Roy Choi’s Cubanos

Ingredients

• — Day 1: brine —
• 4 cups orange juice
• 3.5 cups water
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
• 1/2 cup spiced rum (optional, but good)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Lots of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp each fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage (rough chopped)
• Ground pepper, 3 bay leaves
• — Day 2: mojo marinade —
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup cilantro, rough chopped
• 4 tbsp mint leaves
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 7 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp grated orange peel
• 2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2/3 tsp black pepper
• 2/3 tsp fine sea salt
• — To build the sandwich —
• 9-inch baguette loaves
• Yellow mustard
• Swiss cheese
• Dill pickles
• Butter, thickly sliced ham

Method

1. Day 1: Combine all brine ingredients in a crock-pot container. Submerge the pork and refrigerate.
2. Day 2: Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Mix all the mojo ingredients in a 2-gallon zip-top bag and add the meat.
3. Day 3: Roast the meat in the mojo at 425°F for 20 minutes, then baste. Lower to 325°F, baste every 30 minutes, and check the temperature after 2 hours (then every 20 minutes) until it hits 170°F.
4. Let rest 30 minutes — do not taste yet. Then taste, and marvel at how delicious it is.
5. Thinly slice, then grill. Layer from the bottom up: grilled pork, griddled ham, Swiss cheese, sliced pickles — mustard on the bread, press, and grill until the cheese melts.