Perfect weekend

By: 
Keith Bryant
 Wow, what a busy weekend in Weiser. 
 If you were not out and about on Saturday, the town was hopping from the candy store to the mud drags. The line out the door at the candy shop for a couple of hours had me floored. It was like fiddle fest on a random Saturday. 
 Second Chance had its annual Fall Bazaar and a lot of the people there headed into town as well. I had a lady looking for apples and was upset we didn’t have any left. I told her I make 250 a week and we only get one apple delivery a week. She asked where do they all go.
 My Sunday was filled with football at the Lazy Bear Ranch. Yes, we watched the Bears game and Dallas took a beating. 
 Apart from that I had the craving for a Cuban sandwich. 
 There is a good movie, called Chef and it follows a chef in a food truck that goes across the county making different foods in each city. He starts in Miami with the traditional Cubano sandwich. 
 There are two secrets to this amazing sandwich, one is the bread and the other is the Cuban roasted pork.
 I want to share those recipes with you this week and tell you how to prepare the sandwiches for your next football get together. 
 Once you make the bread, slice it and grill it with a little butter then add, yellow mustard, sliced deli ham, dill pickles, swiss cheese and the mojo pork. Once you get it assembled baste a little butter on the outside of the bread and put it back on a flat grill and press it down on the grill to melt the cheese. Flip it over and press it down again. 
 In Miami they use a machine called a panucho or a Panni Press. Here are the recipes I hope you enjoy.
Mojo Pork and Cuban bread
Ingredients
Marinade
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cilantro/coriander, lightly packed
1 tbsp. orange zest
¾ cup orange juice, fresh
½ cup lime juice
¼ cup mint leaves, lightly packed
8 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, packed (or ½ tbsp. dried oregano)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
Pork
4 lb. pork shoulder, skinless and boneless
Mojo Sauce
2 tbsp. lime juice
¼ cup orange juice
Salt and pepper
Cuban bread
Starter:
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ cup warm water
½ cup flour
Dough:
1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons white sugar
¾ cup warm water
3 tablespoons lard
2 teaspoons fine salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed - divided
1 tablespoon cornmeal
Water to spray tops of loaves
Directions: 
 Combine marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until the herbs and garlic are finely chopped. Alternatively, you can finely chop/mince the garlic and herbs then mix all ingredients in a bowl.
 Place in a large Ziplock bag with the pork. Place in the fridge overnight (in a bowl, just to be safe).
 Remove the pork from the marinade and bring to room temperature. Reserve the marinade.
 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
 Place the pork on a rack in a roasting dish (or on a couple of onions halfs, to elevate the pork). Cover with a lid or double layer of foil, slightly tented so it is not pressed tightly against the pork.
 Place in the oven and bake for 2 hours 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and return to the oven for 30 minutes to brown.
 Remove from the oven and place on a plate, loosely covered with foil. Rest for 20 minutes before serving with the Mojo Sauce on the side.
Cuban Bread
 Combine ½ cup warm water, ½ teaspoon yeast, and ½ cup flour in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk the starter until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
 Place 1 package active dry yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour in ¾ cup warm water. Let rest 15 minutes to ensure yeast is alive (bubbles will form on surface). Add lard and salt to bowl; add 1 cup of the flour. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, and dough forms a sticky ball. Add the starter (reserving ¼ cup if you want to keep the starter going, if desired. Otherwise add it all). Sprinkle most of the rest of the flour on the dough, reserving ½ cup to be used if needed when kneading.
 Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough comes together in a firm ball, adding additional flour only as needed. Dough should be soft and supple with just a bit of tackiness on the surface.
 Place dough in a bowl and coat surface with a little vegetable oil. Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rise. Let rise until at least doubled in size, about 2 hours.
 Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with a little cornmeal.
 Transfer dough onto lightly floured surface. Lightly press the dough into a rectangle with your lightly floured hands. Divide dough in half and press and shape each half into a long 1/2-inch thick rectangle about 12 inches long. Roll up tightly starting at the long end to form a skinny loaf. Flatten a bit. Transfer each loaf to a prepared baking sheet and dust with a bit of flour. Cover with a light, dry towel and let rise until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.
 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut a ¼-inch deep slit down the top of the loaves with a sharp knife or razor. Mist loaves lightly with water.
 Place pans in pre-heated oven, one pan on lower rack, one on higher rack. After 10 minutes, switch pan positions. Continue to bake until loaves are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer loaves to cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before slicing.
 
 
 
 

 

Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
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