starter)

Whisk together yeast, water, and flour then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

Mojo Sauce and Pork

In a blender, mix minced Garlic, Sweet Onions, Zest and Juice of Oranges and Limes, Oregano, Fresh Mint leaves, Ground Cumin, Serrano Chiles, Olive Oil, Kosher Salt.
Pour about a cup and a half in a squeeze bottle for serving,
Dump the rest over an 8 to 10 lb Bone-in Pork Butt shoulder.
Allow the Pork Butt to marinate overnight.
Preheat Smoker/Grill/Oven to about 275-300°f. Once you've reached your temp. place the pork butt on the smoker.
Cook to an internal Temperature of 160°f, wrap in foil, and return to the smoker.
Cook until its reached an internal temperature of 195°f, remove and allow to rest, still wrapped, in a cooler.

Cuban Bread Loaves

In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour instant yeast. In a separate bowl with a thermometer, pour in warm water and allow it to cool to between 109-105°f.
Once the water has hit the correct temperature pour it over the yeast in your mixing bowl. Allow your yeast to bloom in the water for about 8-10 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk 3-½ cups Bread Flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 2 teaspoon Salt together with a fork.
Pour the dry mixture over your Yeast and Water, add your starter from the night before and 3 Tbsp. of Lard. Mix well using a Stand mixer.
Place your dough in well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about an hour until doubled in size.
Punch the dough down and allow to rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°f and place a pan of water on the very bottom rack to create steam.
On a well floured surface, roll the dough out, cut that roll into thirds, and roll each one of those into a loaf shape.
Score the loaves using a razor blade or extremely sharp knife.
Wet the loaves with a spray bottle or rubbing water onto them by hand.
Bake the loaves on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes.
Once loaves are golden brown, remove from the oven and cool on your cooling racks.

Assembling the Cuban Sandwich

Place a Cast Iron Griddle and a Cast Iron Skillet on the stove. Be sure that both are fully heated.
Shred the pork using claws, gloves, or two forks. Whatever works!
Evenly slice a loaf of your Cuban Bread.
Spread Mustard on the bottom piece of bread, place your Swiss cheese, pickle slices, ham, shredded Mojo pork, then top with two strips of Mojo Sauce.
Place the top piece of bread on the sandwich and brush with melted butter.
Transfer the Sandwich to the preheated Cast Iron Griddle and flip it over so the is top down. Brush butter on the now top side of the sandwich.
Using your grilling gloves, grab the preheated Cast Iron Skillet and start pressing the sandwich down evenly.
Once the sandwich has been pressed to your liking and the cheese is melting, flip the sandwich over using a large spatula or a griddle spatula.
Allow this to cook for just a minute.
Remove, slice in half, then slice those halves diagonally.
SERVE AND ENJOY!

Video

Notes

If you have a Panini Press or Outdoor Griddle, I recommend using those instead of the two cast iron pans.
If you can find freshly baked Cuban bread in your area, you can save time and skip the bread making.
Wrapping the pork butt in foil protects the meat from getting too smokey and ensures it stays nice and tender.
In addition to marinating the pork butt, you may also want to consider injecting it with the mojo sauce. This will give it a lot more flavor and make it even more tender on the sandwich.

Nutrition