Join Senior Editor Cecelia Jenkins as she begins her journey to the perfect recipe for a Cuban sandwich, in which she tackles everything from the homemade Cuban bread to the mojo roast pork.
Every recipe we develop goes through a series of steps, from initial research and fact-finding, to early experimenting with recipes from other sources, to rigorous side-by-side testing of every single variable in any given recipe.
This episode details the initial research and pitch phase. Executive Food Editor Bryan Roof gives Cecelia her assignment, which she develops into a proposal to pitch to the entire team. What questions will her editors have for her?
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Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America’s Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
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“Can’t we just use supermarket bread? Like a baguette?” —said nobody in Miami, ever…. But there’s always that one person…🤷♂️ pretty bold statement, I know.
****it was a great question, though.
Rewatching this a year later. As a Tampa native, So Proud to see the care and diligence given to this Amazing Sandwich. Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Totally agree with Bryan, if you're going to call something a Cuban Sandwich there are hardcore rules but much like Philly Cheesesteaks have thier versions, so do Cubans. Suprised Meduanoche wasnt mentioned. Also surprised you went to Tampa and not Little Havana in Miami. And as a side note, home cooks will need to add a pan of water during baking to recreate the ovens used in bakeries. Made 2 batches of your pan recipe and it turned out yummy, although not really like the loaves in Miami it was still good. Kind of a hybrid. Anyway thanks for making this. Was fun to watch.
Nice version but going to Tampa instead of Miami Beach or Miami for your examples was a big mistake. Have familia in Tampa so have tried several places but nothing compared to Little Havana stuff in Miami.
So much drama about a recipe. 1st world problems.
finally people giving credit where it's due! the Cuban sandwich is a Tampa sandwich, not Miami!
Store bought bread not the way. Bless you for this. Seriously.
I think where this series failed is that they didn't send Cecelia to Tampa to taste an authentic Cuban. The problem was recipes, in general, is that people do not know how something is supposed to taste.
I bet Best Friend Dan wouldn't just buy soft squishy bread from a deli like Jack suggested…. Imagine me scoffing in Tampa hard, because THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING! Tampa native: shouting out to Best Friend Dan. He'll get it.
REWATCHING right this min, and I see an episode 2!? is it my birthday??? 10-19-19, 1:03am/eastern!
Dream come true! Behind the scenes and backstage processes showing the hard work beneath the deliciousness! What a fabulous recipe to start with. Can't wait to watch the whole series, Cecelia!
really love this series!
Holy cow! This is amazing! My new favorite from Cook’s Country! All these guys are such rock stars!
I love the deconstruction episodes. You should do it with a Soviet style, imho.
Why would you go to Tampa for a Cuban sandwich, when Miami is more Cuban?
Why would they not have the test cook try a Cuban sandwich so she has something to build off ?
I really love this style of video. Keep up the good work!
I'm a Tampa native, and now live in California. I have searched high and low for legit cuban bread, but it just cannot be found. I have made a bunch of cuban sandwiches here, and am often disappointed when the bread is overlooked, just as Cecelia mentions. I really feel like the team here understands that it is a special food-stuff, the bread is paramount to the success, and breaking it down ingredient by ingredient has made me an instant fan of this series. Nailed it! Long-time fan of ATK, but this is just making it even better. Also, I'm sure theyre gunning for shows like Claire-Makes on BA, and this seems like a great competitor, and a nice fresh approach that will do well on YouTube. Pumped!
Worthless waste of time.
I find it funny how my process for learning a food item is "I got a description of what it looks like and what it taste like, okay lets begin". Just for meatballs i made dozens of variations and only figured out a few things. Because time consuming to make a variation of every option. hell I think i make half a dozen versions just to see the difference between fresh bread, dry bread, bread crumbs, panko, no crumb, and something else. Which by the way panko is best if you want a soft texture, it seems to break down during cooking thus leave the meat with some internal gaps giving it a less dense feel.
This is my new favorite show ;P