If you've ever lived in Florida, you know the awesomeness that is a Cuban sammy, or Cubano. It's simple and perfect and awesome.
Whenever I talk about them to people here in the drizzly cold Northwest, they want to know where to get them. Since you can't get them here (Seattle has exactly one Cuban restaurant that is sooooo far out of the way that it would take 3 buses and more fortitude than I have) I have to tell them the truth. You can't get them here, but you can bribe me to make you one.
So a normal cubano is pork, ham, cheese and pickles on a specially grilled roll with mustard. But as you peeps know- I am lazy. Grilling a roll in a special press is too much for me and the only way I'm getting pork sliced for sammies is if I have a leftover pork roast. So I half-ass it, and the Kid says they are The! Best! Sammies! Ever! They are basically extra-awesome grilled ham and cheese.
I start with sourdough bread cause it does nice things in a frying pan. On both pieces of bread, I spread a thin layer of mayo and good mustard (I'm not from the south, so I have a minimum of 3 kinds of mustard in my fridge at all times, I like spicy brown for sammies).
Now the stacking is important. On the bottom do a relatively thin layer of cheese. I like sharp cheddar. Then super thinly sliced ham (pastrami works well too). Then a layer of thinly sliced kosher pickles.
Melt some butter in a hot frying pan and throw the sammy in with the cheese side down. Cook until just golden brown and flip. Do the same for the other side. If your cheese was sliced thin enough, this should be all you need to melt it.
The heat will make the mayo-mustard combo a bit dribbley. So enjoy with a napkin very close by.
No comments:
Post a Comment