Cuban Pan con Bistec Recipe (Cuban Steak Sandwich)

Working Smarter

I’m lazy. There, I said it. No, it’s really okay. I freely admit it.

Yep, L-A-Z-Y. Which is why I’m not a big fan of spending hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guessing that there aren’t a whole lot of fans of hot-stove-slavery out there, but that’s not important right now.

And when I cook, particularly Cuban food, it’s usually because I’m just craving a particular taste and I’m too lazy to drive a couple of hours on the Los Angeles freeway system to go on a Cuban Food Hunt.

But on the other hand, I do spend time (sometimes a shameful amount of time!) trying to figure out the easiest way to satisfy my current Cuban food craving.

What this means is that you’re totally in luck today. Because I was craving a fantastic Pan con Bistec – Cuban steak sandwich. And believe me, not all steak sandwiches are created equal.

Which is why instead of starting with a pounded-within-an-in-of-its-life dry round steak, I started off with a mouth-watering boneless beef rib-eye which makes my steak sandwiches worth the 10 minutes it takes to slice up and cook up those melt-in-your-mouth rib-eye strips.

Now that’s what I call working SMARTER, not harder.

Pan con Bistec – Cuban Steak Sandwich

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 large white onion, cut in half and sliced
1 24-inch loaf of Cuban bread (or your favorite baguette-type bread)
1 lb. Boneless beef rib-eye steak, sliced into 1/2 inch strips (this cut makes all the difference!)
Parsley flakes
Salt & pepper to taste
6 slices Swiss cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Slice the bread into four (or six) equal parts – depending on the size of sandwich you prefer.

2) In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil together and sauté the onion until slightly soft. Season with salt, remove cooked onions from skillet and set aside.

3) In the same skillet, over high heat, sear the steak strips until brown. About one minute per side. NOTE: Do not stir the meat. You want it brown. Use tongs or a fork to flip.