Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich that originated in Porto, it is made out of ham, linguiça (pork sausage), fresh sausage, roast meat and covered served in bread topped with melted cheese and a hot thick sauce made out of tomato and beer.
Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich that originated in Porto, it is made out of ham, linguiça (pork sausage), fresh sausage, roast meat and covered served in bread topped with melted cheese and a hot thick sauce made out of tomato and beer. Sounds a lot, yes it is and original version of this sandwich is so filling. Francesinha was invented by Daniel da Silva during the 1960’s when he returned back to Portugal from France and Belgium, he got his inspiration from a French grilled ham and cheese sandwich called “croque-monsieur”. It is a very popular dish in Porto and in some places in Portugal where it is consumed before or after a game of football, usually served with chips which is also doused in sauce together with local type of draught beer called fino.
The signature element of this dish is not the bread or its meat but its sauce hence until now there is no set recipe for its sauce and kept secret by vendors and/or people who makes them. The only common ingredient is beer but apart from that it’s all guess work what goes into that boiling thick gravy. Like I said it’s a very filling sandwich, a very good comfort meal to have especially when you have one beer on your other hand.
Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich that originated in Porto, it is made out of ham, linguiça (pork sausage), fresh sausage, roast meat and covered served in bread topped with melted cheese and a hot thick sauce made out of tomato and beer.
Ingredients
Scale
Sandwich
Thick cut sliced bread
roast beef
smoked ham
grilled sausage (optional)
quick melting cheese
Sauce
1 330ml beer
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup milk
4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp butter, melted
salt
Instructions
Place chicken stock and cornstarch in a saucepan, dissolve cornstarch.
Place all other sauce ingredients in the sauce pan then cook in low heat. Stir occasionally and bring it to a boil, then simmer in very low heat until you are ready.
Reheat the ham, roast beef and sausage.
Assemble your sandwich filling it with ham, roast beef, sausage and cheese. Add cheese on top.
Place it in a plate then grab your simmering sauce, pour it while hot over the top of the sandwich then serve.
Definite foodporn alert and a remarkably good looking sandwich. I love the idea of the hot, runny sauce and that yeasty beer flavour which pulls it all together. I think you’ve started a trend here!
Raymund: This francesinha sandwich looks to die for…It is full of goodness and topped with a rich, yummy beer sauce…Mmmmm! Thanks for having stopped by my blog!
For those who visit this post in search of the ultimate Francesinha places in Porto, I’d recommend Santiago or Capa Negra II. Francesinha is one of my favourite dishes.
So interesting this sandwich…it is so funny that I never heard of it back in Brazil…since Brazil was colonized by the Portuguese…looks awesome and very flavorful Raymund. Hope you are having a fun week 🙂
What a very unusual sandwich. I’ve never seen a sandwich that has a beer sauce poured over it. It all looks delicious! I love the mix of meats used – perfect for that sauce! Thanks for introducing this sandwich.
Oh my gosh that looks fabulous! I’ve never heard of this sandwich, loving the idea of the beer/brandy sauce to top it all off – definitely a knife and fork type sandwich.
Definite foodporn alert and a remarkably good looking sandwich. I love the idea of the hot, runny sauce and that yeasty beer flavour which pulls it all together. I think you’ve started a trend here!
★★★★★
Raymund: This francesinha sandwich looks to die for…It is full of goodness and topped with a rich, yummy beer sauce…Mmmmm! Thanks for having stopped by my blog!
★★★★★
I’ve never heard of this sandwich before but it sure is making me hungry just looking at it lol. I will definitely have to try this out
That is a killer meat lover’s sandwich. Coll sauce too. Will have to keep it in mind for a later time 🙂
★★★★★
For those who visit this post in search of the ultimate Francesinha places in Porto, I’d recommend Santiago or Capa Negra II. Francesinha is one of my favourite dishes.
Ahhh, you know how much I love rich and flavorful foods, so this will certainly be a recipe I must try!
★★★★★
This looks great, I do not eat pork but I can substitute with turkey I believe. Thanks I love trying new traditional recipes from all over the world .
Wow! This looks terrific! What a robust flavor this must have! Gotta make this sometime – thanks so much.
★★★★★
A very interesting sandwich that I’m sure would be a favorite of my husband’s.
Never heard of this one before. But what’s not to like? Nice pic, too.
Ooh, this looks delicious!
★★★★★
So interesting this sandwich…it is so funny that I never heard of it back in Brazil…since Brazil was colonized by the Portuguese…looks awesome and very flavorful Raymund.
Hope you are having a fun week 🙂
That’s a unique and interesting sandwich. Thanks for sharing 🙂
★★★★★
You know I had recently heard the name of this dish and I can’t recall where. Now I know what it is and it looks sinfully delicious!
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Hi Raymund, Thanks for visiting mnyfoodtlak.com. Sandwich with beer sauce! really sound special. Nice recipe and photography.
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What a very unusual sandwich. I’ve never seen a sandwich that has a beer sauce poured over it. It all looks delicious! I love the mix of meats used – perfect for that sauce! Thanks for introducing this sandwich.
★★★★★
Oh my gosh that looks fabulous! I’ve never heard of this sandwich, loving the idea of the beer/brandy sauce to top it all off – definitely a knife and fork type sandwich.