Monte Cubano

Monte Cubano is what happens when the French-toast-dipped Monte Cristo walks into a Havana lunch counter. You keep the custard dip and the buttery skillet of a Monte Cristo, then load it like a Cuban sandwich: ham, smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, dill pickle chips, and dry mustard inside, garlic mayonnaise on the other slice of bread.

That garlic mayonnaise is the sleeper ingredient. Six cloves mashed with salt into a rough paste, then stirred into mayo, gives the sandwich a pungent, aioli-like bite that cuts straight through the eggy, buttery exterior. A quick dip in beaten egg with milk, then a slow fry in butter with a lid on for the second side, melts the Swiss all the way through while the outside goes deep bronze.

Pro Tips

• Use firm, sturdy bread. Soft sandwich loaves collapse in the egg dip and the whole sandwich falls apart in the pan.
• Soak the sandwich briefly, both sides, but do not let it sit until sopping. Over-soaked bread turns custardy in the center instead of golden.
• Cook covered on the second side. Trapping steam finishes melting the Swiss without burning the outside, which is the make-or-break moment.
• Rest the sandwich one minute off the heat before cutting. Hot cheese otherwise squirts straight out the first bite.

Variations

• Use roast pork shoulder in place of some of the ham for a more traditional Cuban pull.
• Add a few thin slices of sharp provolone alongside the Swiss for a bigger cheese pull.
• Drizzle a little honey or quince paste inside for the classic Monte Cristo sweet-savory play.