FrancesinhaPorto's Steak and Sausage Sandwich with Beer Sauce

A francesinha is Porto's famous sandwich: bread layered with ham, sausage and steak, covered in melted cheese and soaked in a hot, gently spicy sauce made with beer, tomato and beef stock. It's eaten with a knife and fork, usually with a fried egg on top and chips on the side. One is a full meal, and many people share.

Two things make a good francesinha. The sauce has to be smooth, glossy and thick enough to cling to the cheese, so it's blended and lightly thickened. And the cheese must cover the top and drape down the sides before it goes under the grill, so it seals the sandwich and melts into the sauce. For the history and how to order one in Porto, read our francesinha guide.

The recipe

FrancesinhaPorto's Steak and Sausage Sandwich with Beer Sauce

Francesinha recipe from Porto: steak, sausage and ham under melted cheese, drowned in a spicy beer and tomato sauce. Full sauce recipe included.

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Prep25 min

Cook50 min

Total75 min

Serves4

Ingredients

MetricUS

Serves

4

½×1×2×3×

• 2 tbsp olive oil and 30 g butter, for the sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Trimmings from the steaks and 1 sausage, chopped (optional, for flavour)
• 330 ml lager (1 bottle)
• 400 ml beef stock
• 200 g tomato passata
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 50 ml port or brandy
• 1 bay leaf
• ½–1 tsp chilli flakes or 1 tsp piri-piri sauce
• 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
• 8 thick slices white sandwich bread (pão de forma)
• 4 thin beef steaks, about 100 g each
• 4 linguiças or thin smoked sausages, split lengthways
• 4 fresh pork sausages (salsichas frescas)
• 8 slices fiambre (cooked ham)
• 12–16 slices mild melting cheese, such as flamengo, Edam or Gouda
• 4 eggs
• Chips, to serve
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Make the sauce. Heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 8 minutes until soft, add the garlic and any meat trimmings, and brown for 3–4 minutes.
2. Pour in the beer and let it bubble for 2 minutes. Add the stock, passata, tomato purée, port, bay leaf and chilli. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the bay leaf and any large pieces of meat. Blend until completely smooth with a stick blender. Stir in the cornflour mix and simmer for 2–3 minutes until glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Season, and keep warm.
4. While the sauce simmers, cook the meats. Fry the fresh sausages in a heavy pan over medium heat for 12–15 minutes, turning, until cooked through (71 °C inside), then split them. Fry the linguiça halves for 2 minutes. Season the steaks and sear them for 1 minute a side over high heat.
5. Heat the oven grill to high, or the oven to 220 °C. Toast the bread lightly.
6. Build each sandwich on an ovenproof plate or tray: bread, 1 slice ham, linguiça, fresh sausage, steak, 1 slice ham, bread. Press down gently.
7. Cover the top and sides of each sandwich with 3–4 slices of cheese. Grill or bake for 5–8 minutes, until the cheese has melted down the sides and starts to blister.
8. Fry the eggs. Put one on each sandwich, pour plenty of hot sauce around and over, and serve straight away with chips.

Notes

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Caldo verde's base has to be completely smooth before the greens go in. Blending in the pot means less washing up.

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Clear ticks

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Getting the sauce right

The sauce is what people judge a francesinha by, and every café in Porto guards its own recipe. Most share the same base: beer, tomato and a meaty stock, with a fortified wine or spirit for depth and chilli for a slow heat at the end. A light lager works best. Dark or very hoppy beer turns the sauce bitter. If you have bones or trimmings from the steak, simmering them in the sauce gives it a richer, meatier taste.

Substitutes outside Portugal

Linguiça is the hardest part to find. Any thin smoked pork sausage works, or a mild smoked chouriço. Spanish chorizo has a different spice mix, so use it only in small amounts. Our Portuguese sausages guide explains what each sausage is. For the cheese, use any mild slice that melts well. Strong cheese fights with the sauce.

What to serve with it

Chips are standard, either beside the plate or sitting in the sauce. Fry them, or make them in the air fryer while the cheese melts. A cold lager or a glass of vinho verde cuts through the richness. If you want something lighter from the north on another night, try caldo verde, and see what to eat in Porto for more of the city's food.

From the shop

What you’ll need

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Amazon best seller

Cuisinart Smart Stick hand blender

Caldo verde's base has to be completely smooth before the greens go in. Blending in the pot means less washing up.

Tip: Take the pot off the heat before you blend to avoid splashes.

View on Amazon

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Lodge 12-inch cast iron skillet

One of Amazon's best-selling pans. Gets hot enough to sear bitoque steaks and blister sardines.

Tip: Season it and it lasts forever.

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Portuguese

Piri-piri chillies from Portugal

Whole dried bird's-eye chillies, the heat behind frango piri-piri and the bottle of chilli oil on every Portuguese table.

Tip: Two packs last a year. Crush them as you need them.

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