Cuban sandwiches are famous for their unique flavors. They typically have pulled pork, ham, swiss cheese, yellow mustard, pickles, and a Cuban-style baguette. This is then grilled with a press until the cheese melts. Today I am going to try something different — making a Cuban burger that has a lot of the same flavorings.

My Cuban burger is different than a standard American burger in that the patty is made with pork and with ingredients like cumin, oregano, orange zest, parsley, and garlic. These flavors are often found in Cuban cooking, and make this burger quite different than American-style burgers.

I couldn’t find a Cuban-style bun or roll in my local grocery, so am using a Kaiser hamburger roll for this recipe. Brioche or Hawaiian rolls would also be a great option to use.

Swiss cheese is a must for this recipe; I wouldn’t recommend using another type of cheese.

My family really loved the burger and were disappointed when we finished them all. Next time I make this, I will have to double the recipe.

Ingredients

Pork patty

• 1 lbs. ground pork
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. fresh orange zest
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin powder
• 1 tsp. finely mince fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. finely mince fresh oregano

Burger

• 4 Kaiser hamburger buns toasted
• Cooked pork patty
• 4 slices sliced swiss cheese
• 8 pieces deli sliced honey ham
• Pickle slices
• Regular yellow mustard

Instructions

Place all pork patty ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix gently everything together, then form it into 4 equal sized patty a little bigger than the buns you will be using. You want to do this since the burger shrinks while it cooks.

Transfer the formed patty to a plastic or parchment line baking pan, set aside for a few minutes.

Heat a large non-stick electric skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the burger for 8-12 minutes or until cooked through.

During the last minute of cooking time top each burger with 2 pieces of ham, then top with cheese. Cook the burger until the cheese is melted.

Push the burger to one side of the pan, then toast the buns with the burger grease.

Once you are ready to assemble the burger, spread a thin layer of mustard on both cut sides of the bun. Place pickle slices (trim pickles to fit the bun) on the bottom bun, burger, then finish with the top bun.

Serving 4

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like, share, and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would like to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!