Cuban Pork Sandwich Slow Cooker

Slow-Cooker Cuban Pulled-Pork Panini Sandwiches

October 6, 2016

SlowCooker Cuban PulledPork Panini Sandwiches Recipe

Cuban pulled pork—or lechon asado—meets traditional Cuban ham and Swiss sandwiches in these zesty, melty paninis. The pork absorbs loads of flavor while slow cooking in a garlic- and citrus-infused mojo sauce, which ultimately makes for one amazing hot sandwich. Unless you live in south Florida, Cuban bread will probably be rather difficult to come by. So use whatever type of bread tickles your fancy, and if you can't find a loaf that measures 2 feet (61 cm) long, two smaller loaves (about 12 ounces [340 g] each) of Italian or French bread, or even individual hoagie rolls, would work beautifully instead. Just make sure to start and end your sandwich layers with Swiss, since the cheese is what ends up holding together an otherwise messy panini.

Ingredients

Serves 6–8

3 lb (1.6 kg) boneless pork butt roast, trimmed

10 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup (120 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon (3 g) dried oregano

2 teaspoons (5 g) ground cumin

1/2 tablespoon (18 g) House Seasoning (see Cooks' Note)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (2-foot [61-cm] long) Cuban bread loaf, submarine sandwich roll, Italian bread loaf or French bread loaf

Prepared yellow mustard, as needed

2 (8-oz [227-g]) packages sliced Swiss cheese, divided

2 cups (286 g) sliced dill pickles

1 (8-oz [227-g]) package thinly sliced ham

4 tablespoons (60 ml) melted butter

Step 1

Pierce the pork roast all over with a small knife. Place the pork in the bottom of a large slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, oregano, cumin and House Seasoning. Pour the mixture over the pork and rub it into the meat, turning to evenly coat it. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for 4 to 6 hours, until the pork is extremely tender.

Step 2

Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Remove and discard the fat and use 2 forks to pull the pork into chunks. Use a large spoon to skim the fat from the surface of the liquids in the slow cooker. Return the pulled pork to the slow cooker and stir well. Taste the meat and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper, if desired. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 15 to 30 minutes, so that the pork can further absorb the flavors of the cooking liquids while you prepare the sandwich ingredients.

Step 3

To assemble the sandwich, slice the loaf of bread in half horizontally. Spread a thin layer of mustard on the bottom half of the bread and then layer 1 package of the Swiss cheese, all of the pickle slices, all of the ham slices and a generous amount of pulled pork. Top the pork with the remaining 1 package of Swiss cheese and place the other half of the bread loaf on top of the Swiss cheese.

Step 4

Use a serrated knife to cut the loaf into approximately 6-inch (15-cm) lengths. Brush both sides of each sandwich with the melted butter and cook the sandwiches in a panini press or a hot skillet until the cheese melts and the exterior gets toasty. If you are cooking the sandwich in a hot skillet, cover the top of the sandwich with aluminum foil and place a heavy pot or cast iron skillet on top of the foil. Flip the sandwich once the bottom is toasted and toast the other side. Cut the sandwich into slices and serve hot.

Cooks' Note

To make the House Seasoning, combine 1/4 cup (60g) fine sea salt, 1/4 cup (35g) garlic powder, 2 tablepoons (16g) onion powder, and 1 tablespoon black pepper

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How would you rate Slow-Cooker Cuban Pulled-Pork Panini Sandwiches?

Reviews (9)

FABULOUS! Flavorful, comforting, melty, and YUM. The coleslaw is a good idea and my potato salad is legendary so we had that also. Great recipe. Not overly spicy. The House Seasoning recipe makes slightly over 1/2 cup if you are good at math. The recipe called for 1/2 T of this recipe, meaning you had some left for next time or other recipes. I wouldn't put 1/4 C of salt or garlic powder in anything no matter what the recipe said - and this recipe did not say to do that.
"Panini" is Italian for sandwiches". "Panini Sandwiches" are "sandwiches sandwiches"
Please stop using the word "panini" as an adjective. "Panino" is the Italian noun for "roll." "Panini" is Italian for two or more rolls. To say "panini sandwiches" is so nonsensical and incorrect that it makes me want to scream. Get yourselves a good Italian dictionary. In fact get one for every language that your editors use.
@TRYDE FROM SOUTH FLORIDA - you used the *entire* batch of House Seasoning? It only called for half a tablespoon - if you do the math, that's about 1 teaspoon of salt, not 4 tablespoons!
Very easy recipe with big results. I've made this twice now for make-your-own slider sandwiches to have as finger food at a party. They are a huge hit and go very fast. I add cole slaw as a condiment on the sandwich along with pickles, mayo and mustard. The meat is tender and very flavorful. I did not at all have the issue with saltiness. (Perhaps the reviewer who had that issue used too much of the house seasoning? The house seasoning recipe makes much more than you need for the pulled pork recipe itself.)
I put this roast per recipe instructions in my slow cooker at 9 AM with high hopes for an authentic Cuban sandwich dinner complete with black bean salad. It smelled so good cooking. I flipped it every hour to make sure it was getting the benefit of all the spices used in the sauce. I served it to my family as prescribed in the recipe. The sandwiches looked awesome and then we all took a big bite...it was SO salty that none of us could even entertain eating the entire sandwich. I went so far as to rinse off the pork with cold water which did help, but the damage was done and dinner was ruined. The "house" seasoning which calls for 1/4 cup sea salt appears to be the majority of salt called for in the recipe but for some reason my 3 lb roast absorbed the salt an almost nothing else. I really wish this recipe had turned out much better because we love Cuban sandwiches but this experience has sullied our desire to eat Cuban anytime in the near future.
I had no idea cuban sandwiches taste this good. Not only I will make it again, I'm going to master it.
Easy. My family loved it.
LOVE this ! Makes a very filling and yummy meal ! Will definitely do this again!