Where does Francesinha come from?

Francesinha — country of origin: Portugal.

What is Francesinha made of?

Bread, cooked ham, beef, chorizo, cheese, beer, tomato sauce.

Which allergens does Francesinha contain?

Contains cereals and gluten-containing products. Contains eggs and egg products. Contains milk and milk products (including lactose). Contains sulphur dioxide and sulphites.

How do you pronounce Francesinha?

Francesinha (European Portuguese) is pronounced /fɾɐ̃sɨˈziɲɐ/.

Francesinha

Pronunciation (IPA) /fɾɐ̃sɨˈziɲɐ/

Bread layered with ham, steak and sausage, smothered in melted cheese and a hot tomato-beer sauce — Porto's monumental answer to the croque monsieur.

Allergens & declarations

Contains

Cereals (gluten)

Wheat

Contains cereals and gluten-containing products

Egg

Contains eggs and egg products

Milk (including Lactose)

Contains milk and milk products (including lactose)

Sulfur Dioxide and Sulfites

Contains sulphur dioxide and sulphites

This describes the classic recipe, so you know what to ask about. It is not a declaration for any particular kitchen — recipes and suppliers vary, and only the restaurant can tell you what is in the dish it serves.

In detail

Francesinha is bread layered with ham, steak and sausage, smothered in melted cheese and a hot tomato-beer sauce. It is Porto's monumental answer to the croque monsieur, and the sauce alone can carry a full page of a menu's worth of guarded restaurant secrets.

What it really is

Two slices of bread hold a stack of thin steak, cooked ham and a smoked sausage, all pan-fried or grilled just long enough to warm through before a full blanket of cheese melts over the top under a hot broiler. The sauce that floods the plate is built on tomato and beer, sometimes fortified with a splash of port or whisky and a hidden mix of spices that varies by kitchen, simmered down until it's thick enough to pool rather than run straight off.

The sauce is the part every kitchen guards. Two francesinhas can look nearly identical and taste completely different depending on what goes into that tomato-beer base; it's the single detail regulars actually order by, more than the sandwich itself.

How it is served

On a plate, drowned in sauce, often with a fried egg on top.
With a side of fries for the sauce to pool into.
As a full meal, rarely a light bite.

Flag the wheat in the bread, the dairy in the cheese, the egg if included, and the sulphites the sauce or beer may carry.
Say if a vegetarian version replacing the meats is offered, since some kitchens do a version built around vegetables instead.
Note that it's a substantial, knife-and-fork dish rather than something to eat by hand, since the sauce makes that impossible.

Typical ingredients

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Frequently asked questions

What is Francesinha?: Bread layered with ham, steak and sausage, smothered in melted cheese and a hot tomato-beer sauce — Porto's monumental answer to the croque monsieur.
Where does Francesinha come from?: Francesinha — country of origin: Portugal.
What is Francesinha made of?: Bread, cooked ham, beef, chorizo, cheese, beer, tomato sauce.
Which allergens does Francesinha contain?: Contains cereals and gluten-containing products. Contains eggs and egg products. Contains milk and milk products (including lactose). Contains sulphur dioxide and sulphites.
How do you pronounce Francesinha?: Francesinha (European Portuguese) is pronounced /fɾɐ̃sɨˈziɲɐ/. Select the speaker button next to the dish name to hear it.