Cubano Craving Honey Butter Fried Chicken | Chicago

At Honey Butter, Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp, co-executive chefs and managing partners, are famous for their fried chicken, made extra craveable with a signature side of honey butter. But they recently played around with the classic Cubano, which was the brainchild of their executive sous chef, Becca Waron. Roasted pork shoulder, basted with molasses and orange juice, is sliced and layered in a ciabatta bun with ham, Swiss cheese and housemade bread-and-butter pickle. “The bun is slathered on the inside with chipotle mayo, which adds smoke and heat,” says Cikowski. The real point of difference with this Cubano comes with the mustard butter. “We brush the mustard butter on the outside of the bun, which adds tang. The butter caramelizes when the sandwich is seared and pressed in a pan, adding a nutty, buttery element to the sandwich.”