El Medianoche
Entre Panes: Between Cuban Bread
Past midnight in pre-revolution Havana, the planchas smoked and hissed as revelers stumbling out of neon-lit cabarets at dawn demanded serious sustenance to soak up the rum. It shares the familiar foundation of mojo pork, sweet ham, and Swiss cheese with a standard Cuban sandwich, but trades the crusty loaf for sweet egg bread to let you recreate that hot, yellow mustard-cut bite of a 3:00 AM diner stop at home. Press a cast-iron skillet down until the crust blisters and the Swiss cheese melts.
Before you start
Prepare a quick weeknight mojo pork if you lack leftovers.
Marinate a small boneless pork loin in equal parts orange juice and lime juice with minced garlic, cumin, and oregano, then roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until cooked through and slice paper-thin.
Bring the meat and cheese to room temperature.
Pull the pork, ham, and Swiss cheese from the fridge twenty minutes before assembly to ensure the cheese melts evenly in the pan before the sweet bread scorches.
Ingredients
- brioche sandwich buns4 large
- unsalted butter3 tbsp
- yellow mustard1/4 cup
- mayonnaise1/4 cup
- cooked mojo roast pork3/4 lb
- sweet deli ham3/4 lb
- Swiss cheese1/2 lb
- dill pickles1 cup
Method
- 01
Butter the outsides of the sweet rolls.
Generously coat the top and bottom exteriors of each sliced roll with softened butter, leaving the insides dry for the condiments.
- 02
Slather the insides of the rolls with mustard and mayonnaise.
Spread an even layer of the condiments on the dry, interior sides of both the top and bottom buns.
- 03
Stack the roast pork, sweet ham, and Swiss cheese on the bottom buns.
Build the sandwich methodically, placing a generous pile of sliced roast pork first, followed by the sweet ham, and capping the meats with the Swiss cheese.
- 04
Lay the dill pickles directly on top of the cheese before capping with the top bun.
Pickles are wet, and the soft bread turns to mush if it absorbs their brine, so sandwiching them between the meat and the cheese maintains the structural integrity of the roll.
- 05
Compress the sandwiches in a skillet over medium-low heat using a second heavy pan.
Place the sandwiches into a large cast-iron skillet and immediately set a second heavy skillet or foil-wrapped brick directly on top, smashing them down to about a third of their original height.
- 06
Toast the sandwiches slowly until the cheese oozes and the bread is crisp.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Because the bread is sweet and eggy, it will burn in seconds on high heat; keep the flame medium-low to ensure a slow, gentle toast.
- 07
Slice the sandwiches diagonally and serve immediately.
A Cuban sandwich cut straight down the middle is just an American sub; the diagonal cut is an unwritten rule of diaspora culinary geometry.
Notes
Choose a side in the great Miami mayonnaise debate.
Traditionalists swear on their lives that a Medianoche only contains yellow mustard, but a modern Miami ventanita will gladly sneak in some mayo; choose your allegiance, but never add lettuce or tomato.
From Cook Cuban in America.