Bistecca alla Fiorentina

When we think of grilled meats, or more specifically steak, Tuscany may not be the first place that comes to mind.  This famous region nestled in the heart of Italy is famous for its wines, meats, cheeses and all things delicious.

My wife and I visited in the fall with a list of must eats, given the season.  New olive oil, lardo, truffles, chestnuts and wild boar (which coincidentally in Tuscany is in fact wild, as opposed to the farmed boar we have in North America) were all at their peak.  One thing I also knew I could not overlook was the legendary steak Florentine, or Bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Areas of Tuscany.

Tuscany has rich history of beef.  The Chianina breed, native to the Chiani Valley in central Tuscany, may be among the oldest cattle breeds we know today.  There are also deep traditions of open fire cooking with nearly every Tuscan farmhouse featuring an open hearth.  It’s a simple equation with the obvious sum of really good steak.

As with anything food related in Italy, if you ask the locals how to make the best Florentine you are bound to get many varied answers.  There are great debates about when to salt the meat, whether to use pepper or whether to season it at all.

But there are however, a few requirements that must be met.  The cut must be what we would call a t-bone or porterhouse steak cut from where the tenderloin or filet is at its largest and of course bone-in. It should also be cut at least the width of three fingers weighing about one kilo or just over two pounds (this is not a steak to eat alone!).

And there is no debate about the fact that it must be cooked over wood fire or charcoal: every Tuscan I spoke with insisted that it must be hardwood.  Finally, it must be cooked rare to medium rare.  Anything more than that is considered sacrilegious.

How to eat the steak is up for debate.  Salt and pepper can be used, or some prefer no seasoning at all.  Olive oil, lemon zest and rosemary are all acceptable garnishes, but you will never find a rich meat sauce or anything more than resting juices and oil.

Chianti prosciutto hanging.

The origins of the Bistecca are hazy.  It is believed to have originated sometime in the early 19^th century, when British migrants settled around Florence.  The story goes when they sampled the grilled beef of the Florentines they want crazy for it and kept asking for more “beef steak,” which was adapted to Italian as “bistecca.”  It has since become a staple of Tuscan cuisine.  The town of Cortona holds an annual Sagra della Bistecca or Steak Festival every summer which features a 50-foot open grill in the town square cooking steaks for hundreds of visitors.

A short drive south of Florence, amid the rolling hills and winding roads sits the village of Panzano in Chianti.  This small hilltop town is home to quite possibly the most well known butcher in the world. Dario Cecchini runs his shop Antica Macelleria Cecchini (roughly translated to “the old butcher shop of Cecchini”).  Dario has gained quite a bit notoriety over the last few years after being featured in Bill Buford’s 2006 book Heat as well as a few TV appearances.  Dario runs his shop trying to preserve and maintain Tuscan culinary traditions.

A visit here will be sure to yield a couple of glasses of wine and some samples of his specialties like Chianti tuna (ham boiled in wine), fennel salami or Chianti butter (which in fact is a whipped pork lard, not butter at all) and all before you’ve even thought about buying anything.  Dario has not stopped at butchery though; he has also become a restaurateur.  He hosts dinners and lunches at his Solociccia (translated, means “only meat”) and Officina della Bistecca (“the steak factory”).

It was a Sunday afternoon visit to the Officina della Bistecca where I truly came to understand the Fiorentina.

The menu is simple: a few contorno or side dishes to be shared at large communal tables, white beans in olive oil, seasonal vegetables with vinaigrette, and baked potato with Chianti butter.  And, of course, Chianti wine–lots of Chianti wine.

What we were here for though, was the meat. Five different beef preparations from raw to cooked, culminating in the Bistecca alla Fiorentina.  Upon entering the dining room we instantly feel the heat of two huge open hearth grills in the middle of the room and a huge platter of meat waiting to hit the charcoal.  What was to follow was an afternoon long beef marathon.

Dario’s method for bistecca is about as basic as it gets. Start with really good beef properly hung and aged at least 20 days (he sources his beef from a farm in Catalonia, Spain rather than Tuscany as he says he can’t find the same quality locally). The beef must then be left at room temperature for 10 to 12 hours before cooking (this is called tempering, basically by doing this you reduce the shock of really cold to really hot on the meat to yield a more tender steak, as well as allowing more even cooking).

His steaks are never salted, before or after. After much time spent in kitchens, I’ve always been taught to season, so at first I found this strange. Yet to be honest, I found the meat to have such great flavour it really didn’t need anything else.  The steaks are cooked five minutes per side over the coals and then 15 minutes standing on the bone before resting for at least 10 minutes and then carved off the bone.

We were lucky to be seated beside an Italian chef from Calabria named Flavio and his Australian wife and kids.  After sharing lunch together we became quick friends. As Flavio and I were reflecting on our happy food coma, he said to me, “You know, he’s not doing anything special here. He’s just letting good stuff speak for itself.”

It’s pretty obvious I soon discovered: the secret of the steak Florentine was really the same as Italian cuisine in general: cooking what’s at its best and enjoying it with good company.