Today’s Spotlight is on the Cuban Sandwich!

The Cuban Sandwich, also known as the Cubanito, has a long, rich and highly debated history. The sandwich combines ingredients like roasted pork, ham, cheese, pickles, mustard, and in some cases salami, all piled between two slices of Cuban bread. The sandwich is rich in vitamins and minerals, and is a good source of protein.

There’s nothing like a classic Cuban Sandwich. The problem is there is a heated debate over what a classic Cuban sandwich is. If you press for facts, it comes down to where you believe the original sandwich comes from, Tampa or Miami. Both make a similar sandwich, but both also disagree somewhat on what the authentic Cuban looks like. But there is one thing that all sides agree on. The bread.

History

The Cuban sandwich is originated in the early 1900’s in cafes catering to Cuban workers in Tampa or Key West, two early Cuban immigrant communities in Florida centered on the cigar industry. It was based on a mixed meat sandwich expatriates brought to Key West, Florida, where it was very popular. The sandwich was a portable meal tailored for cigar factory workers who had to eat on the run or in break areas without tables.

Ybor City was founded in 1886 by Vicente Martinez Ybor, a Cuban cigar factory owner who built the first brick cigar factory in the city. The cigar companies moved from Key West to avoid unionization of their workers. By 1900, Ybor City was known as “the cigar capital of the world”.

Fork U Academy has done extensive research on this subject and determined that the home of the original Cuban sandwich was made by La Segunda in Ybor City. La Segunda was the dream of Juan Moré because he loved authentic Cuban bread. He opened a bakery in Ybor city in the early 1900’s and soon started selling other foods to the variety of workers in the area.

Ybor was a melting pot of immigrants, and the Cuban sandwich was designed as an homage to the mix of those immigrants. The ingredients in a Cuban sandwich have cultural significance for the immigrant community.

The sandwich starts with Juan Moré’s Cuban heritage in the Cuban Bread. He added roasted pork for the Cubans, Mojo Ham for the Spanish, Salami honoring the Sicilians, Swiss cheese, pickle and mustard honoring the Germans. The Cuban sandwich has cultural importance for the broad immigrant community as a connection to their heritage and a symbol of their resilience in a new land.

The sandwich has spread from Tampa, Florida’s Ybor City neighborhood to restaurant menus around the world. While the sandwich is Cuban by name, it is far from belonging to any one culture. Perhaps that is why it has remained a favorite of so many for over a century.

 

 

Cuban Sandwich and Ybor trivia.

• The Cuban Sandwich was originally called a mixto by the Spanish people. But English-speaking workers called it a Cuban, because that’s who they saw eating it.
• The Cuban sandwich is at the center of a long-running rivalry between Miami and Tampa. As part of that rivalry, the “Historic Tampa Cuban Sandwich” was designated the “signature sandwich of the city of Tampa” by the city of Tampa City in 2012.
• At the Cuban Sandwich Festival in Ybor City in 2015, the world’s longest Cuban sandwich was made measuring in at 105-foot-long. That’s around the height of a 10-Story Building.

 

Here are some fun facts and world records relating to the Cuban sandwich:

• Guinness World Record: The record for the longest Cuban sandwich is 276 feet.
• Bread: Francisco Ferlita, a Cuban Spanish-Italian immigrant, created the style of bread used in the sandwich in 1896.
• Pork and ham: Europeans, mainly Spaniards, introduced pork and ham to the sandwich.
• Salami: Italian bricklayers added salami to the sandwich.

The current record was set in March 2022 at the Ford International Cuban Sandwich Festival in Tampa’s Ybor City.

 

Here is a Cuban Sandwich Recipe for you to Try:

Ingredients:

For the Roast Pork

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 pound pork tenderloin

 

For the Cuban Sandwich

• 4 (8-to-10-inch) Cuban sandwich loaves, halved lengthwise
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened and divided
• 1 cup yellow mustard
• 1 pound sliced honey-glazed ham
• 4 large dill pickles, thinly sliced crosswise
• Roast pork
• 8 ounces (16 each) Swiss cheese slices
• Kosher salt, to taste

 

Instructions:

1. Make the roast pork: Preheat the oven to 450 F, and line a sheet pan with foil. In a mini food processor, combine all of the pork ingredients, except for the tenderloin, and purée until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the tenderloin, tossing to coat. Cover in plastic and let marinate on the counter for 30 minutes.
2. Transfer the tenderloin to the prepared sheet pan and pour the marinade over top. Roast until the pork has reached an internal temperature of 140° on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes, then carve into ¼-inch slices on a bias.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the sandwiches: Rub the outer side of the top and bottom of each loaf with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter and arrange, butter-side down, on a cutting board. Spread 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard on the inside of each piece of bread. On the bottom half of each loaf, layer a quarter of the ham, followed by a quarter each of the pickle slices, roast pork and cheese. Season with a pinch of salt and close with the top half of the bread. Repeat with the remaining loaves and fixings.
4. Heat up a panini maker according to the directions. Then, working in batches, press the sandwiches until golden brown and the cheese has melted, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a board and cut each one in half on a bias, then serve.

 

According to Tastewise, the average person consumes a Cuban sandwich 1.36 times per year. The popularity of the Cuban sandwich has decreased by 70.45% over the past year.

 

National Cuban Sandwich Day is celebrated on August 23rd each year to commemorate the traditional pressed Cuban sandwich and its many variants. Take some time today to celebrate the sandwich that in turn celebrates a variety of cultures living and working together in delicious harmony.

Let us know in the comments if you have a favorite spot to get a Cuban Sandwich.