Baked Cuban Party Sandwiches Recipes

THE ULTIMATE CUBAN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Begin by braising the pork shoulder. Tie the shoulder in 4 places with kitchen twine so it will hold its shape while being cooked or ask your butcher to do this for you. Season the pork with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Set the base of a pressure cooker over low-medium heat and add a 2 count of olive oil.
• Add garlic and chili flakes and as the oil heats up it will become fragrant and infuse the oil. Add the pork. Add onions around the pork and brown slightly before adding orange juice, lime juice, stock and bay leaves.
• Secure the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of your pressure cooker. The pork should be tender when done. When done allow to cool in juices before removing twine and slicing.
• To prepare Cuban sandwiches, split bread in half then layer the sandwich with mustard, cheese, pickles, ham, pork then cheese again (the cheese glues everything together). Season with salt and pepper in between the ham and pork layers. (Optional: drizzle a little of the pork braising liquid over the meat as well).
• To cook, heat a large cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat and lightly coat with olive oil. Place the sandwiches on the skillet and top with another heavy skillet and a couple of heavy weights (bricks, or cans of tomatoes work well). Press down firmly and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side until the sandwich has compressed to about a third of its original size and the bread is super-crispy. Serve with beans, rice and plantain chips.

BAKED CUBAN PARTY SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Place the roll bottoms into a 10 inch cast iron skillet or baking dish of your choice. Squeeze about 1 teaspoon of mustard on each roll. Top each roll with half of the cheese, then the ham, then divide the Curly's Pulled Pork on top of the ham. (If using pickle chips, add them here.) Add the remaining cheese. Place the roll tops on.
• Whisk the topping ingredients together until combined. Pour evenly over the rolls. Bake for 10-15 minutes until rolls are toasted and golden brown. The cheese will be melty and warmed through. Garnish with petite pickles if desired.

CUBAN SLIDER BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the parsley, oregano, cumin, garlic, orange zest and lime zest and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a medium bowl, combine the pork and about 3 tablespoons of the butter mixture and toss to coat.
• Spread some of the remaining butter mixture in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, then place the bottom half of the rolls on the butter. Top the roll bottoms with the ham, then the pork, then the pickle slices and finally the cheese. Spread the mustard on the underside of the roll tops, then lay the roll tops on top of the cheese. Pour the remaining butter mixture over the top of the rolls.
• Cover the baking dish loosely with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is golden brown, about another 5 minutes.

BAKED HAM AND CHEESE PARTY SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• In a bowl, mix together butter, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and dried onion. Separate the tops from bottoms of the rolls, and place the bottom pieces into the prepared baking dish. Layer about half the ham onto the rolls. Arrange the Swiss cheese over the ham, and top with remaining ham slices in a layer. Place the tops of the rolls onto the sandwiches. Pour the mustard mixture evenly over the rolls.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the rolls are lightly browned and the cheese has melted, about 20 minutes. Slice into individual rolls through the ham and cheese layers to serve.

CUBAN SLIDERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Without separating rolls, cut each package of rolls in half horizontally; arrange bottom halves in a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Layer with ham, cheese and pickles; replace top halves of rolls. , In a microwave, melt butter; stir in onion and mustard. Drizzle over rolls. Bake, covered, 10 minutes. Uncover; bake until golden brown and heated through, 5-10 minutes longer.

CUBAN SLIDERS

Steps:

• Grease bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking dish or disposable aluminum pan.
• Cut Hawaiian rolls in half. Arrange 24 bottom halves in the baking dish.
• Mix melted butter, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, and poppy seeds together in a bowl. Brush 1/2 half the butter mixture over the bottom halves in the baking dish.
• Layer pulled pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and 2 pickle chips to each roll, in this order, and cover with tops of rolls. Brush remaining butter mixture over the tops. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake sliders in the preheated oven, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and press down the tops of the sliders with a spatula to flatten. Bake until sliders are heated through and top is crispy, about 15 minutes more.