Jan D'Atri

Jan D'Atri > country style pork ribs

country style pork ribs

The Cubano Sandwich

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He produced and directed The Jungle Book.

He directed Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Elf.

He co-starred in The Breakup and Couple’s Retreat.

But when actor Jon Favreau starred in the movie “Chef,” it gave America a new obsession. We fell in love with The Cubano. Did see the movie? It’s a foodie’s dream. Chef Carl Casper, played by Favreau, gets sideways with a food critic and loses his restaurant job. His loss is our gain, because he revs up a new sandwich food truck called El Jefe, and introduces America to the new darling of the sandwich world, The Cubano Sandwich.

Is that where the fad started? Or, was it just the Cubano’s time to get discovered by a larger food loving community.

The Cubano sandwich is so more than a fad. It has found a place in our hearts and on our plates. Why? Because it’s filled with all the things we love anyway; cheese, shredded or sliced pork, pickles, ham, bread and butter—and mustard! (You can find prepared pulled pork in most grocery stores, but if you want to make it from scratch, I’ve included a simple method.)

But what makes the Cubano so much better is that it’s grilled and toasty and cheese oozes out and the bread makes a great crusty-cracky sound when you slice into it and it’s just downright delicious! Yep. It’s time for a new “hero” and the Cubano sandwich is it!

Country Style Pork Ribs

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We’re heading into a nice long Fourth of July holiday week and I hope there will be plenty of chances for you to get your grill on and cook up some good eats! Have you thought about firing up a big batch of meaty and flavorful Country Style pork ribs? Those are the ones that are loaded with meat and virtually no bone. So wait a minute. Why do they call them ribs then? Well, country style pork ribs are actually not ribs at all. They are from the shoulder or the blade end near the shoulder. These cuts of pork are meaty and marbled—which equals flavor! They often get passed over in the meat department in lieu of actual ribs, and that’s a shame because they are delicious grilled and slathered with BBQ sauce or cut up for kebabs. Speaking of BBQ sauce, with this recipe, the BBQ sauce is a bonus that is used as a finishing sauce because all of the flavor is in the rub! I’m using a variety of spices for this rub that combines sweet, heat, salty and spicy. What a flavor profile! It’s a great combination that you can make your own by adding more brown sugar or less chili powder, according to your taste. It’s so simple to mix the spices together and sprinkle over the country style ribs, and the magic happens when you refrigerate them! The spices draw out the moisture and when you put them in a hot pan or grill, that juicy outside caramelizes and seals in the moisture. When the ribs are cooked, you can then slather on the BBQ sauce and serve them up with your favorite fixings like baked beans, roasted corn on the cob or macaroni salad. If you’re lucky enough to have any leftover ribs, you can slice them up for sandwiches or chopped up for a salad. So if you haven’t had country style pork ribs lately, this may be a great week to give them a try. I can almost guarantee you’ll be licking your chops!