The Cuban sandwich, the Cubano, is Florida's great contribution to the art of putting things between bread. Its roots are in the cafés that fed Cuban cigar workers in Tampa's Ybor City in the late nineteenth century, and it traveled with Cuban migration to Miami, where it is now sold from every ventanita, the walk up coffee windows of Little Havana. Tampa and Miami have argued about its true home for decades. The main point of difference is salami: Tampa adds it, Miami does not.

The heart of it is mojo pork, roasted after a long soak in sour orange, garlic, cumin and oregano. With ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles and yellow mustard, it is pressed flat in a hot pan until the bread is shatteringly crisp and the cheese has melted into everything. For the Miami Grand Prix, it is the only sensible choice. Roast the pork the day before and the sandwiches take ten minutes; the leftover pork, if any survives, is a fine thing in its own right.

Mojo roast pork

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) boneless pork shoulder (pork butt)
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) sour orange juice
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Building and pressing

Ingredients

• 1 large loaf Cuban bread
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) yellow mustard
• 12 oz (340 g) sliced roast pork from above
• 8 oz (225 g) thinly sliced cooked ham
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 16 dill pickle slices
• 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter

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