Cuban Sandwich Bites

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One of my all-time favorite sandwiches is the delicious Cuban Sandwich. This delectable handheld consists of a Pork and Ham meat combination that is covered with melty Swiss Cheese and topped with Yellow Mustard and Pickles. They are then piled into a long bread roll which is typically pressed flat with a sandwich press to get everything toasty and melty. It tastes phenomenal! They are quite the meal however, and one sandwich will be more than enough for 1 – 2 people to eat! So, for a lighter take on this famous dish we’ve come up with these fun and delicious Cuban Sandwich Bites. Perfect for enjoying all of the flavors of a Cuban Sandwich, but without the heaviness of it being your entire meal!

Making the perfect Cuban Sandwich Bites is all about nailing the individual components

There are five primary components of a Cuban Sandwich which we need to replicate in our bite-sized versions. These are the two meats of Roast Pork and Ham, followed by the Cheese, Pickles, and Bread. The fundamentals of each of these components of the dish remain the same in this version. We’ll kick things off discussing the most important element, the Roast Pork

Perfecting juicy, flavorful Roast Pork is the key to a great Cubano

Roast Pork is a delicious dish to enjoy as it’s own meal. In fact, since you only need a little bit of Roast Pork for the Cuban Sandwich Bites we highly recommend making an amazing Roast Pork Dinner and saving some of the leftovers to prepare this dish the next day

We love Roast Pork here at Dinnertime Somewhere. So much so we’ve got a few recipes on how to perfect this amazing cut of meat. For this recipe, we’re sticking with a classic preparation of Crispy Roast Pork using Pork Shoulder. You can also prepare this dish using Loin, or Pork Butt

While not mandatory, we highly recommend using a cut of Pork that still has it’s skin on so you can add a topping of crackling / Chicharrónes to the Cuban Sandwich Bites. This will add beautiful texture, flavor, and appearance to the dish. In our opinion, the crackling is the best part of the Pork Roast!

How to make Crispy Pork Crackling

Once you’ve got your hands on a beautiful piece of Pork with the skin on, the first thing you must do is score the skin. What this means is to cut lines through the Pork across the entire face of the skin. This ‘opens up’ the skin, which allows more air to circulate across the skin. So, when roasted at a high heat, the Pork will start to cook and crackle across the entire surface, not just the edges

The second tip is to place the Pork in the refrigerator, salted and uncovered, for at least 2 days prior to cooking it. The cold, dry air of the refrigerator will completely dry out the skin which will result in a much crispiest result once cooked. This technique is one we use for a lot of dishes, such as our Crispy Duck recipes. It takes a little bit of planning ahead but trust us – it is well worth it!

The final step is to add a layer of Butter and Salt to the skin right before it gets roasted. The fattiness of the Butter will begin to scorch and help kick start the crisping process. The Salt helps to dry out the skin by removing any excess moisture from it

Roast the Skin at the highest temperature your oven can reach for 15 – 20 minutes. The skin will start blistering and turn a golden color. Once it’s crisped up, drop the temperature to stop the crackling process and enable the center of the Pork to cook fully

Once cooked, slice off a 1-inch piece which is about ½ inch thick. These will make for the perfect Roast Pork Portion for your Cuban Sandwich Bites

Any sliced Ham will do

There’s no need to be fussy with the Ham component of the dish. Any good quality packaged Ham will work well, so hit up the Boars head at your local deli and you’ll be doing fine! This step is optional, but it is a good idea to give the Ham a quick pan fry for about 30 seconds on each side

This step will help to remove some of the excess moisture inside the Ham and give it a nice slightly charred appearance. It is not a necessary step, but we’ve found it helps produce a better texture in the Cubano Bites

For the Yellow Mustard, you just have to use French’s Mustard!

While this is not a mandatory, let’s face it: French’s is the go-to brand for Yellow Mustard. It’s a staple condiment at outdoor barbeques, diners, and anywhere in between all across the world. If you don’t have a half full bottle of French’s Yellow Mustard in your cupboard or refrigerator are you even eating food at home?!

The sweet tangy flavors this mustard provides is the perfect condiment to add to your Cuban Sandwich Bites. The sharp flavor contrasts amazingly well with the tartness of the Pickles and rich, fatty flavors of the Pork and Ham. It does pack quite a powerful flavor however, so we recommend using sparingly on your sandwiches so as to not overpower the flavor of the whole dish. About ¼ tsp. per Bite will be enough

Cornichon Pickles are the best choice for optimal presentation

The pickle flavor is such a critical component of a Cubano Sandwich, so it needs to be prominent in the flavor profile of this dish. You can use regular Brined Pickles in a Jar if you like. The Butter pickles which are used commonly in hamburgers would be a good choice. However, for the best texture and presentation we recommend using Cornichon Pickles in brine

They look beautiful on the plating and their robustness adds a nice, meaty texture to the Pickles, which helps them stand out against the other bold flavors in the dish

Finally, the Bread component

Honestly, this is the least fussy component of the dish. Even less fussy than the Ham! The only criteria we have for the bread is that it’s relatively flat. The bread forms the base of the dish so needs to be flat, and strong enough to hold the rest of the ingredients on the dish. Sure, we’re using a skewer to keep everything together, but you want your stacking to be even and straight, so some flat bread is good

Pita bread is a good choice, as are thick cut toast slices. We recommend giving the bread a light toasting before you begin the stacking process. This will help with texture, as well as the structural integrity of the Cuban Sandwich Bites

You can then either cut the bread into a square to fit the shape of the Pork or get fancy and cut it into rounds like we did in the photos here. To do so, just find a kitchen utensil such as a measuring spoon and press them down into the bread. This will make a cut in the bread in the shape of the spoon

Stacking the Cuban Sandwich Bites

There’s no real need to be super-picky on the order of your stacking. However, for the best result we we recommend stacking in this order from bottom to top: Bread, Mustard, Pork, Cheese, Ham, Pickle, Chicharron / Crackling

This order looks so good on the plate and will guarantee people are going to be salivating at the mouth in anticipation of diving into one of these delicious morsel of bite-sized goodness!

We tried melting the Cheese with a blow torch but honestly, it doesn’t really need it. You can just fold the Cheese over on itself, so it fits nicely with the shape of the rest of the ingredients. The cheese is wedged between the Pork and the Ham, both of which are hot so the heat will begin to slightly melt the cheese, which is what you want!

Cuban Sandwich Bites Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 lb. Pork Shoulder, Pork Loin or Pork Butt. Preferably with skin on
• 2 slices of Pita Bread
• 10 slices of Ham
• 5 slices of Swiss Cheese (eg: Gruyere, Raclette, Comte)
• ¼ cup Yellow Mustard
• 10 Cornichon Pickles
• 1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• Salt
  
  

Equipment needed: Wooden Skewers

Instructions

1. Score the skin of the Pork with a sharp knife by making a series of long cuts across the face of the skin about ½ inch apart. Season generously with Salt and then place in the refrigerator, uncovered for 2 days to dry out the skin
2. When ready to cook, remove the Pork from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before cooking to bring it back to room temperature
3. Rub the Butter over the Pork skin and then season with about 1 tsp. more Salt. Place on a sheet pan then put in the Oven which has been preheated to it’s highest setting (450 – 500F range)
4. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes at this temperature to blister the skin, then reduce heat to 350F and cook until the internal temperature of the Pork is 140F. This should take about 30 minutes for each pound of Pork. Once cooked, remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes
5. Carve the Pork and reserve a few thick slices about ½ inch thick. Cut them into 10 square cubes about 1 inch per side and set aside for the Cuban Sandwich Bites
   
   

To prepare the Cuban Sandwich Bites

6. Cut square or circular holes in the Pita Bread to form the base of the Sandwich. Pan sear the bread for 1 minute each side to crisp up and slightly char
7. Apply a generous amount of Yellow Mustard to the base of each piece of bread. Then, layer on the Roast Pork, Cheese, Ham, and Cornichon Pickle. Carefully place the skewer through the middle of the Bite and top with a piece of roast Pork skin (Chicharrónes)
8. Repeat until you have a plate worth of bites ready to be served
   
   

Recipe Notes

• We recommend using a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the Pork as it is roasting
• Optional: You can pan fry the Ham for 30 seconds on each side to char it slightly and remove some of its moisture
• Our Cuban Sandwich Bites are best enjoyed as an appetizer using leftover Roast Pork. We recommend enjoying the Roast Pork as it’s own dinner and saving some slices to make this dish the next day
  
  

If you’ve made that amazing Roast Pork Shoulder with Crackling then we highly encourage you to save a bit for these Cuban Sandwich Bites. They’re so fun, tasty, and look amazing!

For more fun recipes such as this check out some of our favorite dishes to make:

• Panko Red Curry Chicken
• Beef Teriyaki Tataki
• Pepperoni Fried Rice
• Authentic Juicy Lucy Burger
  
  

Happy Cooking!