Cuban Sandwich

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

No other sandwich wins me like this one. Vive libre CUBA!!!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I grew up in Tampa; they served cuban sandwiches in the school llunchrooms. Later, I worked in several Cuban/Italian restaurants, and I must have made 1000's of Cuban and Italian sandwiches.

Alton, You've got to have the right pork - marinated in mojo and slow roasted and sliced thin. And hard genoa salami, as well as deli-thin slices of sweet ham. As for the cheese? It was Swiss because that's all you could get back in the 60's and 70's, but provolone works great, too. Traditionally, it was yellow mustard, dill pickles, and sometimes mayo. Many were pressed (also see "media noche" but most were wrapped up in parchment like subs.

As for the bread? It's just like New York pizza - it's only made where there are palmetto leaves. A very interesting procedure for making bread (and a very interesting procedure for distributing the bread!. The best you can do outside of Tampa - and maybe Miami (who have a dose of Carribean in with their Cuban, whereas Tampa has more Spanish, Greek, and Italian, is a very crusty, light, Italian loaf, or in a pinch, a baguette. Alton, you could do a whole show about the how Cuban bread was made, from the brick ovens, to the palmetto leaves, to the nails in the door frames.

A really good Cuban sandwich is not just another hoagie.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I have to admit, I wondered how a hoagie roll could even remotely look like a cuban sandwich. What a sandwich! The way the roll is pressed down does not look like a hoagie roll at all plus the texture in dense like a cuban sandwich. I actually could not believe how great this sandwich tastes. I think the key is in the way it's cooked plus the pickle because you can switch meats and cheeses depending on what you have. Also what a budget stretcher because you're only using one or two slices of meat and one cheese. My 11-year old daughter proclaimed this as her favorite sandwich and, in fact, ate about four of these the first day I made them. I also made some of Barefoot Contessa's granola bars and my daughter told me, "Mom, your cooking rocked the house off today." Pretty high praise, I'd say! Thanks AB,

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Swiss cheese is the correct cheese. It makes it, not only authentic, but better. However this was not bad! Rita A., Cuban.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

tradionaly its made with cuban bread , a pork roast using the shoulder aka pernil and swiss but its a sandwich for gods sake make it how you want to i dont think your breaking any laws by using your own variations , iim making this tommorow and im using a sirlion pork roast, making a baguette and sticking with the swiss and pickles and mustard will it be good you bet ya also good with lettuce and tomato do what you like

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

There has been some debate here over the Cuban, I wish only to add that it would probably be difficult for most people to get REAL Cuban bread. That said, the moniker "Cuban" is a very specific thing. Llke a "Philly". Change the setup and people from Philly are going to get their shorts in a bunch. Where I'm from, we have our own twist to the Cuban.. it always has genoa salami on there too. With Swiss. In the spirit of correctness, it was thus deemed the "Tampa Cuban".. I encourage everybody to try the genoa salami, its really good.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I used swiss, but I'm sure provolone would have been good as well. Does anyone else see the irony in how insistent some CUBANS are in pointing out that it isn't a proper CUBAN sandwich unless you use cheese....from SWITZERLAND?!?!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Common! You Cubans who think there can only be ONE recipe, made ONE way crack me up! Can there be no variations on a recipe? Must everyone make it exactly the same way for it to be good? Must it absolutely, positively be accurate in order for one to enjoy it? No one can find Cuban bread unless you live in Miami. As for the rest, if it tastes good the recipe is right! This sandwich is excellent with swiss or provolone! Get over yourselves and learn to adjust to modifications!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Never use hoagie rolls. Cuban bread or a nice French baguette but never hoagie rolls.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

In the show, Alton says you can use either Swiss or Provolone (in that order cheese. It doesn't show up in the online recipe though.

And maybe I'm wrong about this, but I always thought food should be judged on its own merits. So what if the cheese tastes a little different? That doesn't mean a 5-star sandwich should be ranked with a 1-star piece of crap.