This recipe is based on a Cuban sandwich traditionally made with roast pork, ham, pickles, Swiss cheese, and mustard. We start with the same main ingredient—the pork. It can be a loin, a ham, even a shoulder, but it should be roasted so that it retains some texture. Then we ratchet things up. In place of the ham, we have coppa, which comes from the neck of the pig and is cured and dried like prosciutto. Standing in for the pickle, we have a pickled pepper relish. The sugar in the recipe cuts through the spiciness and acidity, rounding out the flavors in the relish. Instead of the Swiss cheese in a Cuban, we use fontina. We press the sandwich just as you would a Cuban, and presto! We have what we have nicknamed the Cubano-Italiano.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 250°F.
Step 2
Combine the caraway, cloves, star anise, and peppercorns in a spice grinder and process until they have the coarseness of salt. Combine the spices with the salt.
Step 3
Rub the pork vigorously with the spice mixture until it is completely covered. Any spice mixture that doesn’t stick to the meat can be removed. Place the meat in a roasting pan, cover tightly, and cook in the oven for about 4 hours. The meat should be fork-tender and some of the fat should have rendered into the bottom of the pan. Once cooked, transfer the meat to a plate and discard the fat from the pan.
Step 4
Preheat a sandwich press to the manufacturer’s specifications (see Note, page 96). Pull some of the fork-tender meat apart into thin strips. Place 1 slice of fontina on 4 slices of bread. Top with the pork, relish, coppa, and the other slices of fontina. Cover with the remaining bread slices and place in the sandwich press (no need to butter the press or the bread). Close the lid and apply slight pressure. Cook without disturbing for 5 to 8 minutes. Open the press and check for color and temperature: the cheese should be melted and the bread golden. If the bread is sticking to the press, allow it to cook for a bit longer and it will unstick itself. If the press seems to generate more heat on the bottom, flip the sandwich halfway through to ensure even cooking (making sure the ridges in the bread line up). Once cooked, remove, cut into halves, and serve.
