The Test Cook Episode 4: Perfecting the Mojo Pork and Cuban Bread Before Deadline 

St Petersburg FL here. Bodega on Central Ave in my opinion has the best Cuban sandwich. I myself would never attempt to make the bread so I applaud you. I do make the Cuban roast pork at home & it comes out really well. Rub with salt, pepper, cumin & crushed garlic. Marinate in orange, grapefruit, & lime juice, & water for 2-3 days. Roast at 325 for a couple hours until tender/fall apart. Then crank to 450 for 15 mintues to crisp the outside. Turns out great. Good cuban bread, swiss cheese, yellow mustard, dill pickles, sliced plain ham, press the sandwich in butter or garlic butter. Absolutely no salami or other meats. This ain't no Italian sandwich.

It's not only getting the recipe to taste right & have right texture to be "authentic" - it's getting a recipe to be consistent enough for a home cook to be able to accomplish & get the same results. Monumental job! Really enjoying these process videos. By now, Cecelia has to be dreaming of pork... little piggies flying over golden brown loaves of perfect bread. :D

Once again, amazing! The patience it must take to get a recipe as complicated as this to turn out perfectly. I'd be throwing things across the kitchen and pulling my hair out! This is my favorite show to watch on RU-vid right now!

Still loving this show! How great is it that so many people are watching the creation of a sandwich? Thanks to Cecelia (and the editors) for making this so watchable!

I just noticed the charge to my credit card for my membership renewal a couple of days ago. I confess that I briefly considered if I used it enough to justify the cost. But, I absolutely love your approach to food. Following Cecelia's quest epitomizes for me all that is great about ATK and family. It is a treat to see all of the struggles. I would follow her around the kitchen anytime! Keep up good fight Cecelia! I'll be watching for you on the TV shows in the future, too.

My husband is Cuban, so I’m excited about this recipe in particular. Recently moved away from Miami and really missing Cuban bread.

People all over South Florida (not to mention Cuba) make this day in and day out, without problems. Wouldn't it have been a whole lot easier to simply ask them how they do it?

Amazing how hard they are working to bring us a simple sandwich with the best possible techniques and recipes. Thank you all.

Lookin really good at the end of the video! Send Cecelia down to Tampa to get her reaction on some of the most famous Cubans, and see what she thinks! Maybe even make hers down there and have some Tampans try it/react?

YEAH!!! I *KNEW* you would nail that bread eventually, Cecilia! That pork and the last test sandwiches looked absolutely on-point. I can't wait to see more and see how it is all made. I have a bunch of questions, especially about that bread. 🤤👍

This is my new favorite ATK series!!!!!! (Sorry, Dan!)

they go through this with every recipie they put in the cookbook and tv. it takes a lot of time to get it correct.

I love you guys!!

Use your rub ingredients but wrap really tight in several layers of parchment then several layers of heavy duty tin foil. Bake for 1.75 hrs. per lbs and you'll wonder why everyone's not doing it that way..Love the series so far.

I really enjoy this series. I find it amazing the amount of time and effort that is put in to the recipe development. It kind of makes me proud to be a subscriber. Thank you for all your great work Cecilia!

Amazing effort, bravo!!

Always worth the work to see Bryan’s reaction when you finally nail it

The MOJO is sooo simple!!! Omg..get a small sauce pan. Add like 1/4 Cup of good olive oil, add like 5-8 chopped cloves of garlic. Then add Sour orange or just Lime juice, like 1 T. each of grated Oregano, Cumin & 1/2 t. salt. And heat it up for like 3-5 min. on medium low. What a big deal. You can also add slivered onions & finely chopped parsley optional? I'm Cuban born, and was raised in Miami since the age of 3..🏝

As a longtime ATK fan, an eclectic culinary tinkerer, a lover of cubanos, and curious about "the secret to great cubanos", I was super excited when this series began .. But .. I am really (really) sad to report that my enthusiasm has fizzled to disappointment, and in fact disbelief at the long-winded and circuitous lengths Cecelia has gone to .. Talk about "milking it" .. and frankly while the process and experience has been well documented, the viewer has not actually learned anything .. other than perhaps "joints of pork shoulder come in all shapes and sizes" .. really?!! .. It has been so tortuous that, rather than throw stones, I went out and did my own discovery .. and essentially nailed it with three rounds of pork and two rounds of bread .. With so much information available (even on the La Segunda website and associated video tours of their bakery) "it ain't that difficult!!" .. The pork is basically a bone-in shoulder cut of any dimension (doesn't matter, so long as there is a decent fat cap), marinated (for 12 hours) and then braised (for 4 hours) in a standard orange and lime mojo .. then shredded in the same pot, combined with all of the juices it was braised in .. The bread rolls are standard white baguettes, hydrated at 60%, with 5% lard, 2% sugar, 2% salt, 1% instant yeast .. a poolish is optional .. baked with steam at 400F for 25 minutes .. Let fully cooled before making into sandwiches, but better 24-48 hours later after the crumb has had a chance to set up .. (same with the pork which can be quickly reheated in a skillet, carnitas style, with a tiny bit of olive oil) .. It is unfathomable how so many trials and errors, from burned pans to cardboard loaves, could occur .. unless it was in the hands of someone who had literally never cooked any kind of meat, or attempted to make any kind of bread before .. ?! .. Here's to the final episode, and presumably recipe, being announced very soon! ..

Having live in south Florida most of my adult life and eaten tons of Cuban sandwiches, I really don’t think you can duplicate it. So many restaurants in other parts of the country call it authentic but it’s not even close. It’s one of the recipes that is safely guarded imo and handed down through generations. I used to love eating at the mom and pop shops in Miami. Let’s not forget the arroz con pollo, pastelitos with guava, fried malanga, yuca with mojo and the ever popular Cuban coffee break everyday at 2 PM. Kudos for trying to tackle this recipe.

Amazing, thank you for all of your hard work!!!!

Eagerly awaiting the final product!!!

I love this. Seeing the process is inspiring.

Bless her heart. Wonder if after all this Cecelia will ever want to roast a hunk of pig again? I’m guessing yes, because they are so incredibly delicious.

Love this, it's like me in my kitchen.

What about the concept of the outside crust of a bagel? It’s completely boiled 1st, but what if you brushed just the dough/tops of the loaves w/hot water before baking? Keep the wrap for a portion of baking time? Anxious to see how she conquered the bread! I LOVE baking scratch made bread, but it is it’s own animal for sure.

Delicious

Anxiously awaiting the next episode.

good video👩‍🌾👩‍🌾

My kid said, “Did they lose their “mojo”. Laughter ensued

that's such an endeavor for a recipe. really respect the mental stamina it takes to pull it off. secondly, that gentleman wit the blue shirt and glasses has a single hair-beard on his right cheek way too long. props to you for rocking it.

Have they considered cooking the elements in two stages? Cook the bread. Who cares if it’s pale on the outside. Let it cool. Then cook it again (perhaps freeze it), like those brown and serve rolls. As for the pork… pressure cook it. Then dry off the surface apply more marinade and bake it in a very hot oven to brown it.

This is what we do in restaurants to come up with new menu item. We do months of testing. Map out plate designs, work on cost structures, ingredient selection and sourcing. Then people walk in off the street and ask if they can change it! It is so infuriating.

I wouldn’t be so hard on yourself about the bread color. Growing up in South Florida the Cuban bread was often lighter in color. Always thought the lard had something to do with that but who knows.

Lol Just go to Hialeah Florida, you will see how its done right. Cubans do things with passion not science.. u guys still rock tho!

I think you might try looking for the Half Blood Prince’s cookbook...it’s similar to his potion book that Harry Potter used. Hope that helps 🙂

Can y'all do Korean fried chicken? And seeing how air drying and using alcohol makes a difference?

It would be quicker to just fly to Tampa buy a Cuban from the Columbia and bring it back.

this is what food nerds really do.

She bakes and cooks like me 🤭😂

What do you do with all the test food. Would love to they are being donated to homeless shelters

Just watched the "20 Anniversary" show. One question, where was Chris Kimball? Yeah, the driving force behind the empire, the guy who nurtured your careers for 16 years? Was vaguely aware he wasn't hosting the show anymore but they still run old episodes, and I hadn't seen this new incarnation. It was well done. I like the way the old chefs have "come out of their shell" plus all the new chefs - it had personality and I might start watching it. But was odd there wasn't a sighting or mention of Chris anywhere in the first 50 min, so I thought before #1 there'd have to be a tribute or even a special appearance. How can you do a 20 Anniversary show without the most important guy in its history? Disgraceful.

Method for a recipe for the show?? And who will present it if so ??

I sure hope the bread panned out (get it)?

I like pork butts and I cannot lie

Use pressure cooker!

7:02 you’re roasting the pork WRONG! It’s why it’s not coming out right.

Simple enough. The bread is reheated to develop the flaky crust.

Trying to be Bon Appetit RU-vid, I see you

There really is no better way to do it than the way it has been done by the Cubans for years and years and years. There is no way you can make it "better". You may just like yours better but it doesn't mean it is better.

There is definitely Not thick chunks of Pork in a Cuban sandwich, ever! That's just a fusion...if your into making a Fusion? Whatever..but your not honoring the real Cuban sandwich! Period..🫣

"That's not just true here, that's true at home." Thanks for the fake sermon.

Very dissapointed in the new format , bring back the cooking show

I mean really no point to have a RU-vid channel if you’re not going to give a recipe. Even though BA has a magazine they still have recipes to give from their RU-vid channel. I mean there’s no reason to be subscribed to your RU-vid channel?