This Portuguese steak sandwich recipe is my new favourite lunch dish. It’s a no-fuss, ultra-satisfying sandwich made with juicy grilled beef, simple ingredients, and a punchy garlic and mustard sauce. Whether you’re craving a quick lunch or looking to level up your steak sandwich game, this recipe delivers loads of flavour with minimal effort.
Category
Lunch
Servings
4
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
This Portuguese steak sandwich recipe is my new favourite lunch dish. It’s a no-fuss, ultra-satisfying sandwich made with juicy grilled beef, simple ingredients, and a punchy garlic and mustard sauce. Whether you’re craving a quick lunch or looking to level up your steak sandwich game, this recipe delivers loads of flavour with minimal effort.
Ingredients
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4 200g sirloin steaks
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6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
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2 fresh bay leaves, roughly torn
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2 Birdseye chillies, finely chopped
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2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
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1 tsp dried oregano
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1 tbsp tomato paste (puree)
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40-60ml (2-3 tbsp) peri peri sauce
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juice of 1 lemon
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sea salt, to season
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60g butter, at room temperature
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1 tbsp olive oil
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4 Kaiser or Ciabatta rolls, halved
Directions
Marinate the steaks
Sprinkle half of the garlic over the steak along with the bay leaves. Pound lightly to flatten steaks and infuse with the garlic and bay.
Combine chillies, parsley, oregano, tomato paste, peri peri sauce and lemon juice in a shallow tray, season with salt.
Add the steaks and toss to coat well, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to marinate.
Garlic butter
Combine the remaining garlic and butter in a small bowl, season with a little salt and set aside.
Cook steaks and sauce
Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan over medium-high.
Cook the steaks, for 3-4 minutes, turning, until well browned and cooked to medium-rare. Set aside to rest.
Reduce heat to medium and add the marinade to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until thickened to a sauce consistency.
Finish and serve
Toast the ciabatta rolls lightly on a grill pan, then spread with the garlic butter.
Thinly slice the steaks, then pile onto the buttered rolls and drizzle with the sauce to serve. Enjoy!
Recipe notes
There’s a few variations of the Prego Roll and I believe the original recipe didn’t marinate the beef, rather there is an option to add a Peri Peri sauce for extra flavour and heat. For this recipe, we’re taking some of the ingredients you’ll find in the peri peri sauce and making a marinade for the beef.
Cook support
You can cook the steaks on a grill pan or outdoor BBQ grill pan, but then cook the marinade in a small pan on a stove or grill.
Beef
If you don’t want to use sirloin, you can use thin slices of beef rump for this dish too. It just needs to be a tender cut.
Bread
You can use any white roll you like for this, but best to have some form of crust so the roll doesn’t fall apart when the sauce is added. Papo Secos is the Portuguese bread roll that is traditionally used for the Prego.
Storage
This one is best eaten straight away, but you could store leftover steak in the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Serving ideas
There are some variations of this sandwich which add sliced tomato, lettuce or rocket, and tomato or onion relish if you like. You can get creative and use what’s in your fridge - caramalise some onions, add provolone cheese or some pickled veg.
