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Recipe Detail Page
Toasted Cubano Sandwiches
Early Summer 2016
These sandwiches are the perfect excuse to make a big pork roast with plenty of leftovers. There’s something about the crispy-crusted, fluffy white bun, moist pork, nutty cheese, salty-sour pickles and zingy mustard that has this combo making its way from the sugar cane fields of Cuba and the southern U.S. states around the world at a rapid pace. The mayo isn’t traditional (some purists would be downright mortified) but it does keep thesandwiches nice and moist in this baked version. If you like the authentic double-meat version, add a couple of thin slices of ham between the pork and the cheese.
Serves 4
⅓ cup (80 mL) mayonnaise
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp (30 mL) prepared yellow mustard
Freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter, softened
4 large soft buns, cut in half
8 to 12 thin slices leftover Provençal Pork Roast (recipe follows)
8 thin slices Swiss cheese
3 large dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) or preheat one side of barbecue grill to medium.
2 Combine mayonnaise, cilantro and mustard in a bowl; season to taste with pepper.
3 Spread a thin coating of butter on outside tops and bottoms of buns. Place each bun in the centre of a large piece of foil. Open buns and spread mayonnaise mixture on both cut sides of each bun. Layer pork, cheese and pickles on bottoms and replace bun tops. Wrap foil around buns, sealing seams.
4 Place foil packages directly on oven rack, or on indirect heat on barbecue, and bake for about 30 minutes or until buns are crisp and toasted on the outside and filling is hot.
Serves 4
PROVENÇAL PORK ROAST
Garlic, mustard and herbs reminiscent of the south of France add a succulent flavour to this roast and work well in a variety of dishes that take full advantage of the leftovers. Contrary to leaner pork cuts, which should be cooked to medium doneness or less, this well-marbled shoulder cut is best cooked just to well-done for the most tender texture, and don’t worry, it stays nice and moist, even with this less typical dry-roasting technique. A probe thermometer inserted in the meat before roasting and left in is best for avoiding opening the oven door too often to check for doneness—which will cool off the roast. Be sure to insert it into the meatiest part, rather than the fat, to get an accurate reading. You should feel firm resistance when you push the probe into the cold meat. The shape/thickness of your roast as well as how it is tied accounts for the widerange of cooking time in step 5.
1 boneless pork shoulder blade (butt) roast, 6 to 7 lbs (2.7 to 3.15 kg) tied
4 cloves garlic
1½ tsp (7 mL) salt
1½ tsp (7 mL) freshly ground pepper
½ cup (125 mL) Dijon mustard
2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp (5 mL) minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp (5 mL) dried lavender flowers, crumbled (optional)
1 Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
2 Pat roast dry and place on a rack in a large roasting pan. Cut garlic lengthwise into quarters. Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, cut 16 slits in roast, inserting 1 piece of garlic into each slit as you cut. Rub salt and pepper all over roast.
3 Roast pork for 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 325°F (160°C) and roast pork for 1 hour.
4 Combine mustard, sage, thyme, rosemary and lavender, if using, in a bowl (see TIP).
5 Working quickly, remove roast from oven and spread mustard mixture over top, sides and ends of roast. Return to oven and roast for 1½ to 2½ hours longer, or until a meat thermometer registers 165°F (73°C). Tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes (the temperature will continue to increase about 5°F/3°C).
6 Cut across the grain (removing string as you slice) to serve warm or let whole roast cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate until chilled, for at least 8 hours to serve cold. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Serves 8 with leftovers
TIP If you prefer to use a dried herbes de Provence blend, use 4 tsp (20 mL) in place of the fresh sage, thyme, rosemary and dried lavender. Add the dried herbs to the mustard 2 to 4 hours ahead of the time to spread on the roast to let herbs soften and the flavours bloom.
