Cuban Sandwiches

Back in 2014, I found the following recipe. I made it for a rotation group dinner. It's somewhat time-consuming but well worth the effort.

I made this again (8-9 September 2026) for an evening get together with friends for movie night. This is the recipe for the Cuban sandwiches:

https://icuban.com/food/cuban_sandwich.html
 
This is the recipe to make the Lechon Asado (roast pork): 

https://icuban.com/food/lechon_asado.html

My notes:

I followed the recipes with a few adjustments:

For the pork

I had pork shoulder (bone-in) that weighed 4 lbs, 3.3 oz. I adjusted the remaining ingredients (the recipe calls for 6 lbs). Next time I will be sure to buy a bone-less pork shoulder.

I felt there was too much olive oil for the marinade, so next time I'll use very little. The pork was quite fatty. Also, I may put the marinade ingredients into a blender instead of having a chunky marinade.

I took the pork out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Next time, I'll take it out closer to an hour to get to room temperature.

After 1 hour, 20 minutes, I increased the oven to 350 degrees. 

Total baking time (reaching 170 degrees)  was 4 hours, 35 minutes hours. 

For the sandwiches:

Since I was taking the sandwiches to a friends house, I wanted to keep them warm. After I cooked/pressed the sandwiches, I let them sit on top of the stove for a couple of minutes. I didn't bother to pull out the cooling racks.  I then wrapped each sandwich tightly in foil. Then I wrapped those in a two and placed them in the storage bag. This helped to keep the heat from producing from any steam.

I added a a thin spread of yellow mustard on one half of the bread; and a thin spread of butter on the other half. 

Since I had two large loafs (15"-16" long), I each cut in half. My husband helped me to grill the sandwiches. I used a large pan with a bacon press and he used a Cuisinart Griddler Grill, Griddle, Panini-Press. I lightly buttered the outside of the bread before placing them in the pan/grill. 

Adding the sandwich ingredients:

Cuban Black Beans

1 lb black beans, dried, rinsed
4 c. water
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/3 c. oil
2 bay leaves
1 t. oregano
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. cumin
1 t. salt
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
Water to just cover the beans
2 t. white vinegar
1 t. sugar

Add beans to pot and bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.

Drain the beans in a colander.

In the same pot, sauté the onions, garlic, and green bell pepper in the oil:

Once sautéed (about 10 minutes), add the beans and remaining ingredients (except for the vinegar and sugar) to the pot. Simmer 2 to 2.5 hours. Check to see that there is enough water. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook another 5 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves. Remove 1 cup of beans from the pot and puree (or use a wooden spoon and mash some of the beans against the side of the pot. Return to pot and stir to combine. The results should be thick, not soupy.

Serve over white rice.

Serves 8 to 10.