Cuban Sandwiches
These Cuban sandwiches are something I first saw on the Martha Stewart Show and then on Rachael Ray. It looked so intriguing and delicious that I just had to try it. It has become a family favorite ever since.
One of the great things about this sandwich is that it's the perfect way to use up leftover pork tenderloin. We always had too much pork tenderloin for one meal and this solves that problem in a tasty way.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. pork tenderloin
Marinade Ingredients:
- 4 cloves of garlic minced (or you can pierce the meat with a knife and instead of mincing the garlic you can simply cut each clove in half and push a piece into each opening…the garlic flavor will be absorbed into the meat)
- ½ cup lime juice
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp. oregano
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 large onion minced
- Salt and pepper to taste.
For the sandwiches:
- 2 tbsp butter optional
- 1/4 cup mustard
- 16 slices bread
- 8 slices deli ham
- 16 slices Swiss cheese
- 8 dill pickles
Instructions
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Marinate the meat (about a 2 lb. pork tenderloin) in this mixture for about 4 hours (or overnight). You might want to pierce the meat in a few locations to allow the marinade to be absorbed in more readily.
To Cook the Tenderloin:
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Place the meat in a roasting pan and cook at 325 degrees F. for about 40 minutes. It should reach an internal temperature of 140-145 degrees F.
Assembling the Sandwich:
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In the recipes I have seen, they have called for a sandwich press for making these. If you don't own one, you can rig up your own version of a sandwich press with a few simple materials. I have seen it done by placing a second skillet on top of the sandwiches in the first skillet and weighing it down in some way (using a cast iron skillet on top helps with the weight, plus you can add something like a brick to it for more weight).
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I have also seen it done without the second skillet on top and simply taking something like a brick (which will hold up to the heat and add weight), wrapping it in foil, and placing that on top of the sandwich.
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The first time we tried these sandwiches, we just ate them as regular sandwiches. They were delicious! If you are pressing your sandwich, you will want Cuban, French, or Italian bread. If not pressing the sandwich, I have found that any nice crusty roll is really yummy with these sandwich fillings. You can even make them wrap-style in a flour tortilla or pile it on a piece of flatbread.
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If you are pressing the sandwiches, it can be really nice to butter the insides of the bread or bun you are using for the sandwiches. For unpressed sandwiches, we skip the butter. Spread on some mustard - we like spicy mustard on this! Then, layer on Swiss cheese, pork tenderloin, deli ham, sliced dill pickles, and more Swiss cheese.
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Serve as is or brush the outsides of the sandwich with butter and place in the sandwich press over medium-high heat. Grill the sandwiches for about 5 minutes. You want it heated all the way through and for the cheese to get all melty and gooey.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tip: One of my favorite ways to marinate meat is in the freezer. Place all the ingredients in a freezer bag. Add the meat and kind of swish it around so that it’s fully coated. Place this in the freezer until ready to use. The meat will marinate in the freezer just as it would in the refrigerator, although more slowly. This way when you are ready to cook, the meat is already pre-marinated and you are good to go! I do this with chicken wings, ribs, chicken breasts, and more!
Pro Tip: If you are planning on serving some of this roast as is for a meal prior to using the leftovers for the sandwiches, it can be really tasty served over rice or noodles or you can add cut-up potatoes and carrots, for example, to the roasting pan and cook them alongside the roast for a delicious meal as well. Of course, you have a fairly low cooking temperature and cooking time so you will need to cut up the vegetables that you choose small enough so that they will be cooked through in time.
If you are serving this for a meal and then using leftovers for sandwiches, we find that we can get about 2-3 servings as a main dish and then about 3-4 sandwiches out of the leftovers.