Cafecitos , croquettes , and cubanos . allow us take a instant to thank South Florida ’s exceptional Cuban influence for some of our most influential culinary staples . While it ’s no secret that coffee shop cubanos ( and interlingual rendition of croquettas de jamon ) rise from the largest island nation in the Caribbean , the place of origin of the Cuban sandwich – which is most characterise by its blend of ham , pork , high mallow , Indian mustard , and sometimes salami – is foggy , to say the least . Though its name suggests a simple past , two Florida cities – Miami and Tampa – will tell you otherwise .
It ’s believe that the first Cuban sandwich was made more than a quincentenary ago the by Taíno tribe in Cuba . They were one of three different cultures that dwell the island before Europeans arrived . Jorge Astorquiza , a food chemist in Tampa , say the Taínos used casabe bread , made from yucca , to make the dish . rather of pork – an unavailable center at the clock time – the Taínos overeat fish and bird nub inside the center of two thin , crunchy slicing of casabe , which would smack more like a cracker than a slice of dough .
When Europeans finally arrived on the island – mainly the Spaniards – pith such as pork and ham were quickly introduced into the native ’s diets , transmute the sandwich into a succulent , meaty mass . Casabe was substituted for a doughy , bread - like choice also , which at the time was easy to make for the islander . “ Traces of the sandwich originate back from the Indians , ” says Astorquiza , “ but the sandwich was really invented with what was brought from Spain . ”
Courtesy of Jimmy Carey
In the mid-1800s , the Cuban tobacco plant industry egress in Florida , where it first go forth in Key West . later on , tobacco plant moved northerly to Tampa , with one thousand relocating to Ybor City – a historic neighborhood plant by cigar producer with Cuban , Spanish , and Italian descent . Because of the influx of immigrant who in the main work on in factories , a straightaway , low-priced tiffin was yearned for . This marked the rise of the Cuban sandwich .
“ The Cubans came to Florida and started wee their sandwich here , ” Astorquiza states . “ But it started to mesh with more Spaniards and Italians too , which explains the sandwich key ingredient today , like roasted pork , ham , and salami . for secern the sandwich made in Cuba with Florida ’s raw variant , the Cubans in Tampa get going call off it a ' Cuban sandwich . ' ” Astorquiza continues , “ Being in Cuba , there was no need to say ' Cuban sandwich , ' it was just a sandwich . But its popularity in Cuba and in the States is just the same . If you require to get technical , though , it ’s called a Cuban sandwich for a reason – it was made by Cubans . ”
The ingredients inside a Cuban sandwich are simple : ham , roasted porc , Swiss cheese , jam , mustard , and if you ’re in Tampa , salami . But recreating the long time - onetime fragility is far from easy . Putting aside the feud between Miami and Tampa for a moment , every Cuban sandwich needs Cuban bread – which , although like to French or Italian bread , has a different baking method and factor list .
Cuban tobacco farm|Flickr/Guillaume Baviere
Because of the inflow of immigrants who chiefly worked in factories , a ready , low-priced lunch was yearned for .
“ Above all , you need a moist palmetto folio on top of the shekels before it ’s bake , ” says David Leon of La Segunda Central Bakery , the largest producer of Cuban bread in Tampa . “ The clams rise up and wrapper around the leaf , giving the loot savour . ”
Family - owned La Segunda Central Bakery , which has been around for more than 100 eld , chop nearly 60,000 leaves by hand each day , gain about 18,000 loaves which are used in Tampa and shipped across the res publica , include Miami . “ Ninety pct of the work is done by hand , ” say Leon . “ It ’s a very old - school process . Using the leaf is what produce those peaks and valleys that Cuban shekels is known for . ”
Flickr/tomcensani
After the bread is made , the element are placed inside . The roast pork barrel , allege Astorquiza , must be marinated in mojo , which flux spices like bitter orange tree , oregano , cumin seed , garlic , onion , acetum , and salt . The best direction to do it , he says , is to marinade the pork overnight . The cheese must be Swiss , and if salami is used , it should be Genoa . If you ’re extremely special , make certain to use exactly three pickle . And , whatever you do , only use sweet cured ham ( or something exchangeable to it ) because it ’s essential to not overtake the other ingredients ’ savour . Do n’t leave mustard … and sometimes butter depending on where you ’re eat .
“ A mountain can affect the bread , ” say Dana Neville , owner at Silver Ring Cafe , one of the oldest Cuban sandwich shops in Tampa . “ The humidness , the weather , and the water can exchange its texture . ” To give the bread its signature crush and warmer inner grain , the sandwich should be pressed on a plancha , a special sandwich oven . “ The independent objective is the pressure , ” says Astorquiza . “ It heats it from the bottom and the top . ” David Leon chimes in , “ You ca n’t call it a Cuban sandwich and put the ingredients on an Italian baguette . You miss that smack , that crush , and the soft , moist in spite of appearance . ”
To an outsider , the origin of the Cuban sandwich might seem readable . Tampanians and Miamians , on the other handwriting , vehemently disagree . A long and tight debate between two of the with child cities in Florida has created a rivalry so substantial that Tampa enacted a sandwich resolution , officially renaming the Cuban sandwich to the “ Historic Tampa Cuban Sandwich . ” That after promptedMiami Mayor Tomas Regaladoto say “ The Cuban sandwich came in a raft from Cuba . "
Flickr/Dennis Wilkinson
As Kanye West takes course credit for Taylor Swift ’s rise to fame , so does Miami for the Cuban sandwich . This is problematic because it ’s just not true . “ To call Miami the conceiver of the Cuban sandwich is the bad lie ever , ” say Astorquiza . “ It has absolutely no roots . There were no Cubans in Miami at the time . It was all swampland . ”
To call Miami the mastermind of the Cuban sandwich is the braggart prevarication ever .
That said , there ’s a significant dispute between the two : Tampa uses salami and Miami does n’t . Because of the Italian population in Tampa , Genoa salami was to become the preferred meat stuffed inside the sandwich – along with its other ingredients , of course . Salami or not , what Miamididdo for the sandwich was popularize it . “ Tampa forgo Miami in terms of its origin , ” says Dr. Paul George , a historian at the HistoryMiami Museum . “ But Miami has such a gravid Cuban universe , which made the sandwich really pervasive . Instead of it being confined to small neighborhoods in Tampa , Miami made it mainstream . ”
Cuban from El Palacio de Los Jugos|Flickr/T.Tseng
Walk into any Miami eatery , sandwich workshop , perhaps even a bar , and you ’ll in all probability find a Cuban sandwich on the menu . Though it might not have salami ( you ’re in Miami after all ) , it will follow the basic practices of what makes it a tried - and - true cubano ( see ingredient list above ) . However , there is a caution . Wherever you go ( specially in the 305 ) , that specific locale will consist call to making the “ best " Cuban . Restaurants likeVersaillesin Little Havana , Luis Galindo ’s Romance American on Coral Way , Las Olas Cafein Miami Beach , andEnriqueta ’s Sandwich Shopin Wynwood are just a few slur to snag an authentic ( or close to it ) rendering of a Cuban sandwich . Subway has one too , which is uncommitted in Miami and Broward counties … but if you ’re exit to Subway for an authentic Cuban , what the hell are you doing with your life ?
Jimmy’z Kitchen , with locations across Miami , makes its own version , which happens to be a niggling more gourmet than others . “ We actually pull the pork , ” says owner Jimmy Carey , “ which a lot of people do n’t do . We also habituate bread that ’s a fiddling unlike . It has more butter and flavor to it . ” Carey believes restaurants in Miami do n’t take enough time to properly make a Cuban sandwich . As someone who was raised eating cubanos , he suppose make the sandwich the correct way is important .
“ A fate of people do n’t take the time and the effort to make a true version of the sandwich , ” he says . “ There ’s a circle of cutting corners in Miami . Just because you have it on the card does n’t intend it ’s go to be good . It take physical work . ”
And although all cubanos should be made the same , they ’re not . From lighter , moister lucre , to crunchier French baguette - style ; the internalization of salami , along with cabbage and tomato ; or a mayo and mustard drizzle , each restaurant in Miami prides itself on its own iteration of the years - sure-enough staple , similarly to how it was created year ago . Whether one is better than another depends on you .
El Palacio de Los Jugosgets my vote . With locations across South Miami , it ’s tatty ( just about under $ 10 for a sandwich and a juice ) and reliable ( hug withrealCuban bread and pressed with a plancha ) . Its no - frills appearance , along with an adhesion to a Cuban ’s basic ingredient need ( ham , roasted porc , Swiss and mustard greens ) , instance that a Cuban is as much about the soul as the ingredients that make it . So sure , it ’s the sandwich that ’s activate debate far and wide , but at the end of the day it ’s still just a sandwich . And a damn delicious one at that – whether you ’re in Tampa or Miami .
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