Portuguese Francesinha Sandwich With Beer Sauce
Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich that can only be described as epic; my version rocks sausages, ham, beef, cheese, egg and a beer sauce!
This sandwich is an event and not a quick snack; it will take around an hour to make. But the sauce can be made days in advance, and the rest of the sandwich takes around 20 minutes.
Portuguese Sausage Sandwich with Beer Sauce
My love of sandwiches is well documented here, from childhood favourites like fish finger sarnies to sausage and egg butties and global starlets like Vietnamese chicken banh mi to French pan bagnat.
This absolute beast of a sarnie is Portuguese, and it is the Francesinha, all of the meats stuffed between toasted bread, fried egg, cheese, and it is all slathered in a beer and tomato sauce.
And if you had to take a breather reading that, you'll definitely need one polishing this off!
This is a sandwich that is far from everyday food, but it is magic! It was developed in the 50's as a way to make the French Croque Monsieur a little less "prissy" and a bit more robust... It worked!
Like so many of my dishes, I have adapted the ingredients to both my taste and to ingredients that are easy to find in the UK.
The sausages are a mix of "chorizo" style "raw" sausages that most supermarkets carry a brand of, and some beautiful ale sausages that a local butcher makes.
And rather than a minute or thin steak, I have used some thicker-sliced roast beef from the deli counter. It helps reduce the number of pans in play, but it also makes the sandwich nicer to eat, in my opinion.
This is far from a quick meal, and you certainly ain't picking this butty up!
The sauce takes around 30-40 minutes to make, but it can be made well in advance. And cooking the sandwich takes 15-20 minutes.
But it is all well worth it, as this sandwich is one for the ages that you will remember for a very long time!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I swap out the ingredients?
Yes, fill your boots. I saw a wonderful reply from a Portuguese chef when I was researching Francesinha.
It went something along the lines of "we are not Italian"; this dish should represent you and your local ingredients, and it varies greatly across Portugal. We may argue, but no one really cares as long as it tastes good.
What beer should I use?
You want a fairly light pilsner/lager-style beer for the sauce in this recipe. I have tested with a few different beers, and the only other one that gives a pleasing result is a Weissbier.
Do I need to melt the cheese?
No, the hot beer sauce should melt the cheese as you pour it over the Francesinha sandwich.
Can I make this in advance?
I wouldn't make this and reheat it! However, the beer sauce will sit in the fridge for a couple of days and can be reheated.
When you are ready to cook, fry the sausages, egg and toast the bread. Then it is just an assembly job.
Equipment Used
Let's not beat about the bush, this Francesinha sandwich is a big old butty, and it doesn't need a side... but hey, if you're gonna go big, do it properly.
A nice side salad would suffice, but that beer sauce begs for some potatoes.
I have gone for a fairly "traditional" option of French fries that were cooked in an air fryer, but some air fryer chips would work equally well.
Serving Suggestions
I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 17cm or 7" saucepan.
- 20cm or 8" frying pan.
- 28cm or 11" frying pan.
- Toaster.
- Blender.
- Stirring spoon.
- Spatula.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Portuguese Francesinha Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 1 Small Onion 100g
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 50 ml Whisky 3 Tbsp
- 75 ml Ruby Port ⅓ Cup
- 330 ml Lager/Pilsner 1⅓ Cups
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Puree
- 125 ml Tomato Passata ½ Cup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- ½ teaspoon Sugar
- Salt (to taste)
For the Sandwich:
- 4 Slices Thick White Bread 275g (approx total)
- 2 Pork Sausages 135g (total)
- 2 Cooking Chorizo Sausages 135g (total)
- 4 Slices Roast Beef 200g (total)
- 4 Slices Ham 200g (total)
- 6 Slices Emmental/Gouda Cheese 150g (total)
- 2 Large Eggs
- Oil (for frying)
- Salt (as required)
- Pepper (as required)
Instructions
- Cut the onion in half, peel it and cut it into a fairly fine (3-4mm or ⅛") dice.
- Peel the garlic cloves and chop the as finely as you can.
- Heat a 17cm or 7" saucepan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil and onions, cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree and cook for a 1-2 minutes stirring all of the time.
- Add the whisky and and Worcestershire sauce to the pan and stir until everything comes together.
- Add the beer, stir and reduce by a third.
- Pour in the port, tomato passata, and stir in the Dijon mustard and sugar, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Blend the sauce, return it to the pan, and bring it to a simmer and cook, covered, whilst you prepare the sandwich.
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add a splash of oil and brown the sausages all over.When the sausages are nicely browned, cut them in half and sear the cut side.
- Whilst the sausages are cooking, fry the eggs in oil and season as desired with salt and pepper.
- Whilst the eggs are cooking toast the bread under a grill or in a toaster.
- To build your sandwich place a slice of bread on a serving plate, add a slice of beef and ham, add the cooked sausages and then another slice of beef and ham.Top with a slice of bread, add the fried egg and slices of cheese, and pour over the hot sauce and serve.
