The Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich made with several layers of pork sausage, steak, ham, and cheese, topped with loads of sauce and a fried egg. It’s a typical sandwich from Porto, where you will find plenty of restaurants specialized in making it. If you are visiting Porto, it should be part of at least one of your meals. If not, this iconic Portuguese sandwich is really fun to prepare at home, and it’s worth every bite and calorie.
Francesinha – A Little French Girl?
The literal translation for Francesinha is ‘Little French Girl’, however, the only thing little about it, is the name. It’s a rather large sandwich filled with layers of beef steak, cured meat, fresh sausages, topped with cheese, covered in beer sauce, and surrounded by French fries. It’s a meat and carb heavy meal that is believed to be a Portuguese adaptation of the French classic, the Croque-Monsieur. Multiple cafés, restaurants, and bars claim the honour of having the best francesinha in Porto and it’s a hotly contested title.
The Story Behind Francesinha
The original sandwich is credited to a man named Daniel da Silva sometime in the early fifties. He was a Portuguese emigrant to France, who returned and worked as a cook for the restaurant ‘A Regaleira’ in Porto. It was here he began to serve his homage to the Croque-Monsieur to the locals. It was a hit, and soon many of the cafés and bars in Porto would be recreating the dish and it soon spread across Portugal.
That’s one theory anyway. Another is that during the French occupation of Porto in the early 19th century, the locals were introduced to the French habit of eating cheese and meat sandwiches, before making the idea their own and creating the Francesinha. Like many of Portugal’s famous dishes, who the creator is, and figuring out where to find the best version is a heated debate!
Are All Francesinha’s the Same?
Speaking of variations, there are multiple within Porto and outside of it. The most typical include ham, beef steak, cured sausages, and fresh sausages. You’ll find some include bacon, some include higher quality steak that can be served medium or rare, some even include roast pork. If you’re looking for a really unique Francesinha you can even find seafood versions, with shrimp or tuna! With one famous restaurant – Barcarola Restaurantes offering their version Francesinha à Barcarola. The composition is usually similar though, a tall sandwich, layers of meat, topped with cheese, and covered in sauce.
A Note on the Francesinha Sauce
Speaking of that sauce, it’s one of the most important parts of this Porto classic, and what will make it or break it. Over time, the Francesinha sauce has evolved into a phenomenon with many variations and secret recipes kept under lock and key. In general, its main ingredients are tomatoes, onions, garlic, blonde beer, and beef stock. A francesinha is always served with an abundance of sauce, so don’t hold back!
Making Francesinha at Home – The Ingredients
Despite being a traditional Portuguese dish, the Francesinha doesn’t require any ingredients that are exclusive to Portugal. You will need sliced white bread, sliced cheese (preferably one that melts), steak, ham, two types of sausages, egg, and the ingredients used in the sauce that you will find below in the recipe card.
The ham we used is your typical cold sandwich ham, the Portuguese call it fiambre. As for the sausages, you will need linguiça fresca, which is an uncured sausage usually seasoned with paprika and garlic. The second type of sausage is linguiça picante which is smoked and lightly spicy, similar to chorizo.
For the steak, we recommend either using sirloin or rump steak. If using slightly tougher cuts of meat, make sure to tenderize it before cooking.
About Our Francesinha Recipe
Despite all of the versions, we’ve tried to stick to a classic recipe that doesn’t deviate too much from the original idea. Feel free to experiment and let us know how it goes! The original always includes a healthy serving of fries, however we prefer to serve ours with roasted potato wedges (it’s one less fried thing on the plate!).
How to Make Authentic Francesinha
Francesinha – Portuguese Sandwich Recipe
1
servings15
minutes1
hour980
kcalFrancesinha is a hearty Portuguese sandwich that combines steak, sausages, ham, cheese, and a fried egg, all coated in a delicious beer sauce.
Ingredients
- Sauce Ingredients
500 ml Blonde beer
400 ml Beef stock
1/2 cup Ruby port wine
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Lard
1 Small onion – thinly sliced
2 Garlic cloves – roughly chopped
1 Tin of chopped tomatoes
1 Bay leaf
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 Red chilli – without seeds
Salt
Black Pepper
- Francesinha Ingredients
2 slices of soft bread
1 Thin beef Steak
1 Pork sausage (linguiça fresca)
1 Cured pork sausage (linguiça picante)
2 Slices of ham
5 Slices of cheese
1 Large egg
Directions
- Making the Sauce
- Place a medium saucepan over low to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the lard, olive oil, garlic, and bay leaf. Let it cook for a minute before adding the onion. Let it simmer for about 8 minutes until the onion turns translucent.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and the beef stock. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients: port wine, beer, piri-piri and Worcestershire sauce, cook for another 10 minutes.
- With a hand mixer, blend everything until smooth. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes. The texture should be similar to a gravy, but slightly more liquid. Season it with salt and black pepper, set it aside.
- Making the Sandwich
- Place a frying pan over high heat. Meanwhile, cut the sausages in half then butterfly-cut them.
- Fry the sausages in their own fat, then use the remaining fat to fry the steak. Finally, lightly fry the ham slices.
- Gently toast the bread slices. Start putting the Francesinha together: On a plate, place one bread slice, then a slice of cheese, ham, steak, the sausages, and the final bread slice.
- Fry the egg, place it on top of the sandwich, cover it with the cheese slices, leaving the egg-yolk visible.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, then spoon it on top of the sandwich. The hot sauce will melt the cheese. Serve it either with a side of French fries, or surrounded by fries if your plate is big enough!
Notes
- The sauce is enough for about four sandwiches. If you are cooking for one, you can store it in the freezer and use within three months.
Constructing Your Francesinha
To construct a perfect francesinha sandwich, you’ll need a little bit of help. It’s common to hold all of the layers together with cocktail sticks. This will help you contain everything and help you stack it.
The final part is adding your layers of sliced cheese. Some recipes advise you to grill or broil your francesinha to ensure an even melt but that’s not the authentic or best way. Why? Well, grilling might overcook the exposed fried egg, we’ll want that runny to combine with the sauce and melted cheese! To make sure the cheese melts before serving, ensure your eggs is freshly fried, and the sauce is boiling! With this you should be able to have your own belly busting Porto experience in your own home.
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know in the comments! We will love to hear from you!
More Portuguese Recipes You Will Love!
- Prego no Pão – Portuguese Steak Sandwich Recipe
- Bifana – Traditional Portuguese Bifana Recipe
- Piri Piri Chicken – Authentic Portuguese Grilled Chicken
- Bacalhau com Natas – Portuguese Cod with Cream Recipe
- Authentic Caldo Verde – Portuguese Green Soup
- Cozido à Portuguesa – Homemade Portuguese Stew
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It would be a riff on the croque madame rather than croque mosieur. The former has an egg on top, the latter does not. Croque madame also better explains the origin of the “little French girl” name.