Portuguese · Main · Hard
Francesinha
Porto's legendary monster sandwich: stacked meats in toasted bread, smothered in spicy beer-cheese sauce, topped with a fried egg.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Francesinha, in 5 ideas
- The sauce should be pourable, not thick; thin with more broth if needed
- Assemble on oven-safe plates so you can broil and serve in the same dish
- Every Porto local has a strong opinion on the best francesinha; the sauce is the battleground
- Fries are for soaking up the sauce, not a side thought
- This is a two-napkin, no-sharing situation
What you need
Ingredients
- 4 thick slices white bread, toasted
- 4 slices ham
- 4 slices roast pork or linguiça
- 2 thin beef steaks, seared
- 4 slices cheese
- 2 fried eggs
- For the sauce: 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 cup beer, 1 cup beef broth, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon piri piri or hot sauce, 1 cup grated cheese, salt to taste
- French fries for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Make the sauce: melt the butter, whisk in the flour, then gradually add the beer, broth, and tomato sauce. Simmer 10 minutes.
- Stir in the hot sauce and grated cheese until melted and smooth. Keep warm.
- Layer on two oven-safe plates: toast, ham, pork, steak, more toast, then drape cheese slices over the whole sandwich.
- Broil 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese melts and bubbles.
- Ladle the hot sauce generously over and around each sandwich.
- Top with a fried egg and serve with a mountain of fries for dipping.
Money saver. Use up deli ends and leftover roasts for the meat layers; the sauce unifies everything.