The Florentine T-Bone steak thanks to its color and its intense flavour
is the undisputed protagonist of the culinary tradition of Tuscany and
Florence. But you must be very careful it could not be the original one
or cooked the wrong way! What should you keep in mind about the
Florentine T-Bone steak ? First of all its history: The tradition of
grilled meat is one of the oldest in Tuscany, infact the first evidence
of it date back to the time of the Medici, on the occasion on the
celebration of San Lorenzo on 10th august, when huge bonefire were lit
in the city. The lords of the noblest Florentine families bought large
quantities of veal that were offered to the population.
What is the origin of the name? They say that the English travellers and
merchants, lovers of this meat, after tasting this famous meat
pronounced the word “beef steak”, that the Florentine citizens
translated as “bistecca”.
And now the original recipe: we must start from the assumption that it
doesn’t exist a T-Bone steak without T-Bone! The real steak has the
T-Bone in the middle with the fillet and the sirloin on both sides
(tenderloin), with the exception of the steak in the rib, that the
fillet hasn’t got. To cook a real Florentine T-Bone steak according to
tradition, it is important to hang it until its “mature” for at least
ten days. By “mature” we mean the aging process of the meat, aimed at
making it tender and more palatable, in fact in this way the meat loses
the water in excess and the flavour is concentrated inside the fibers. A
good steak must also show veins of fat that melt during cooking and
flavour it. Regarding the cooking , it is important to know that the
steak must be taken out of the fridge at least three hours before
cooking, this way the temperature will rise and at the moment of contact
with the hot grill (but withoutlive flame) will form the characteristic
and so tasty crust (the boiled meat effect is forbidden)!
Under done will be perfect! The Florentine T-Bone steak should cook five
minutes for each side (depenfding on the thikness of the steak) and in
order to warm the heart of it, it should also be positioned on side of
the bone for a few minutes. During the cooking we must salt each side of
the meat with kitchen salt. The heat will melt the salt which will
penetrate into the fibers, just enough to give flavour while table salt
penetrating directly into the fiber and would ruin the meat making it
excessively tasty. Once cooked the steak should be left to rest on a
wooden cutting board for a few minutes and there you are! The steak is
ready to recive a few drops of extra virgin olive oil according to
taste, accompained by a good Tuscan wine. The last important thing is
where to eat the real Florentine T-Bone steak . There are many
restaurants that offer Florentine T-Bone steak in Florence, a few are
those where quality meat is served!
One of these restaurant is Braciere Malatesta run by Baglioni family
from generation to generation since q1954. We offer exclusively high
quality meats, only Scottone ( a famale bovine of 15 – 16 months of age
that has never calved and so more tender and tasty) of the best Italian
breeds, but also the “unmissable” certified Chianina IGP: a savoury meat
with a persistent taste, bright red color and with a firm and elastic
texture. Now that you have the right notions you only have to chose
between Florentine T-Bone steak or Chianina? Enjoy your meal!
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