Slow Cooker Cuban Tortas

These Slow Cooker Cuban Tortas are delicious and full of amazing flavor!

One of my favorite bedtime reading genres is cookbooks!  I love crawling into bed with a new cookbook and some post it notes and paging through the book and marking all the recipes I want to try.   For me a cookbook not only must have good recipes but good photos and stories to go along with the recipes.  When I was given the opportunity to review a brand new cookbook, The Dairy Good Cookbook: Everyday Comfort Food from America’s Dairy Farm Families, I jumped at the chance.  It has all three things I love – great recipes, photos and stories.  The cookbook includes stories of American Dairy farmers throughout the country.  Having grown up in Wisconsin, The Dairy State, I am a total supporter of local dairy farmers and the importance they play in the community and our dinner table.

It was fun to read about John & Kim Koepke, dairy farmers from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.  I know right where that is.  It’s just a bit NW from where I grew up. I am grateful for dairy farmers who work hard every day to bring us some of my favorite food like milk, cheese, and yogurt. And you can’t forget ice cream: you need milk to make ice cream! There are over 100 recipes in the cookbook, all of which feature dairy products.  Let’s just say by the time I was done looking through the cookbook there were a lot of sticky notes attached.

Because I am such a fan of my slow cooker the first recipe I decided to try was for Cuban Tortas cooked in a slow cooker.   A Torta is a Mexican sandwich usually with a nice crusty white bread.  This recipe uses a marinade of fresh lime and orange juice along with some great seasonings to give the pork a wonderful flavor.  I cooked the pork on high for 6 hours and then shredded it for the sandwiches.

I think my favorite part of the recipe though was the yummy cilantro cream sauce.  Yum!!  I may or may not have just eaten it directly out of the bowl with a spoon. Be sure and slather lots of this on your sandwich.

I used a ciabatta roll, which is nice and crusty and added a layer of Monterey Jack cheese and then put it in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the bread.

The cheese adds another layer of yummy flavor to these sandwiches.  Between the flavorful pork, creamy cilantro sauce and the melted cheese you’ve got a big Yum!

Then layer on  the onions that cooked with the pork in the slow cooker, some cabbage, and if you can take the heat, some jalapenos.  You’re going to love it!

All you have left to do is take a nice big bite!

uban Torta Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Slow Cooker Cuban Tortas

Recipe From: Leigh Anne Wilkes

Slow cooked cuban pork served on a ciabatta roll with cilantro cream sauce.

serves: 10 servings

Prep:15 minutes minutes

Cook:8 hours hours

0 minutes minutes

Total:8 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

Pork Marinade

• ▢ 1/2 C fresh lime juice
• ▢ 1/4 C orange juice
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 tsp dried oregano crushed
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• ▢ 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 1 3 lb. bonesless pork shoulder roast
• ▢ 1 medium onion thinly sliced

Cilantro Cream Sauce

• ▢ 1 C sour cream
• ▢ 1 C mayonnaise
• ▢ 1/2 C finely chopped fresh cilantro
• ▢ 2 tsp lime peel
• ▢ 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Sandwiches

• ▢ 10 bolillo or ciabatta rolls
• ▢ 4 C shredded Chihuahua or Monterey Jack Cheese
• ▢ 1 1/2 C shredded green cabbage
• ▢ 1/2 C sliced jalapeno Peppers

Instructions

Pork Marinade

• Combine lime juice, 1/4 C water, orange juice, garlic, oregano, salt, cumin, black pepper and bay leaves in a small bowl.
• Trim the fat form the meat if necessary.
• Pierce the meat with a large fork in several places.
• Place in a large resealable plastic bag set in a deep bowl.
• Pour the marinade over the meat.
• Close the bag and chill in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours, turning occasionally.
• Arrange the onion slices in the 3 1/2 to 5 qt. slow cooker.
• Place the meat on top of the onions. Pour marinade over top
• Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 5-6 hours.

Cilantro Sauce

• Stir together sour cream, mayo, cilantro, lime peel and lime juice in small bowl.
• Cover tightly and refrigerate until serving time.
• Transfer the cooked meat to a large bowl or dish and allow to cool slightly.
• Skim any fat from the juices in the cooker. Remove and discard bay leaves.
• Use two forks to shred the meat. Remove onion from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and add it to the meat in the bowl.
• Pour some of the warm juices over the meat and onion; cover and keep warm.

Sandwiches.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice each roll in half and place the cut side up on two large baking sheets.
• Divide the cheese among the roll halves. Bake until the cheese h as melted and the bread is lightly toasted, 3-5 minutes.
• Top the roll bottoms with the pork and onion, cabbage, jalapenos and cilantro cream sauce. Top with the roll top.
• Serve warm.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 479kcal (24%) Carbohydrates: 4g (1%) Protein: 37g (74%) Fat: 34g (52%) Saturated Fat: 10g (63%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g Monounsaturated Fat: 11g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 143mg (48%) Sodium: 533mg (23%) Potassium: 716mg (20%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 2g (2%) Vitamin A: 250IU (5%) Vitamin C: 11mg (13%) Calcium: 65mg (7%) Iron: 3mg (17%)

* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.

Course:Main Dish

Cuisine:cuban

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This recipe is used with permission from The Dairy Good Cookbook, Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.   Through The Dairy Good Cookbook, dairy farmers share their secret (and not so secret) stories, traditions, and family recipes that have been passed down through generations.