If you’ve never had a Cubano sandwich, may this article convince you of your folly. This sandwich is one of the most addictive foods I’ve ever had. Some people just look at it as a pulled pork sandwich with extra steps, but it’s so, so much more.

The History

The Cubano was invented in Florida in the early 1900’s by Cuban immigrants working in the cigar industry in Ybor City (Tampa). The Cubano was their perfect sandwich because it was quick, filling and affordable as well as influenced highly by their native cuisine’s unique blend of flavors.

After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, waves of Cuban immigrants found their way to Florida, bringing a much broader awareness of Cuban culture and cuisine. Then Florida became more popular—tourism boomed, Scarface was filmed there (which portrayed a lot of Cuban culture), food festivals began featuring the sandwich, etc.

Fast forward to today and we’ve had the Cubano featured in multiple movies and reality TV shows, and there’s an annual Cuban Sandwich festival in Ybor City every May.

Why Does the Cubano Work so Well

The Cubano involves six basic elements (though there are some regional varieties):

1. Cuban bread (sometimes replaced with French bread)


2. Roast pork (prepared in a bespoke Cuban orange-juice based marinade)


3. Thinly sliced ham


4. Swiss cheese


5. Dill pickles


6. Dijon mustard

These ingredients combined make the sandwich super porky, sweet, and tangy. A key step in assembling this sandwich is to press it firmly, usually in a panini press. This gives the sandwich a girthy mouthfeel and a crispy exterior.

Now with that being said, let’s get a little more depth to just why this all works so well.

The Bread: The key to why this sandwich is so good starts with the Cuban bread. This bread is made with lard, which lends a unique flavor. However, more importantly, the crust is crisp, but the interior is soft and airy. This is a big deal because the inherent lightness allows the sandwich to compress super well when you press it without becoming overly dense.

The Roast Pork: The founders of this sandwich respected the meat. The marinade has a sour orange juice base, which is perfectly acidic to soften the meat and lend some unique flavor. Mexican carne asada is also commonly marinated in orange juice. Honestly, just the pork alone could have its own article, but let’s suffice it to say that a good marinade, and an hours-long slow roast, make an amazing meal.

The Ham: Ham is a form of cured meat, and curing meat pumps up the umami factor of the meat. Ham is made with a combination of salt and sugar, which draw out moisture and concentrates the flavor through osmosis. The sharpness of the meat provided a good contrast to the roast pork. And this part is important: they weren’t just mindlessly adding more ingredients! These days, most people just slap bacon onto anything and say, “Look, I made it extra more delicious!” Bacon would not have improved this sandwich. It would have overly salted the sandwich, and the texture of the bacon would have disagreed with the texture of the bread.

Swiss Cheese: This cheese is interesting because it’s actually quite dry, yet it melts super well due to its balanced moisture and fat content. This adds to the overall texture of the sandwich really well. On top of that, swiss cheese is nice and nutty, which adds just a little bit of funk factor the rest of the sandwich is missing.

Pickles and Dijon Mustard: I’m combining these two components because they contribute something similar. Both of these components add a lot of tang and acid, which is mandatory when the fat content of the sandwich is already so high. I know a few people who decided to hate pickles and/or mustard just as a quirky (annoying) part of their personality. They decided wrong, and they’re missing out. And if they eat a Cubano without the pickle or mustard, they’ll be disappointed in the sandwich and tell all their friends that it’s not actually that good. These two components also add a little more to the funk factor, which causes flavor layering.

Add it all up, and you have a perfectly salty, savory, tangy mess held together with perfectly layered pork fat.

How to Spruce up the Cubano

The Cubano doesn’t need much to improve it. In fact, I’ve found that most modifications are wholly unnecessary (especially the California version, which is so pointless I won’t even describe it). My three favorite variations are all from Florida:

1. Miami-style is the classic pork, ham, pickles and swiss cheese.


2. Tampa-style add salami to the mix, which is a nod to the Italian influence in the area.


3. Key West-style includes lettuce and tomatoes.

All of these styles add some variety to the sandwich without distracting from its core purpose. However, I have my own favorite variation, which is simply adding some orange marmalade to the side. The pork itself is already steeped in orange citrus, so the orange marmalade perfectly complements that citric base without being at all distracting. It also adds some sweetness to counteract the tartness.

Someday I’ll Provide a Recipe

I’m sorry I don’t have a recipe to share this time around. I was in the middle of writing this article when my laptop completely flatlined! It won’t even turn on right now, so I don’t have access to Cook’n on my computer, which is my preferred way to make and share recipes. Once I’ve gotten my computer situation worked out, I’ll be sure to share a recipe!