Cuban Sandwiches For Halloween

We love a good Cuban sandwich and made them not long ago using the Hawaiian Pork recipe that I cooked for the blogger party.  But when Drick over at Drick’s Rambling Café posted his recipe for Cuban Inspired Mojo-Marinated Roasted Pork, I knew it had to be tried.  I used Drick’s recipe for the marinade, and even though Cuban Sandwiches use oven roasted pork, I decided to cook mine in the smoker – I was cooking BBQ anyway.  I followed the recipe for marinating from Drick’s blog then amended the cooking process – check out his blog for his process and some good photos.

Cuban Pork Roast - Adapted from Drick's Rambling Cafe

1 -9 pound pork boston butt roast 

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground bay leaves or 6 crushed bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 tablespoons brown sugar

12 garlic toes (cloves), diced

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1. Since the roast was to be cooked over a pan of liquid (no need for protection from the heat) and I wanted the smoke to penetrate all sides, I removed all of the fat cap.

2. Using a paring knife, cut 1/2-inch wide, 1-inch deep slits all over roast.

3. Place remaining ingredients in a large, 3-gallon sealable bag (or use a suitable container with cover) and mix to incorporate. Add the roast, seal and refrigerate for 8 hours, rotating the bag several times.

4. Remove bag from refrigerator about 2 hours before cooking time to allow it to come to room temperature. Pour about 2 cups of marinade into the bottom of a pan for making a sauce and add 2 cups of water – add more as needed during cooking.

5. Add roast to a 275* smoker over the pan of liquid and cook to an internal temperature on 170*, basting with the liquid once per hour.

6. When the roast reaches 170*, give it one final baste and wrap tightly in aluminum foil return to smoker - remove pan of liquid and defat it.

7. Cook to an internal temperature of 180-185*, and rest in a pre-warmed cooler for at least 30 minutes prior to slicing – I didn’t cut it until the next day as we had plenty of wings and ribs for supper.

A piece of the top pulled off when I removed the foil but it had a nice crust.

For supper on Halloween, we had that traditional meal of Cuban sandwiches – it might be if they celebrated Halloween in Cuba.  We bought some Cuban bread from Kroger’s and made the traditional sandwich with the Cuban pork, ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickle, and spicy mustard.

We sided the sammies with mojo sauce using nearly the same recipe as before except I used 50/50 EVOO and water this time and liked it better.  We also served it with the defatted juices from the pan in the cooker - they were different but I enjoyed both sauces.

I thought the sandwiches were excellent and Drick’s pork recipe worked very well in the smoker, as it would the oven.  The one thing I’ll do different next time is cook the pork to about 200* so I can pull it in large chunks and get out nearly all of the fat before slicing.  Thanks for posting this recipe Drick.

We finished the meal with pumpkin pie using a recipe that we had tried before and really liked.  This is a shot from the first time we made it.

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

10/31/13 meal date