A Cuban classic, Pan con Bistec is a beloved steak sandwich hailing from the Pearl of the Antilles. This version is inspired by the one at Sanguich de Miami, which adds an irresistible mojo rojo spread, gooey Swiss cheese, and finally presses and toasts the sandwich much like a Cubano. If you love Cubano sandwiches, try this Cuban steak sandwich recipe!
A classic Cuban steak sandwich typically features thinly sliced marinated and fried steak, onions (often caramelized or sauteed), and sometimes but not always some combination of the following: lettuce, tomato, mayo, crispy potato sticks, and perhaps cheese.
When I visited Miami, I headed to a spot famous for some of the best Cubanos or Cuban sandwiches in town: Sanguich de Miami. Not only did I try their #1 most popular sandwich, the Cubano, but I also got their #2 most popular sandwich, their version of a Pan con Bistec.
Holy steak sandwich, Batman! My friend and I both agreed that the pan con bistec stole the show! So it’s not made the traditional way. There are some things they do differently, but that’s what we enjoyed most about it.
Sanguich de Miami's version
At Sanguich de Miami, they split their Cuban bread, spread mojo rojo on both sides, top with thin slices of their house-made sous vide beef, top with sliced Swiss cheese, then put the lid on and press in the sandwich press with lard brushed on top to crisp it. Then they open the sandwich down the middle and add house-made shoestring potatoes before closing it back up and slicing in half diagonally to serve. Here’s a video of their process.
The mojo rojo with its red pepper infusion really enhanced the sandwich, in my opinion. Of course I haven’t met a sandwich with melted Swiss cheese I haven’t liked, so there’s that.
For this reason, I decided instead of sharing an ultra traditional pan con bistec (for which you can find recipes in many other places), I specifically wanted to harness my deliciously memorable meal at Sanguich de Miami and their creative take on the classic.
Here is my version, inspired by theirs. The result... *chef's kiss*. It's perhaps one of my favorite sandwiches I've ever made, and it's so much easier than you'd expect.
Ingredient notes
- Bread: Depending on where you live, it can be challenging to find Cuban bread. French bread or even long, soft rolls could work in this recipe. Cuban bread is typically long and flatter than French bread, but you’ll still get pretty close. I used a loaf of French bread with a pretty soft crust (not a typical crusty baguette) and it worked great!
- Steak: Traditional pan con bistec recipes use raw thinly sliced steak which is typically marinated and then fried or sauteed in a pan before assembling. Sanguich de Miami, however, makes their own sous vide beef which is thinly sliced and then piled into sandwiches. A good quality thinly sliced deli roast beef is an acceptable stand-in and the easiest way for a home cook to get a super thin slice/shave without having a meat slicer at home. It looks and tastes pretty close. Make sure to get the best quality store-bought roast beef you can for the best results.
- Swiss Cheese: This is not one of the typical additions in pan con bistec, however, I wouldn’t want my sandwich any other way. It borrows the Swiss cheese component from a classic Cubano and I fully support that. If you don’t like cheese, just skip it!
- Potato Sticks: Although they make their own house-made fried shoestring potatoes for stuffing into their sandwich, store-bought crispy potato sticks will work great. It’s what a lot of folks use in their traditional pan con bistec sandwiches to add a crunchy texture and saltiness. Find them in the potato chip/snack aisle of your supermarket, usually either in small bags or cans. Use lightly crushed potato chips if you absolutely can’t find the sticks.
- Red Bell Pepper: I roast my own pepper because it's super easy to do, but if you have a jar of roasted red peppers you could use some of that. You'll need to just estimate approximately how many of the red pepper pieces in the jar would equal about one whole pepper.
How to make it
Mojo Rojo
Roast a red bell pepper until the skin is charred and blistered and the pepper is soft. Carefully peel off the skin, then remove the seeds and the stem.
Transfer the flesh of the roasted red pepper to the jar of a blender. Add garlic cloves, red wine vinegar, sweet paprika, salt, ground cumin, and crushed chili flakes. Blend until fairly smooth.
Then, with the blender running, slowly drizzle olive oil through the hole in the lid, blending until smooth.
Scrape into a bowl and set aside until ready to assemble sandwiches. If you don’t plan to make the sandwiches right away, you can cover and refrigerate the mojo. It will thicken more once it’s chilled.
Pan con Bistec "Sangwich" assembly
Cut the bread into two approximately 9-to-10-inch lengths (you can first trim off the ends if you’d like). Then cut each piece in half lengthwise all the way through to open it up for sandwich assembly.
Spread both sides of each pair of bread halves with mojo rojo. Then pile half the shaved roasted beef on the bottom half of each sandwich, topped with half the sliced Swiss cheese over each bottom.
Place the top half of the bread mojo-side down to close the sandwiches. Press it down gently with your hands to squish it down a little.
Brush melted butter over the top of the bread . Then place in a flat sandwich press or panini press with ridges (not authentic but it will do the trick). Lower the lid and let it toast and heat through until the bread is crispy and lightly browned, the cheese is melted, and the beef has heated through, about 5 min or longer as needed.
Remove the sandwich from the press, open it up in the middle and stuff with half the potato straws.
Close it back up, give it another press with your hands, and then cut it in half diagonally with a serrated knife to serve. Repeat with the second sandwich as needed.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
You can make the mojo rojo several days in advance and store in a covered container in the refrigerator. This will make it quick and easy to assemble and cook a sandwich or a couple of sandwiches whenever you are ready.
These sandwiches are quite large. They may not seem so substantial to the naked eye, but they are very filling and satisfying. This is why I generally recommend one half a sandwich per serving assuming your sandwiches are the same size as mine.
The bread will get crispy a lot faster than the cheese will melt, so just keep an eye on your sandwiches and make sure you cook them long enough for the cheese to melt all the way through. The actual number of minutes will vary depending on your cooking method as well as your bread thickness.
If you want to really copy the method used at Sanguich de Miami, replace the store-bought potato sticks with homemade shoestring fries. It’s definitely more work because it entails peeling, cutting, and frying the potatoes, but it will yield a closer result to the original. For me, this recipe comes together pretty easily with just a bit of time devoted to roasting a pepper. I’m happy to use the shortcut of potato sticks in place of shoestring fries.
Other recipes you may like
- Pepito (Mexican Steak Sandwich)
- Braaibroodjie (South African Grilled Cheese)
- Grilled Cheese with Tomato and Pesto
- Cuban Sandwich Empanadas
- Arroz con Pollo (Cuban Chicken and Rice)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Pan con Bistec (Sanguich de Miami-inspired Cuban Steak Sandwich)
Ingredients
Mojo Rojo:
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon crushed chili flakes
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pan con Bistec:
- 1 loaf of Cuban bread or soft French bread (or 2 French sandwich rolls)
- 320 grams (11 ¼ ounces / 8 slices) thinly sliced/shaved deli roast beef (best quality you can find)
- 150 grams (5 ¼ ounces) sliced Swiss cheese
- 1 tablespoon melted butter or lard
- 60 grams (2 ounces) potato sticks
Instructions
Mojo Rojo:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the pepper on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping over occasionally until the skin is charred and blistered and the pepper is soft. Remove from the oven and either place in a plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap to help soften the skin. Once the pepper has cooled a bit, carefully peel off the skin, then remove the seeds and the stem and discard.
- Transfer the flesh of the roasted red pepper to the jar of a blender. Add all of the ingredients except for the oil and blend until fairly smooth. Then, with the blender running, through the feed in the lid slowly drizzle in the oil and continue to blend until smooth. Stop the blender, then taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Scrape into a bowl and set aside until ready to assemble sandwiches. If you don’t plan to make the sandwiches right away, you can cover and refrigerate the mojo. It will thicken more once it’s chilled. Makes about ½ cup.
Pan con Bistec:
- Cut the bread into two approximately 9-to-10-inch lengths (you can first trim off the ends if you’d like) and then cut each piece in half lengthwise all the way through to open it up for sandwich assembly.
- Spread both sides of each pair of bread halves with mojo rojo, then pile half the shaved roasted beef on the bottom half of each sandwich, topped with half the sliced Swiss cheese over each bottom. Place the top half of the bread mojo-side down to close the sandwiches. Press it down gently with your hands to squish it down a little.
- Brush melted butter over the top of the bread and then place in a flat sandwich press or panini press with ridges (not authentic but it will do the trick). You can cook both sandwiches simultaneously if they both fit, or cook them in batches. Lower the lid and let it toast and heat through until the bread is crispy and lightly browned, the cheese is melted, and the beef has heated through, about 5 min or longer as needed. The cheese may take longer to melt all the way through if the bread is fairly thick. Alternatively you can press it on a lightly buttered nonstick pan heated over medium heat with a weight placed on top and then flipped over halfway through.
- Remove the sandwich from the press, open it up in the middle and stuff with half the potato straws. Close it back up, give it another press with your hands, and then cut it in half diagonally with a serrated knife to serve. Repeat with the second sandwich as needed.
Notes
- Bread: Depending on where you live, it can be challenging to find Cuban bread. French bread or even long, soft rolls could work in this recipe. Cuban bread is typically long and flatter than French bread, but you’ll still get pretty close. I used a loaf of French bread with a pretty soft crust (not a typical crusty baguette) and it worked great!
- Steak: Traditional pan con bistec recipes use raw thinly sliced steak which is typically marinated and then fried or sauteed in a pan before assembling. Sanguich de Miami, however, makes their own sous vide beef which is thinly sliced and then piled into sandwiches. A good quality thinly sliced deli roast beef is an acceptable stand-in and the easiest way for a home cook to get a super thin slice/shave without having a meat slicer at home. It looks and tastes pretty close. Make sure to get the best quality store-bought roast beef you can for the best results.
- Swiss Cheese: This is not one of the typical additions, however, I wouldn’t want my sandwich any other way. It borrows the Swiss cheese component from a classic Cubano and I fully support that. If you don’t like cheese, just skip it!
- Potato Sticks: Although they make their own house-made fried shoestring potatoes for stuffing into their sandwich, store-bought crispy potato sticks will work great. It’s what a lot of folks use in their traditional pan con bistec sandwiches to add a crunchy texture and saltiness. Find them in the potato chip/snack aisle of your supermarket, usually either in small bags or cans. Use lightly crushed potato chips if you absolutely can’t find the sticks.
- Red Bell Pepper: I roast my own pepper because it's super easy to do, but if you have a jar of roasted red peppers you could use some of that. You'll need to just estimate approximately how many of the red pepper pieces in the jar would equal about one whole pepper.
- Mojo Rojo: You can make the mojo rojo several days in advance and store in a covered container in the refrigerator. This will make it quick and easy to assemble and cook a sandwich or a couple of sandwiches whenever you are ready.
- Serving Size: These sandwiches are quite large. They may not seem so substantial to the naked eye, but they are very filling and satisfying. This is why I generally recommend one half a sandwich per serving assuming your sandwiches are the same size as mine.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Povilas Mecys says
Wow, this recipe was incredible! The sandwich was amazing, but the real star for me was the mojo rojo—so much flavor! The roasted red pepper, garlic, and spices come together perfectly, and I’ll definitely be using this sauce on other dishes. I can already see it being great on grilled meats or even as a dip for other sandwiches. Huge thanks to Victoria for sharing this and making a Saturday lunch absolutely spectacular!