An Inspired Cook

When you look at this sandwich I realize it really doesn’t look nearly as good as it tastes. I hope you can get past the photo and imagine how this sandwich will taste with all the flavors that are packed within it. The story of this sandwich began in late spring when I got together with my sister Kat for a day out on the town. When we get together it doesn’t matter what we plan for the day, it always includes a lunch date. After some debate we decided on Range Cafe, a local favorite here in Albuquerque. They have a seasonal menu that they change, well . . . seasonally, so if you find something that sounds really good, you’d better order it because next time it might be gone. Their “Spring Features” menu included a Cuban Grilled Cheese that sounded intriguing. It was layered with Pork Carnitas with a Red Chile and Coffee Rub, Green Chile Mustard, Swiss and Cheddar Cheese with Ham and Pickles on a Crusty Baguette pressed panini style. All it took was one bite and I knew this was the one for Joe who loves a good Cuban sandwich. A year ago I made smoked carnitas that featured a red chile and coffee rub so the first order of business was to smoke another pork butt. The green chile mustard did not have roasted green chile but rather was spiked with dried ground green chile. This sandwich is so delicious, it’s been one of our favorite new sandwiches over the summer.

If you have a smoker and enjoy smoking meat, this is the way to go. I chose to make my favorite Smoked Carnitas with a red chile and coffee rub because I love the taste and can package and vacuum seal what we don’t use and place in the freezer for future meals. If you don’t have a smoker but still want to make carnitas, I will include a recipe for making the carnitas in a dutch oven as well.

To make the green chile mustard, I mixed 1/2 teaspoon into 3 tablespoons of mustard. This ground green chile comes from the Snake Ranch Farms store in Los Lunas, NM. It’s available during chile roasting season. Instead of being finely ground it is a coarse grind with the seeds which resembles the red chile pods that I grind at home. It has a great flavor and packs some heat as well.

Once you’ve mixed the ground green chile and mustard, place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to allow the green chile to absorb into the mustard giving it more flavor.

You’ll need about 1/4 pound of carnitas per person. Heat the carnitas wrapped in aluminum foil in a toaster oven or oven at 350 degrees for 5 – 10 minutes.

I picked up some Bollillo rolls to make our Cuban sandwiches. I grated Cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack to place on both sides of the rolls.

They went in the toaster oven under the broiler to melt the cheese.

Place 1/4 pound of the warmed pulled smoked carnitas on one side of the roll.

Next add some thick slices of ham.

Add long sliced pickles, a little bit more cheese and place on a heated grill or griddle pan to toast. Once heated I like to keep the heat on medium which allows the meat and cheese to heat without burning the roll.

Use a panini press to toast the sandwich. If you don’t have a press, use a small cast iron skillet over top or a pan that is heavy enough to press the sandwich. Let that press for 2 – 3 minutes.

Make sure the cheese on the bottom is melted and the roll is toasty with grill lines. Flip the sandwich over to grill the other side another 2 – 3 minutes.

Serve warm.

Pick up a bag of Lays Dill Pickle Chips . . . they pair perfectly with this Cuban sandwich.

New Mexico Inspired Cuban Sandwich

2 Sandwich Rolls, sliced in half
1/2 pound Smoked Red Chile Carnitas, recipe for Smoked Carnitas and Dutch Oven Carnitas follows
4 pieces Ham, (I used Oscar Mayer Carving Board Ham)
Grated Cheddar Cheese (about 1 ounce per sandwich)
Grated Monterey Jack Cheese (about 1 ounce per sandwich)
4 vertically sliced Dill Pickles
3 tablespoons Yellow Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Ground Dried Green Chile or Green Chile Powder

Mix together the yellow mustard and ground dried green chile or green chile powder. Refrigerate at least one hour or until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.

Preheat an oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees. Wrap the carnitas in aluminum foil and heat the cooked pork for 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from the oven but do not unwrap the foil until you assemble the sandwiches.

Take sliced sandwich rolls and add grated cheddar cheese on one side and Monterey Jack cheese on the other side. Place under the broiler of a toaster oven to melt the cheese.

Spread green chile mustard on one side of each roll. Place 1/4 lb of carnitas on the other side. Add sliced ham and pickles to each sandwich.

Heat a grill or griddle. If you would like extra cheese, add a small amount of grated cheese on top of the pickles. Squeeze the sandwich together and place on the hot griddle or grill pan. Place a panini press on top and let grill 2 – 3 minutes or until the cheese is warm and melted along with the meat. You should see grill marks on the bottom half of the sandwich. Turn the sandwich over to warm the cheese and meat on the other side. The Cuban sandwich should be warm, toasted and ready to serve.

Serve with fries or potato chips.

Makes 2 Cuban Sandwiches

Smoked Red Chile Carnitas Click link for recipe with step by step photos.

Flavors of the Southwest Pistachio Gourmet Smoker Pellets
Large Pork Butt Roast (5 -10 Pounds)
Apple Juice

Red Chile Carnitas Rub

2 tablespoons NM Red Chile, ground
2 tablespoons Ancho Chile, ground
1 tablespoon Chile de Arbol, ground
1 tablespoon Paprika
1 tablespoon Salt
1 tablespoon Coriander
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
2 teaspoons Black Pepper
2 teaspoons White Pepper
1 teaspoon Espresso Powder

Whisk all the spices together in a bowl. Transfer to a jar with a lid. Any unused spice mix will last approximately 6 month’s.

Prep the pork butt the day before you smoke: Rinse the pork and pat dry with paper towels. Generously rub the spice rub over all sides of the pork. Depending on the size of your pork butt, you may have some left over spice rub . Wrap the pork in heavy duty aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Day of smoke: Remove the pork from the refrigerator and let sit out to room temperature for 1 hour prior to smoking. Prepare your pellet smoker and set the temperature to 225 degrees. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer that comes with your smoker I highly recommend you purchase one to monitor the internal temperature of your meat throughout the smoke process. The one I use is a Therm Pro Thermometer with Dual Probe Model No. TP-08S. Place the food probe into the thickest part of the pork roast. When the smoker has reached 225 degrees place the roast in the smoker and shut the lid. Every two hours, spritz the pork with apple juice which will help the pork create a “bark” that will seal in the juices leaving the pork very tender and easy to pull apart.

Pulled pork needs to cook to an internal temperature of 200 – 203 degrees. The approximate time it takes to smoke pulled pork is 90 minutes per pound. The internal temperature will rise at a steady rate until it doesn’t. Try to reach 160 – 165 degrees internal temperature at 225 degrees. At some point you will encounter a stall in which the temperature will stop rising. For me this happened when my internal temperature reached 148 degrees. If after the pork reaches 165 degrees and continues to stall for 2 hours you can raise the temperature on the smoker to 250 degrees. Place the pork in a disposable aluminum tray, pour a cup of apple juice in the bottom of the tray and cover the pork with aluminum foil. This should jump start your pork and push it to get through the stall. For me this helped to raise the internal temperature and it continued at a steady pace for 3 hours to get to the desired 203 degrees.

Once you get to 203 degrees remove the pork from the smoker. Don’t remove the aluminum foil. Wrap a towel around the tray with the meat inside and wrapped in foil. Put the whole tray with towel inside a cooler and cover with the lid. Let rest and steam for 2 hours.

When it’s rested for 2 hours you may remove the tray from the cooler. It will still be too warm to handle without oven mitts. Remove the aluminum foil carefully as the steam will be hot as it escapes when opened. Remove the pork to a platter and pull apart with 2 forks.

Once cooled the pork can be frozen. We like to vacuum seal the meat as it will keep fresh longer that way. To reheat, let the pork sit in the refrigerator 24 hours prior. In a 3 quart pot or larger heat water to boiling. Remove the pot from heat and submerge the vacuum sealed bag into the water and let sit for 15 minutes. Use scissors to open the package and serve.

Dutch Oven Red Chile Carnitas

4 pounds Pork Butt Roast
Red Chile Carnitas Rub, ingredients listed above
Olive Oil to drizzle over pork
1 cup Chicken Stock
Juice of 2 Oranges
Juice of 1 Lime

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Cut a pork butt roast into 1 inch cubes, set aside.  Combine the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl.  Sprinkle spice rub over the pork and stir to combine.  Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat, drizzle olive oil in the pot and add the pork.  Stir the pot as the pork begins to sear.  Let cook 5 – 7 minutes. When the pork has browned on all sides, add the chicken stock, orange and lime juice. Bring to a boil, place a lid on the pot and transfer to the oven.  Cook in 250 degree oven for 4 hours, or until pork is tender and will fall apart easily with a fork. Remove the pork from the liquid and shred with 2 forks. If you want juicier carnitas, save some of the liquid from the dutch oven to add to the carnitas. Any unused carnitas can be vacuum sealed and placed in the freezer for future recipes. I usually weigh the meat and seal 1/2 pound per package for 2 people.