Ingredients for 4 people:2 beef steaks weighing 600/700 g each salt and pepper (olive oil and lemon - optional)
The true “bistecca Fiorentina” is a steak cut from the loin, sliced very thickly and it’s extremely tender. It must be beef, always with both the filet and sirloin, and the “T” shaped bone in the centre. It’s not easy to find one outside Tuscany. The steak is placed, as it is (don’t rinse it!), on a well heated barbecue over glowing hot embers but without any flames. Let it cook on one side, without adding salt and without (ever!) piercing it with a fork. Once it has formed a “crust” (5 minutes) turn it over, with the help of a spatula. Sprinkle the cooked side with salt. Cook the raw side for another five minutes and then sprinkle it with salt too, turning the steak over again to do so. At the end, it should be “rare” inside and well browned on the surface.
There’s no such thing as a well done “Fiorentina” – if you don’t like rare meat, this is not the dish for you! It’s served with freshly ground black pepper. Purists of the “Fiorentina” would not agree, but olive oil and lemon juice (mixed together in an emulsion without heating them) are a good finishing touch for this robust dish. The Italian name “bistecca” comes from the English “beef steak”, and has taken over from the ancient, rather amusing name “carbonata” (from “carbone”, meaning coal) that was used previously.