Bistecca alla Fiorentina – The Ultimate Steak Experience

If you’re anything like us, you love a thick steak. Medium rare, dark brown crust, and incredibly tender and juicy. That’s what a perfect steak looks like. And if we get to choose, we always go for one specific steak: the Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the steak that surpasses all others.

What is Bistecca alla Fiorentina?

The Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a massive T-bone steak served at nearly every traditional Italian restaurant. Several stories exist about the origins of this iconic steak in Italy, but this one seems the most plausible.

The Fiorentina steak likely first appeared in Florence during the Festa di San Lorenzo. It was first mentioned in the 14th century, and the full name probably came from English knights who referred to the meat as “beef steak.” Over time, the name morphed into the Italian word “bistecca,” which wasn’t used before. Hence, it became the “Bistecca alla Fiorentina” or Florentine-style steak.

The steak is a T-bone, likely the porterhouse cut, which is a larger version of the T-bone. A T-bone steak consists of the tenderloin (filet) on one side and a strip steak (entrecôte) on the other, separated by a T-shaped bone. It’s considered a porterhouse when the tenderloin side is large enough.

In the 1950s, a political party called the “Partito della Bistecca”, or Steak Party, emerged. If elected, they promised 450 grams of steak per person per day. They used the Bistecca alla Fiorentina as the prime example of the ultimate steak. Since then, only steaks weighing at least 450 grams can be called Bistecca alla Fiorentina. A T-bone of 450 grams is about one finger thick, but we prefer ours at least two fingers thick.

The Chianina Breed

The traditional meat for this steak comes from the Chianina cattle, one of the world’s oldest and largest cattle breeds. These bulls can grow up to 1500 kilograms. The meat has a beautiful concentration of intramuscular fat, which keeps it juicy and tender. The Chianina breed has been around for over two thousand years and was once used as draft animals, but today, they’re raised strictly for meat under strict regulations.

If you’re looking for an authentic Bistecca alla Fiorentina, maybe your butcher can help. Ours got T-bones from Chianina cattle starting at 2 kilograms, like the one we have on the counter. Yes, it’s a massive piece of meat, but this steak is made for sharing.

How to Season a Bistecca alla Fiorentina

With such an impressive steak, you don’t need to do much. We generously season it with sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper before placing it on a wire rack. The rack goes into a roasting tray and into the fridge for a few hours.

The salt draws moisture from the outer layer of the meat, where it dissolves. Since salt molecules are small enough to penetrate the meat deeply, the salt seasons it from the inside out.

The black pepper stays on the surface. As we smoke the steak low and slow, the piperine in the peppercorns will release and flavour the meat.

Piperine gives pepper its signature bite. The peppercorn itself will burn off during searing, but by then, the steak will already have absorbed its peppery goodness.

Leaving the steak uncovered in the fridge allows the surface to dry out, which helps create a beautiful, dark brown crust from the Maillard reaction during cooking.

How to grill a Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Traditionally, a Bistecca alla Fiorentina is grilled over an open fire on wood. While this is a fantastic, fun way to grill a steak, you can achieve even better results with your backyard grill.

This steak is far too thick to cook directly over high heat. It would take too long to cook through, leaving the outside beautifully charred but the inside raw.

Instead, we smoke the steak low and slow until it reaches about 48ºC (118ºF). This gives the meat time to warm up gradually, ensuring it cooks evenly from edge to edge. The smoke adds an extra layer of flavour, similar to grilling over an open wood fire. For smoke, we use oak and cherry wood. Oak gives the steak that classic smoky flavour, and we add cherry for a deep, rich red colour. After all, we eat with our eyes.

Once the steak is smoked, we remove the plate setter from the Kamado and crank up the heat. Now, we can sear the steak on both sides until it reaches about 55ºC (131ºF), perfect for a medium-rare steak that’s beautifully pink inside. If anyone prefers their steak more well-done, we’ve got a cheap sirloin steak in the fridge just for them.

Now, the steak needs to rest for at least 10 minutes. Meat consists of muscle fibres that contract when heated, pushing the juices toward the surface. If you slice the steak immediately, the centre will be much drier than the edges. Letting it rest allows the muscle fibres to relax, redistributing the juices throughout the meat.

After resting, we carve the meat off the bone, leaving you with a tenderloin (filet) and a strip steak (entrecôte) on the cutting board. Slice them into beautiful pieces and serve with the bone so everyone can see what you’ve created.

If this doesn’t look amazing, we don’t know what does. Now it’s your turn. Buy a real Chianina T-bone, invite a few good friends, and treat them to the best steak they’ve ever had.