Tips for Making a Perfect Cubano Sandwich at Home
Victor Albisu’s Cubano sandwich, with homemade pan de agua. (Photo: Taco Bamba)
There is a formula to making the perfect Cubano sandwich, and D.C.-based chef Victor Albisu has perfected it. Albisu owns the acclaimed Del Campo restaurant, which was named a 2013 Best New Restaurant by Esquire. He also runs tacqueria Taco Bamba nearby in Virginia. But long before he opened his own restaurants, he’d been studying the art of the sandwich. “I was making Cuban sandwiches by the age of 8 years old,” he says.
Albisu was born to a Cuban father and Peruvian mother. “Both cultures are very strong on their perspective on food,” Albisu says. “The Cuban culture is more prevalent in my life because I spent a lot of time in Miami.” He remembers cooking at his family’s restaurant as a child, doling out sandwiches and other Latin items on the menu to patrons. Food remains a family business — Taco Bamba is located next to Plaza Latina, the Latin market owned by his mother, Rosa Susinski.
Chef Victor Albisu (Photo: Greg Powers)
Albisu pursued an international studies degree in college, but his passion for cooking drew him to living in Paris and studying at Le Cordon Bleu before returning to the States to open his restaurants. He never visited Cuba as a youngster, but now that the borders have opened to U.S. tourists, he’s planning a trip next year. Because of his family connection to the country, “it will be a deep journey. I will spend some time alone, and then go down with my friends,” Albisu says.
Meanwhile, the chef serves up versions of the Cubano — believed to be brought to the South Florida area in the late 1800s by migrant Cuban workers, and traditionally includes ham, pork, cheese, and pickles on a crusty, chewy roll — at both of his restaurants. He pays close attention to the details of making the best version possible. Herewith are his rules for the perfect Cubano:
It’s all about the bread
“If you talk to old Italian grandmothers and people who have been cooking Italian food for some time, they talk about the noodle as the star of the show,” Albisu explains. “In Cuban culture, it’s similar: The bread is the most important component of the Cuban sandwich.”
A traditional Cubano sandwich uses pan de agua, a very thin baguette-style loaf. “It’s not that unctuous French style bread, but when pressed it becomes this perfect vehicle for the sandwich,” Albisu explains. The Cubano’s smaller cousin, the medianoche, uses bread that’s “sweeter and yolkier.”
Don’t use fancy mustard
Only yellow mustard should be used on a Cubano. “No more, no less than yellow mustard,” Albisu says. “It can’t be Dijon, Grey Poupon, or any fancy house-made version.”
Cheese should be stinky, and ham should be sweet
Use Swiss cheese that has “a slight funk to it, like Emmentaler or Jarlsberg.” As for ham, you need a “sweet cured ham that’s thickly sliced.”
Pickles should be thin and long
The final touch on a great Cubano is the pickles. “You need dill pickles that are sliced thinly down the length of the pickle,” Albisu says. No spears!
Check out Albisu’s recipe for his Cubano sandwich below:
Torta Cubana
Active time: 1 hour
Inactive time: 4 hours
Serves: 2
2 soft white sub rolls, sliced in half
2 cups shredded pork carnitas (see recipe below)
4 slices ham
2 slices cheddar cheese
2 slices provolone cheese
2 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tomato, sliced into rings
½ cup shredded lettuce
½ avocado, sliced
Pickled jalapenos, to taste
Brush both sides of the bread with butter and toast in a cast iron grill pan.
Remove bread from pan and brush both sides of the bread with yellow mustard. In a second pan, sear the cooked pork carnitas and ham until crispy.
Top the pork with slices of Cheddar cheese. Top with seared ham and provolone cheese
Layer sliced avocado, tomato, and lettuce on top of meat. Close sandwich and gently place on grill pan. Slice sandwich in half and serve
Pork Carnitas
¼ cup salt
1 pound pork butt, trimmed and cut into large pieces
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 onion, sliced
1 lime, halved
1 jalapeño
1 ancho chiles
2 guajillo chiles
½ cup condensed milk
2 cups canola oil
Toast cumin, cloves, and coriander. Combine with black pepper and grind.
Add in remaining spices and mix.
Toss 2/3 of spice rub with cubed pork, and add the remaining to the canola oil.
Layer oranges, sliced onions, and meat in a large oven-safe pan.
Cover with canola oil. Cook at 325°F for 4 hours.
Hungry for Cuban food? Check out these stories:
A Snapshot of Cuban Food Today
Cookbook of the Week: The Cuban Table
