Cuban Medianoche Recipe

Medianoche is a Cuban sandwich consisting of sliced roasted pork, ham, sweet pickles, mustard and Swiss cheese in a roll. It is a fluffy sandwich roll that is typically toasted and pressed after filling, and usually eaten as a main meal.

Medianoche is a variation of the more popular Cubano sandwich. They contain the exact same ingredients with the main notable difference being the type of bread used.

The bread used for medianoche is called pan huevo – a small, slightly sweet and eggy bread similar to challah bread. This makes the sandwich a less savory than a regular cubano. Some prefer the medianoche with a toned-down pickle, opting for sweet pickles over dill pickles.

Medianoche means midnight. It was originally eaten as a midnight snack after an evening of dancing or late dinner for factory workers getting off the night shift.

Origin & Cultural Significance

Both the cubano and medianoche draw inspiration from the first Cuban sandwich, the mixto or mixed sandwich. It was made with whatever ingredients were available, usually a combination of meats, watery mustard and government cheese but no pickles.

The medianoche sandwich was created by Cuban immigrants living in Florida who refined the mixto sandwich. Though many believe without the pickles it is not a Cuban sandwich, pickles are not popular in Cuba.

While the medianoche is widely accepted as Cuban and was certainly created by Cubans, it is hard to find pickles in Cuba itself.

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Cuban Medianoche Recipe

Yield: 6 Servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Medianoche is a Cuban sandwich consisting of sliced pork and ham, sweet pickles, mustard and Swiss cheese in a roll. The fluffy sandwich roll is typically toasted and pressed after filling.

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Ingredients

• Medianoche bread rolls or challah - 6
• Yellow mustard - 3 tbsp
• Roasted pernil pork (shredded or sliced) - 1 1/2 lb
• Ham (thinly sliced) - 1 lb
• Swiss cheese (thinly sliced) - 1/2pound
• Dill pickles (sliced) - 1/2 lb
• Butter - 6 tbsp

Instructions

1. Heat a panini press or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
2. Split the rolls lengthwise and spread each one with mustard on both sides.
3. Layer in the roast pork, ham, cheese and pickles.
4. Close the sandwiches and spread the outside of the bread on both sides with butter.
5. Working in batches, place the sandwiches on the press or skillet.
6. Close the press or use another heavy pan on top as a weight.
7. Cook until toasted on both sides and the cheese is melted on the inside (about 3 to 5 minutes total on a press; 3 to 5 minutes per side if using a skillet and weight).
8. Cut the sandwiches on a diagonal and serve immediately.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 414Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 129mgSodium: 1408mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 32g

Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.