My infatuation with the Cuban sandwich began over a decade ago in Sarasota, FL. I was traveling for work, waaaay back when I had proper employment, and was fortunate enough to spend a single night in that darling Gulf Coast town; not long enough to explore the city but just enough time for one fantastic meal at a restaurant called Columbia. Lured in by the crunchy carbs of a good loaf of bread and a curious combination of meats and cheeses I had never before encountered, I ordered their Cuban. It was love at first bite.
This Cubano sandwich recipe puts an American, back to school lunch spin on the famed Cuban. I hope you love it as much as we do!
The Americano Cubano Recipe
Ingredients
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pat of salted butter
1 small onion, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
4 slices of your favorite square sandwich bread
Canola Mayonnaise
Spicy brown mustard
8 ¾-ounce slices of Land O Lakes® White Deli American
1 deli pickle, sliced into thin rounds
4 1-ounce slices of oven roasted pork
4 1-ounce sliced of tavern ham
4 skewers or extra long toothpicks
Makes 4 kebabs
In a small frying pan, pour in a few teaspoons of olive oil and toss in the pat of butter over medium high heat. Add the onions and bring to a sizzle before turning down to low heat and covering with a lid. In about 10 minutes your onions should be as sweet as molasses and ready to be removed from the heat. Set aside to cool.
On a flat clean surface, lay out the four slices of bread. On one slice spread an even layer of canola mayonnaise, on the other three, a very thin coating of brown mustard.
We’re going to build our Americano Cubano from the ground up so starting with the slice of mayonnaised bread place the following in order on top:
1) one slice of Land O Lakes® White Deli American
2) four pickle slices, one in each corner
3) one slice of pork
4) one slice of ham
5) a few caramelized onions
6) one slice of Land O Lakes® White Deli American
Place one slice of the remaining bread mustard-side down on the sandwich then spread a thin layer of canola mayonnaise to the top of the bread. Repeat steps 1-6 above. Repeat the whole process again until the last piece of mustard bread is placed onto the top of the tall sandwich.
Pierce the sandwich with the 4 skewers, one in each quarter of the sandwich. Now with a good chef’s knife or cake knife cut evenly across the sandwich. Finally, turn the entire sandwich on its side to continue pushing the skewers all the way through to make kebabs.
Viola! You’ve just made delicious Americano Cubano Kebabs! Enjoy!
*OWTK has partnered with Land O Lakes® for a series of original recipes. This is the second and I hope you love it. All opinions expressed above are honest and unbiased, as always.
