Cuban Sandwich

by Chef Corinna Mozo

Delux bakes its bread fresh but you can use a soft roll or any good panini bread. If you don’t want to spend the time to make the pork, you can buy it already prepared at some butcher shops. Or use pork tenderloin instead of shoulder, which will only take 45 minutes in the oven. Chipotle peppers are available canned in adobo (spicy tomato) sauce.

Pork brine:
16 cups water
1½ cups kosher salt
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
3 cloves garlic
1 whole pork shoulder (about 5 pounds)

Glaze:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup molasses
½ cup grainy mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Chipotle mayonnaise:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons finely chopped
chipotle peppers

Sandwich:
8 slices good quality, home-style white bread
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
8 ounces sliced gruyère cheese
4 ounces sliced Black Forest ham
1 pound slow roasted pork, sliced (recipe below)
¼ cup finely chopped cornichons or dill pickles
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup softened butter

Combine water, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns and garlic in a large pot over high heat and bring to boil to dissolve salt and sugar. Cool completely. Place pork in brine and refrigerate. Brine for 8 hours or overnight.

Combine brown sugar, molasses and grainy
mustard to make glaze.

Preheat oven to 300° F.

Remove pork from brine and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cover with glaze and place pork in a

foil-lined roasting pan. Place in the oven and cook for 3 hours or until very tender. Combine mayonnaise, lime juice, red onion, cilantro and chipotle peppers to make chipotle mayonnaise.

To assemble sandwich, spread two slices of bread with a thin layer of chipotle mayonnaise, then add grainy mustard to one slice. Place a slice of cheese on each slice, then sliced ham and sliced pork. Sprinkle with cornichons and red onion, then carefully close the sandwich. Butter the outside of the sandwich and place in a hot panini press or grill pan with a weighted lid and grill until bread is toasted and cheese is oozing. Repeat with remaining sandwich ingredients.

Wine pairing by Beppi Crosariol:

Depending on the weather and your thirst, a minty mojito cocktail or cold beer may do justice to this dish. Wine-wise, a fruity, unpretentious red zinfandel from California would match nicely. Also consider Spanish Rioja (or red Spanish wines labelled tempranillo), a Portuguese dry red such as Douro, or an Italian negroamaro or nero d’Avola. White choice: dry or off-dry riesling.