Cuban sandwiches are ubiquitous in South Florida -- here's a look at one of Miami's best takes on the iconic sandwich at Sanguich de Miami
Taryn Varricchio and Nicole Raucheisen
Dec 11, 2020, 12:02 PM
Following is a full transcript of this video.
- Taryn Varricchio: Garlicy lechón marinated for 24 hours paired with sweet ham brined for seven days topped with two slices of Swiss cheese and pickles for a punch of vinegar and extra crunch. All layered onto plush Cuban bread, brushed with lard and pressed until warm and crisp. It's this classic combination of flavors pressed between Cuban bread that made the Cuban sandwich a legend in Miami.
Ham and cheese is one of those classic combinations. It's straightforward, but you may see it served differently depending on where you go. Like down in Miami, where Little Havana is a haven for Cuban cuisine. And this classic marriage of meat and protein defines their go-to sandwich.
Customer: Cuban sandwiches in Miami are like pizza to New Yorkers. The Cuban sandwich is the pinnacle, and if you meet the top, then you are meeting us at Sanguich de Miami.
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Rosa Romero: For Cubans, we can make anywhere, on a slow day 80 sandwiches, on a busy day 150 Cubans alone.
Taryn: At Sanguich de Miami, Daniel and Rosa spend the most time preparing the meat. To make a true Cuban sandwich, they prepare ham and roasted pork called lechón.
Rosa: Our lechón and our ham, we use the same part of the pork, which is a boneless pork butt. For us, we find that it tends to be one of the most tender parts of the pork. One gets cured and the other one gets marinated, is really the only difference between the two.
Taryn: The curing process starts like this. Each ham is wrapped and injected with a salt and water solution made with spices, like garlic, allspice, cloves, and coriander. Then it sits for seven days, building flavor by soaking up that brine. Whereas the lechón marinates for one to two days before it goes inside the oven to roast. And when it's finished...
Rosa: You end up with this beautiful crust on the outside. The gold that obviously has contributed through the roasting, with all of the sugars and the honey that's in the ham. And so it's nice and tender, it's definitely juicy, really creates a power of flavors when you pair it up particularly with the ham, which is a little bit sweeter.
Taryn: What may be as important as the meat is the loaf of bread it sits between. A Cuban sandwich simply wouldn't be the same without Cuban bread.
Rosa: Cuban bread for Cubans is what the tortilla is to Mexicans, right? What the arepa is to the Colombians or the Venezuelans, right? It's just part of our DNA.
Taryn: But what makes this bread different than, say, French or Italian bread? It's gotta have fat.
Taryn Varricchio and Nicole Raucheisen
Dec 11, 2020, 12:02 PM
- A traditional Cuban sandwich is made with roasted pork (lechón), ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, and pickles.
- It must be made with Cuban bread, which is different from French or Italian bread because it contains lard.
- Sanguich de Miami uses lard to coat the exterior of the bread so the sandwich doesn't burn when it's pressed in the plancha.
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Following is a full transcript of this video.
- Taryn Varricchio: Garlicy lechón marinated for 24 hours paired with sweet ham brined for seven days topped with two slices of Swiss cheese and pickles for a punch of vinegar and extra crunch. All layered onto plush Cuban bread, brushed with lard and pressed until warm and crisp. It's this classic combination of flavors pressed between Cuban bread that made the Cuban sandwich a legend in Miami.
Ham and cheese is one of those classic combinations. It's straightforward, but you may see it served differently depending on where you go. Like down in Miami, where Little Havana is a haven for Cuban cuisine. And this classic marriage of meat and protein defines their go-to sandwich.
Customer: Cuban sandwiches in Miami are like pizza to New Yorkers. The Cuban sandwich is the pinnacle, and if you meet the top, then you are meeting us at Sanguich de Miami.
SPONSOR CONTENT by PayPal
Retailers want to grow their businesses. Cross-border trade opportunities can help them expand.
Rosa Romero: For Cubans, we can make anywhere, on a slow day 80 sandwiches, on a busy day 150 Cubans alone.
Taryn: At Sanguich de Miami, Daniel and Rosa spend the most time preparing the meat. To make a true Cuban sandwich, they prepare ham and roasted pork called lechón.
Rosa: Our lechón and our ham, we use the same part of the pork, which is a boneless pork butt. For us, we find that it tends to be one of the most tender parts of the pork. One gets cured and the other one gets marinated, is really the only difference between the two.
Taryn: The curing process starts like this. Each ham is wrapped and injected with a salt and water solution made with spices, like garlic, allspice, cloves, and coriander. Then it sits for seven days, building flavor by soaking up that brine. Whereas the lechón marinates for one to two days before it goes inside the oven to roast. And when it's finished...
Rosa: You end up with this beautiful crust on the outside. The gold that obviously has contributed through the roasting, with all of the sugars and the honey that's in the ham. And so it's nice and tender, it's definitely juicy, really creates a power of flavors when you pair it up particularly with the ham, which is a little bit sweeter.
Taryn: What may be as important as the meat is the loaf of bread it sits between. A Cuban sandwich simply wouldn't be the same without Cuban bread.
Rosa: Cuban bread for Cubans is what the tortilla is to Mexicans, right? What the arepa is to the Colombians or the Venezuelans, right? It's just part of our DNA.
Taryn: But what makes this bread different than, say, French or Italian bread? It's gotta have fat.
