In any Cuban sandwich, garlicky marinated pork is key. This recipe from Tampa’s legendary Columbia Restaurant calls for marinating and slow-cooking pork shoulder in a mojo-style mixture of orange and lime juices, garlic and oregano. The tender cooked pork gets layered into a loaf of soft Cuban bread along with ham, pickles, cheese, salami and mustard—ingredients the restaurant says reflect the culinary contributions of Tampa’s diverse immigrant population—then grilled and pressed in classic Cubano style.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 35 min |
| Yield: | 1 sandwich (plus extra roast pork) |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 35 min |
| Yield: | 1 sandwich (plus extra roast pork) |
Ingredients
- 5 pounds boneless pork shoulder
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 8 large cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 9-inch piece Cuban bread
- 4 thin slices glazed ham (about 4 ounces)
- 3 to 4 thin slices Genoa salami with peppercorns (about 1 ounce)
- 2 thin slices Swiss cheese (about 1 ounce)
- 2 pickle slices
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- Unsalted butter, softened, for cooking
Instructions
- Prepare the pork: Cut small slits all over the meat with a knife and put skin-side down in a roasting pan. Mix the lime juice and orange juice in a measuring cup. Transfer 1/4 cup juice mixture to a food processor; add the garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and pulse to make a paste. Rub over the pork and into the slits. Pour the remaining 3/4 cup juice over the pork; press the bay leaves on top. Cover and refrigerate 3 to 6 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Turn the pork skin-side up and roast until a thermometer inserted into the middle registers 160 degrees F, about 2 hours, 30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing. (Refrigerate leftover pork in an airtight container up to 1 week.)
- Make the sandwich: Cut the bread in half lengthwise. Layer the ham, 3 thin slices roast pork, the salami, cheese and pickles on the bottom half. Spread the mustard on the inside of the top half. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Butter the outside of the sandwich, then add to the pan and put a heavy skillet on top to weigh it down; cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side (or cook in a sandwich press). Cut in half on the diagonal.
- In any Cuban sandwich, mojo-marinated pork is key. Look for bottled marinade in Latin markets, or try this recipe from Tampa’s legendary Columbia Restaurant.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 20 servings |
| Calories | 312 |
| Total Fat | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 90 mg |
| Sodium | 326 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 20 servings |
| Calories | 312 |
| Total Fat | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 90 mg |
| Sodium | 326 mg |
Reviews
I admittedly did not cook my own pork, but will try that when we’re not in our Tampa place! Roasted pork for Cuban sandwiches is readily available here. But we did marinate the cooked pork in the mojo recipe and it improved the flavor and moistness of the precooked meat. I mainly wanted this recipe for the proper order and relative amounts of the sandwich ingredients, since the Columbia Restaurant is insistent on everything being in a certain order for your taste buds. I am curious at other reviews indicating salami isn’t traditional. It is my understanding from a write up from Columbia restaurant that the salami was added in Tampa as a nod to the large number of Italian immigrants here. The ham is for the German immigrants and the pork of course for Cuban immigrants. A literal melting pot of a sandwich! This is an excellent, authentic recipe.
The recipe is amazing. Love the pork preparation. Make sure you slice it. My Mother worked in Ybor City and I would go to work with her during the summer. Alway had a Cuban. They would ask if you wanted it pressed or not. I always did. But, they never included Salami. That is a more recent addition. And a Miami thing. And some are pulling the pork, not my favorite. Thanks for the recipe. I left the salami off.
This is not an authentic Tampa Cuban Sandwich recipe! Cuban sandwiches are heated and pressed in Miami, but not in Tampa. In fact, at the outset the sandwich was originally called a Spanish Mixed Sandwich.
The roast pork is an absolute necessity, and this looks like a good recipe for that; however, in Florida you can obtain real Cuban roast pork at most grocery stores and at Cuban grocery stores.
The perennial Cuban sandwich makers in Tampa are the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City and the hole in the wall Cuban restaurants in West Tampa along “Boliche Boulevard”. Several old line West Tampa bakeries prepare the basic sandwich so you can have it custom dressed.
Remove the “Tampa” from this recipe……
This is an amazing recipe! When I tried it I cooked the pork in a slow cooker so the pork would be really tender (which made the sandwich even better!
It’s fantastic, nature’s perfect sandwich, and never better than when prepared at La Columbia.
However, this is NOT a “Tampa Cuban sandwich”; it is simply a Cuban sandwich. It was invented in Tampa’s Ybor City, so this recipe (w/ salami! is the real thing. Those South Florida salami-less pretenders are just Cuban-style subs.
Also, why is this listed under “Mexican” recipies? You can’t dump all Hispanic or Latin American-influenced food together. For shame, Food Network!
Well I found this in my recent FN magazine and since I love a good Cuban sandwich decided that I’d be adventurous and try it Tampa style. Other than using some boneless pork ribs I had left over (sliced those bad boys up) wow.. this was definitely better for the added salami!