Cuban Style Sandwiches

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Waiting Time: 14-26 hours

Cooking Time: 2 hours

All the Ingredients in the Recipe:

Brine:

• 4 lb. pork shoulder roast
• 4 cups orange juice
• 2 cups water (or more)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 cloves of garlic crushed
• Bunch cilantro (AKA green soap), chopped

Marinade:

• Brined Pork (from brining section)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 oranges, juiced and zested
• 6 limes, juiced and zested
• 2 tablespoons oregano, chopped
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Bunch cilantro (AKA green soap), chopped
• 1/2 bunch mint, chopped

Sandwich construction:

• Swiss Cheese
• Bread Rolls (preferably cuban style rolls)
• Yellow Mustard
• Dill Pickles

Equipment:

• Bowls
• Spoons
• Roasting Tray
• Oven
• Measuring spoon/cups
• Chef Knife
• Bread Knife
• Spreading Knife
• Cling Film

1. Mix all the ingredients for the brine in a bowl, and mix enough to dissolve the salt and sugar.
2. Add the pork shoulder into the brine, and cover with enough water to cover the pork.
3. Cover with cling film, and put into the refrigerator for 12-24 hours to brine (take a nap at this point, it'll be a while).

*Brining is a process of soaking meat in a sugary/salty solution in order for more water to be retained while cooking, keeping the meat juicy and not dry. This also seasons the meat as well.

1. Mix all ingredients for the marinade in a clean bowl.
2. Remove the pork from the brine, and put into the marinade, and rub in the marinade into the pork.
3. Cover with cling film, and put into refrigerator for about 2 hours (grab a book or watch a movie).

*Marinades are done to "tenderize" the meats (doesn't actually do that, if you want to learn more about that, watch some episodes of Good Eats with Alton Brown, good show), and to flavor the meat. The longer you leave it, the more flavor will be in the meat.

1. Before removing pork from the marinade, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place pork into the roasting tray, and pour the marinade into the tray, too.
3. Roast the pork for 2 hours, or until cooked through (grab a book or watch Netflix, you know, don't be bored).
4. Remove pork from the oven, and let it cool to room temperature to prepare for slicing.

1. Using a chefs knife, slice the pork 1/4 inch thick (give or take).
2. Take a couple of dill pickles, and slice them thinly, lengthwise.
3. Using a bread knife, slice open the bread roll horizontally, all the way through.
4. Take a couple of slices of Swiss cheese and get that ready.
5. Get the mustard ready for spreading.
6. Gather everything for the sandwich construction.

*At this point, if you wish to replace some of these toppings for others, you can, but it won't be necessarily a Cuban-style sandwich anymore.*

*At this point, you can construct the sandwich in any order you want, I don't really care, I'm just a set of instructions on a website, not the cops, have some fun with it.*

1. Take the bread roll, and lay a couple of slices of pork onto the bread.
2. Layer a couple of slices of the Swiss cheese onto the bread as well, followed by the dill pickles.
3. Spread the mustard from "end to end, and side to side, but not front to back" (guess where that was quoted from, if you can, brownie point for you).
4. Cover the sandwich, and eat up!

Optional: If you have a sandwich press, or a frying pan and a clean, heavy metal object, heat those up on medium-high heat. Butter the pan/bottom of the press, and butter the top of the bread roll. Close the lid/Cover the sandwich and heat it until it is browned and the cheese is melty. Boom! Hot sandwich!