We LOVE the 50 nifty United States of this awesome country and believe each state is special. Every Monday we feature a sandwich unique to its state as part of our “50 Sandwiches, 50 States, 50 Weeks” series beginning with Alabama and ending with Wyoming.
Hey everyone! As we continue down our weekly path spotlighting a sandwich from each of the 50 states, we have now made it to the state of Florida. Florida is known for many things such as Disney World, Sea World, beaches, alligators, Margaritaville, a hurricane or two and down in the southern reaches of the state, a strong Cuban influence. Florida is only 9o miles from the island of Cuba and for years, Cubans have been traveling to the southern region of the state for work as well as in search of a new place to call home: the Cuban sandwich came with them.
Nobody can truly trace the origins of the sandwich back to any one time, place or person. Yet it’s well known that the combination of slow cooked pork, ham, cheese, mustard and pickles served on traditional flat, Cuban style bread was a favorite of cigar and sugar workers in Cuba during the nineteenth century.
It’s thought that the sandwich was brought to Florida by workers who came to both Key West and Tampa for work as well as by family members who came to visit. One historian, Dr. Loy Glenn Westfall, suggests that the Cuban sandwich was “born in Cuba and educated in Key West.” Got that from our friends at Wikipedia.
The sandwich we created for this post is more of what they call “Tampa” style, as it includes Genoa salami, thought to be an addition to the tradition by the fine residents of that city. You’ll also notice that we substituted a sub roll for the Cuban flatbread as we just didn’t have success locating the bread; the local grocery stores came up..well….flat.
Wherever or how ever the sandwich was created is a bit of a mystery, but we are very happy that it came to be. Hat’s off to Florida this Monday and the Cuban sandwich! So, get your crockpot knockin’ while you’re out rockin’ and come home to whip this one up for your family soon!
- 3.5 lbs pork butt (Boston butt)
- 10 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 large onion, quartered
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup lime juice
- 1 tsp. each Mexican oregano, salt
- ½ tsp. each black pepper, cumin
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ pound sliced deli ham
- ½ pound sliced Genoa salami
- ½ pound Swiss cheese
- mustard
- dill pickles
- Sub Rolls
- butter, softened
- Place garlic, onions, orange juice, lime juice, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper in a slow cooker; stir to combine
- Place pork on top of mixture, cover and turn heat on low. Cook 6-8 hours.
- Once pork has finished cooking, place on a cutting board and shred into large chunks.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Open sub rolls and spread mustard on each side
- Layer the bottom of the roll with ham and salami and pickle slices
- Next, pile pulled pork on top of the pickles
- Place Swiss cheese slices on top of pork.
- Close the sub roll and lightly butter both the top and bottom
- Wrap sandwich in foil and place in oven for 5-10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt and roll to toast a bit.
In Tampa, the sub roll of choice is ALWAYS Cuban bread. ^_^ Mmmm! When I travel to see relatives in Tennessee, I always bring a few loaves of Cuban bread on the plane. It’s a great conversation starter. One of my most favorite sandwiches, and this recipe looks spot on! Make this, people, you will NOT be disappointed! 😀 The marinated pork is known as Mojo pork. Sometimes I cheat and buy the ready-made mojo at the grocery store. Goya is the best brand, in my opinion. But homemade is always tastiest, and you know exactly what’s in there, too! Great… now, it’s bedtime and I’m wishing I was eating a Cuban sandwich in bed right now.
@ Rebekah, I would love to try Cuban bread- I’ve never had it and it looks perfect! My neck of the woods has a strong influence of Italian and Lebanese so we get some ah-mazing fresh, hard crusted Italian bread and pita. I was excited to learn about the Tampa style Cuban. IMO salami makes any sandwich better. I posted on my Facebook page that whoever invented the Cuban was a genius. I really believe that! Thank you for your comment.
My favorite place to eat Cuban bread is — well, I have a few places, actually. The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, La Teresita on Columbus Avenue, and Pipo’s Cafe on MacDill Avenue. Mercy! All toasty warm and buttery! It’s crispy and flaky on the outside and so soft on the inside. Manna from heaven! All those restaurants have delicious food, too. I found out the Columbia Restaurant gets their Cuban bread from La Segunda Bakery in Ybor City, so I paid them a visit recently. Indeed, the Cuban bread was legit, and I had the best guava pastry in all of Tampa there! Guava is another popular fruit item in the Latino community. It’s a weird fruit to eat by itself, but the Guava jelly, jam, and paste are spectacular!
Seriously, Rebekah, if you don’t stop right now, I’ll be forced to hop on the first flight to Tampa! I was actually hoping to do the typical Upstate, NY snow bird thing this winter and head to Florida for a week, but it just didn’t pan out and you’re not easing my pain, lol :). MUST. GO. NEXT. WINTER! And when I do, I will find these restaurants and bakeries! Sounds EXACTLY like my kind of places! Oh, P.S. the Mojo pork makes killer enchiladas, too. And Guava jelly = new on bucket list!