Totally not Bill's Cuban sandwich

This pork-focused delight of a sandwich on sliced focaccia brings big flavor that's balanced by melty Fontina and a slightly spicy zip from giardiniera. This sandwich is loosely based on the El Lechón sandwich from Bill's Sandwich Palace in Nashville, Tennessee.
YIELD
Instructions for 1 sandwich with enough meat for 8 to 10 sandwiches
PREP TIME
schedule 20 minutes
COOK TIME
schedule 3 hours and 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME
schedule 4 hours
Cook Mode (keep screen awake)

Ingredients:

Garlicky-mojo slow roast pork
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 to 4 pound bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt
  • 20 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • zest from one orange
  • juice from 2 oranges
  • juice from 2 limes
Dijonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Sandwich assembly
  • 1 four inch square piece of focaccia (recipe link)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons Dijonnaise (from above)
  • 1 to 2 slices Fontina cheese (can use Swiss or provolone)
  • 2 to 3 slices of salami
  • garlicky-mojo pork (from above)
  • giardiniera (can use pickles, pickled banana peppers or pickled jalapenos)

Check below recipe directions
for additional notes.

Related blog post: This is totally not Bill's Cuban

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).

Spice blend: add salt, black pepper, cumin, and finely chopped parsley to a small bowl and stir to combine. This is the spice blend for the pork.

Garlicky-mojo pork: rub a bit of olive oil all over the pork shoulder and then sprinkle the spice blend on top, making sure to rub it into all the crevices. Make sure no parts of the pork are unseasoned. 

In a Dutch oven or large oven-safe pot, add your fully seasoned pork and place it in the middle. Cut about 20 1-inch-long slits into the top of the pork about 1 inch deep. Poke 1 clove of garlic into each slit and push it down so that the garlic is mostly tucked inside of the meat.

Pour the juice of 2 oranges and 2 limes into the Dutch oven or pot, around the pork. Sprinkle the zest of one orange on top of the pork and into the liquid.

Add a lid or cover to your oven-safe pot and place it in the preheated oven. 

Cook for 3 hours with the cover on the pot. If you don't have a cover, you can cover the pot with aluminum foil.

Once 3 hours are over, remove the cover/lid from the pot and cook for an additional 30 minutes. If the garlic cloves are extra dark (almost black) you can remove some of them with a fork or tongs to a bowl so that they don't darken too much. You will add them back when the meat is fully cooked.

Remove pork from the pot (don't discard any liquid left in the pot just yet), place it on a cutting board, and allow the meat to rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add the roasted garlic cloves back on top of the pork, and then pull the meat from the bone and use two forks or your fingers to separate it. 

After you pull the pork, add all of the meat to a container that you can store in your refrigerator (unless you plan to eat it all in one sitting). If there was any liquid left in the pot you cooked the pork in, you can pour that into the container with all of the meat. 

Dijonnaise: mix mayonnaise and Dijon mustard very well to combine. Store in the fridge for up to a month. 

Sandwich assembly: warm up a sandwich-sized amount of pork in the microwave or, preferably, in a skillet over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. The meat should crisp up a little bit, which will give the sandwich some texture. 

While the meat is warming, spread some Dijonnaise on the bottom slice of the focaccia. Top that with slices of Fontina cheese. Add both the top and bottom pieces of focaccia to a broiler and broil to melt the cheese and toast the bread. If you don't have a broiler, you can melt the cheese in a 350°F oven for about 5 to 7 minutes. 

Once the cheese is melted, layer on some slices of salami. Top the salami with some warmed-up crispy pork and a couple of spoonfuls of giardiniera. Close the sandwich with the toasted top piece of focaccia and serve.

Notes:

Check the blog post about this sandwich if you want to learn more or read any tips and tricks for the recipe. 


Have you made this recipe? Share on Bluesky or Instagram, tag @beerinator and let him know!



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