On my first trip to Italy over 10 years ago - wow where did the time go?, I dined on my first Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Beefsteak Florentine style), and it was like nothing that I've ever tasted before or any beef for that matter. The way the steak was cooked simply and rare I could almost taste the pasteur which the animal had roamed and grazed on. For one entire week all around Tuscany, I ate nothing but a Bistecca Fiorientina for lunch, a thick Porterhouse with a filet mignon on one side of the T-bone and a NY strip on the other. After devouring the entire Bistecca by myself, I always finished ceremoniously by licking my fingers for having picked up the T-bone and gnawed off any meat stuck to it. I called it a "No meat left behind" policy.
My Florentine Steak recipe is close to tradition. Some recipes call for a few anchovy fillets with the rosemary mixture, but I think just salt tastes more primal.
Serves: 2-3
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 2-1/2 to 3 inch thick Porterhouse steak
3 fresh sprigs of rosemary
2 tablespoon of kosher salt or coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
- Take the steak out of the fridge and let it to come to room temperature upto 6 hours before cooking.
- Remove rosemary leaves from sprigs. Grind with salt in a mortar and pestle to a coarse paste. Drizzle in oil and mix until it looks almost like a pesto.
- Get your grill (mine is gas) as hot as you can, and I mean REALLY hot. Find a hot spot, season the steak only with salt (pepper will cause bitterness) and sear without moving it for 4 minutes per side. Leaving it undisturbed will get a good grill mark too. (FYI: I also like to rotate and sear the edge a little (the height of the steak) especially the fat part.)
- The steak is ready: 1. if you Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the steak and get a reading of 120F, 2. the meat is springy to the touch, or 3. your mouth starts watering (Ok, the last test can be subjective.)
- Transfer steak to a carving board. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing; resting allows the juice to redistribute in the steak. Spread rosemary mixture generously. (Tip: You can tent it with foil or just put it in the oven without any heat.)
Serving suggestion: I normally carve the meat out from the bone and cut both filet and strip diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. If serving at the table, reassemble the Bistecca Florientina with the T-bone back in the middle. Add a little freshly ground pepper before you serve.
