Lechon Asado de Dexter, Part II

I came home to a savory scented house yesterday afternoon, after having put the pork roast in the crock pot on low in the morning.  It cooked for about 11 hours and smelled divine.

My plan to make these cubanos as authentic as possible ran into a snag when I realized too late that (duh!) I need a whole lot more time to make the Pan Cubano (Cuban bread) from scratch.  Curses!   So, I had to run out and find some bread that would do the trick instead.  I stopped by the local Mexican grocer (no Cuban specialty shops here in the ‘burbs) and found nothing.  I stopped by the Great Harvest bread store and found that they did not have sandwich sized breads.  Last stop was Dominick’s, where I reluctantly picked up some French bread, sandwich sized.

The hardest part was done.  Bread + mustard + pickle + swiss cheese + ham + pork roast = cubano.  I buttered the tops and bottoms of the bread and grilled them on the stove, squishing them down with a second pan.

The results?

• We were surprised that the pork, while very good, was not more flavorful, with all the garlic that was in there and the amount of time it was soaking in it.
• We are pretty sure the bread would have made the difference.  I suspect the French bread was just too thick.
• Boy #2 ate half his sandwich before deciding that swiss cheese left a funny taste in his mouth.
• Boy #1 was not hungry.  He gets this way sometimes when I am cooking something he hasn’t had before.
• Overall, the sandwiches were good, better than any old sandwich we would have thrown together, but didn’t seem like they were worth the effort.
• One more try with the proper bread might do the trick.

In a couple weeks, I will try to eat a real cubano while I am down in Florida, for comparison.

Lechon Asado de Dexter, Part I

After reading (and watching) the Dexter series, I’ve decided to try making Cuban sandwiches. Dexter makes them sound sooo good. Ironic how much love he has for these sandwiches, compared to his utter lack of emotion for humans. I can relate.

“…there are times when only a medianoche will do.”

I want it to be authentic enough that when I visit Florida in a few weeks for a conference, I can stop at a Cuban restaurant and have one, and know that mine was just as good. So, I am trying to stick by what seems to be the traditional, from scratch ingredients.

According to my research, the Cuban sandwich, also known as a cubano, mixto sandwich, or Cuban pressed sandwich, should contain the following ingredients, and be served on Cuban bread:

• ham
• roasted pork
• swiss cheese
• pickles
• mustard

The cubano I am going for is not actually the same as Dexter’s medianoche, however, which is a variation served on softer bread made from a sweet yellow egg dough.

The ingredients sound easy enough, but remember I want this to be authentic. A sandwich with those ingredients does not a Cuban sandwich make. So, let’s make this Cuban roast pork, slow-roasted, also known as Lechon Asado.

I picked up a pork shoulder roast, and marinated it in a mojo marinade.

Ingredients

• 20 cloves garlic - mashed and minced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 cups sour orange juice
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1.5 cups Spanish olive oil

I want to be authentic, but I am also lazy. So, instead of hunting down sour orange juice, I used the alternate of two parts OJ to one part lemon juice to one part lime juice. Also, once home and preparing, I found that I was completely out of oregano, so I used fresh cilantro instead. Lazy, I know, but it seemed authentic-ish. I don’t think you have to use Spanish olive oil, but I happened to find some, so I used it.

Directions:

• Crush garlic!
• Mix well: garlic with oregano (or cilantro), minced onion, and sour orange (or mixture).
• Heat oil in small sauce pan.
• Add the mixture to the oil and mix. This smells great!
• Pierce pork as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork.
• Pour garlic mixture over pork, saving some for roasting.
• Cover and let sit in fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Mine is currently sitting in the fridge, soaking up the marinade, and will be put in to slow roast in the crock pot tomorrow for 10-11 hours. Tomorrow, I’ll make the Pan Cubano (Cuban bread) from scratch and complete the sandwiches!

Related Links:

• My Big Fat Cuban Family, which has a great post on what they eat for Christmas, among other things. I really want to try Creme de Vie (Cuban Egg Nog) soon, too!
• Scott’s Dexter Night, a Flickr photo group of a party thrown in Dexter’s honor, including cubanos
• Dexter Filming Locations, an in-depth, detailed look at everywhere Dexter was filmed
• DIY Cubanos, a photo-filled article from the Off The Broiler blog

See the continuation at Lechon Asado de Dexter, Part II