You might’ve seen us making some Francesinha (Portuguese Meat Lovers Sandwich) on our TikTok, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Or maybe you saw the post on our Pinterest.
Regardless of how you found it, we’re just glad that you did! No long, drawn out story– we just hope you enjoy!
Francesinha (Portuguese Meat Lovers Sandwich)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 Small Onion thinly sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic roughly chopped
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 can Diced Tomatoes
- 13½ oz Beef Stock
- ½ cup Ruby Port Wine
- 16 oz Blonde Beer
- 1 Piri-Piri Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- Salt + Pepper to Taste
Sandwich
- 2 slices Soft Bread we used artisan bread
- 1 Thin Beef Steak tenderized
- 1 Pork Sausage
- 1 Cured Pork Sausage
- 2 slices Ham
- 5 slices Cheese any good melting cheese, we used Provolone
- 1 Egg
Fries
- 1 lbs Shoestring French Fries frozen or homemade
Instructions
- Place a medium saucepan over low to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the butter, 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 canned 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, blonde 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.
- If necessary, add some corn starch or other thickening to your taste. Make sure to dissolve it in cold water before adding to the mixture. Let it cook until it reaches your preferred texture.
- Season it with salt and black pepper, set it aside.
- 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!
- Enjoy!
