Top Chef with Teanna - Season 1 Episode 5 - Moroccan Cubano Pork Sandwiches

I had the perfect opportunity to make this dish for a dinner with a good friend of mine from college, Erin. Erin and I were classmates in the Syracuse University Drama Department and we lived together in our semester abroad in London.  In our flat, we would make dinners of chicken cooked in red wine and call it gourmet.  The chicken was purple.  And we loved it.  And then we'd eat a whole package of Digestives and dance around in our living room to the Big Chill Soundtrack.

Don't judge.

Cool fact about Erin:  Her father invented many flavors of bubble gum, like Grape (yes, grape) and Hawaiian Punch.  He is a flavor expert.  Seriously.  That is his job.   Apparently, you walk into different "labs" and the room will smell like, say, Thanksgiving dinner. But there is no turkey. Oh no. Just a lab. That smells like turkey and cranberry.

Where can I get this job?  Without that whole nuisance of getting a chemistry degree.  And then I'll be an ice cream tester and a video gamer on the side.

Needless to say, I was dealing with a very advanced palate here.  But I can be assured one thing during this Top Chef Challenge:  the dishes will always be winners.  Which is why they were winners, I guess.

Speaking of advanced palates (like what I did there?) this episode began with the taste challenge that we all know and love: identify as many flavors as possible whilst blindfolded. Simple you say?  Well, I think the chefs would disagree. The winning chef won with only four ingredients identified correctly.  In a bit of revenge, the cheftestants held their own "Snack Master Challenge" back at their apartment, where Miguel (aka Chunk LeFunk) proudly took home the crown by identified such challenging dishes as Whoppers, Doritos, and pork and beans.

The elimination challenge was to cook street food to serve in a Hispanic district in Los Angeles by doing a fusion with Latin Food and another flavor. Well, who would have known that a dish like a pork sandwich would go so well with Moroccan flavors? Now, there is the minor fact that most Moroccans would probably be mortally offended by calling this dish Moroccan, being Muslim and not being able to eat pork and all, but you can't win them all, right?

Right?

My favorite Stephen Moment of the Episode:  when he says that the Hispanic people aren't in his "target market" for this challenge (um, Stephen, you are in the Mission District.  Hispanics are the market) whilst wearing an orange tie and pinstriped suit.

Dave and Tiffani joined forced to invent this amazing dish.  And when I say amazing, I mean BEST DISH EVER. BEST DISH EVER. Can I say it again? BEST. DISH. EVER.

Succulent pork.  Complex stone fruit chutney filled with raisins, apricots, and almonds and seasoned with curry and honey.  Pickled carrots and onions.  Creamy date puree.  Subtle white cheese.  Soft, fluffy gorditas.  Happy Teanna. Happy Erin. Happy Jack.

I cannot express how much I think everyone in the entire world should make this dish. It is worth the time. The pork is to die for. Tender pork butt is seared and then tenderized in beef stock and mirepoix for 45 minutes and leaves you with the most tender, succulent (I know I said it before, but I must say it again) meat that you will ever taste.  

Make it. Then invite me over for dinner.  I'll even wear an orange tie and tell you what a gaufrette is in honor of Stephen. 

Moroccan Cubano Pork Sandwich adapted from Top Chef

Pork portion of sandwich:
Olive oil
3 lbs of pork butt, cleaned and de-fatted
1 cup of Sheeba's special curry blend
1/2 gallon beef stock
1 cup date syrup
2 Maui onions, medium dice
2 carrots, medium dice
4 stalks celery, medium dice
Kosher salt
black pepper

Stone Fruit Chutney:
1 tbsp. walnut oil
2 cups golden raisins
1 cup sliced dried apricots
1 cup finely chopped and toasted almonds
1 Tbsp. Sheeba's curry blend
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. honey
1 cup date syrup
1.5 cups chicken stock
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. kosher salt

Pickled Carrots and Red Onion:
4 carrots, peeled and sliced this on the bias
1/2 red onion chopped, sliced into thin strips
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
kosher salt

Date Puree
36 dates
2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Other ingredients and assembly:
6 oz. mild white Moroccan cheese, finely crumbled or other mild white cheese like queso fresco (I used Ricotta Salata)
1 dozen gorditas
olive oil for gorditas

For Pork portion of sandwich:
Clean all pork and cut into cubes. Thoroughly season all sides of each piece with kosher salt and black pepper, then roll in curry powder. 
Heat aluminum or cast iron sauté pan with olive oil covering the bottom surface for searing. Place seasoned pork onto hot pan and sear all sides of meat, and then set aside. Continue adding oil with each batch of pork until finished. Do not rinse pan. You will deglaze this pan and use to build the chutney in later.

In separate stock pot or deep sauce pan, add some olive oil, and then sweat the mirepoix and then add seared pork and enough beef stock to cover the pieces of pork. Also, add additional salt and pepper and curry powder and cover and cook on medium heat to tenderize/stove-top braise the pork for about 30-45 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest covered for 10 minutes, then remove pieces of pork. Place these pieces of pork in large sauté pan with some olive oil and add additional curry and date syrup and check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. After cooked and seasoned, remove from heat and chop up into small pieces to be used for sandwich.

For the Date Puree

Dry 36 dates and chopping them in the blender. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently for 1 hour. Cool to room temperature, put in a blender and blend until smooth.

For Stone Fruit Chutney:
Place all ingredients into sauce or sauté pan and let all ingredients blend together and reduce until liquid has been absorbed by the dried fruits. Then let rest and season if needed. Spread the chutney on one side of the gordita.

For Pickled Carrots and Red Onion:
Blanch carrots in salted water. Remove and let rest in ice bath. Heat cider vinegar with sugar on the stovetop to boil. Then add carrots and onions to the reduced vinegar and sugar mixture and cover and lest rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until cooled then strain the majority of the liquid and set aside.

Heat gordita brushed with olive oil on the grill or in a pan on the stovetop, and then spread with chutney. Lay in pieces of pork and top with cheese and pickled carrots and onions for garnish.

Comments

[Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction]

Sounds like a great dish! I am hungry for a sandwich already and I just finished eating breakfast!

[Maria]

What a great sandwich!

[Jessie]

simply amazing! I'm at loss for words because I'm just drooling over these delicious photos all over your blog.

[Tangled Noodle]

I want some [pork] butt! Patience is not my strong suit but I can muster up enough if the end result is something this delicious. I am so making that stone fruit chutney . . .

Purple chicken and digestive biscuits - London sounds like a blast! 8-) If you figure out how to get that job as a flavor-inventor and ice cream-taster, put in a good word for me, too!

[Jamie]

Wow, that sandwich looks utterly amazing!

[Erin]

Wow, did that bring back memories..Another fun fact: we also would have Tina Turner backup dancer contests. That was only when there was a lot more wine than chicken consumed, though!
Dinner was amazing last night, T xoxo

[The Duo Dishes]

Stone fruit chutney? You should put that in a jar.

[jenn]

Nice! That chutney sounds really delish! I'm saving this.

[Chris]

Everything about this dish sounds fantastic! I don't doubt it is the best dish ever!

[Cookin' Canuck]

This sounds incredibly yummy! Where do you find date syrup?

[Ashley]

It was weird how in the taste challenges they wouldn't identify some things that might seem obvious to be in there like salt or pepper. Well maybe those are not so obvious or it could be something else that's salty hm. Anyway I continue to enjoy your top chef posts!

[Sugar B]

You are hilarious, I swear. I wish you live nearby so we can be real friends.

I am so loving that pork sandwich.

You are awesome.

[Eliana]

Are you free for dinner next Friday night, cuz this chica will never turn down the opportunity to share a cuban sandwich with someone!

[Madam Chow]

So, don't hold back, did you like it? ;)

[Kevin]

What tasty sounding sandwich!

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