This recipe is extremely simple and the result depends exclusively on the quality of the meat used since the intervention of the cook is so little that it can be considered almost zero (it turns the meat, that's all). The recipe is typical from the city of Florence, in Italy, and slightly differs of the common one used in USA.
The first thing to consider before making this recipe is that the diner who is going to taste it is very hungry and loves meat. The average weight of the cut that is used is 1 kg (2.2 pounds), so even after deducting the bone weight from the weight, a considerable amount of meat is swallowed. The diner must also be a great fan of meat since the center of it shows little or very little done, almost raw, while the surface is well marked by the grill.
The piece of meat used in this recipe consists of a beef steak with a minimum weight of 800 grams (1.8 pounds) - the "normal" is 1 kg (2.2 pounds) - and a thickness of 4 centimeters (1.6 inches). It comes from a loin cut with a characteristic “T” shaped bone. This shape of the piece indicates that it contains sirloin and entrecote: the narrowest part on one side of the bone contains the sirloin and the widest is the entrecote. The age of the ox should not exceed 24 months to avoid that the meat is tougher and requires an excessively long maturation process. Even so, the meat requires a certain prior preparation.
INGREDIENTS (1 person):
- 1 beef fillet of 1 Kg (2.2 pounds), approximately
- Maldon salt (flaked)
- Extra virgin olive oil
Pre-preparation requires the meat to be at room temperature before cooking for at least two hours. It is not usual for a longer or hanging maturation to take place as long as the meat is of good quality and from a relatively young animal. The grill to be used must be charcoal and the meat is placed when it has made a little ash: first one side between 3 and 5 minutes and then the other side also between 3 and 5 minutes. What does time depend on? The thickness of the meat and if you want it rare, medium or well done. To keep it rare, measured with a probe thermometer in the center, the temperature will be 48 degrees Celsius (118 F). For medium between 52 and 55 degrees (125 to 131) and for well done - something that is almost never done - around 62 degrees (143 F).
While the meat is on the grill it should not be moved or punctured in any way. To turn it, a tweezers will be used to prevent the juices from escaping through the holes that a skewer, fork or similar could make. Once the meat is done, it is removed from the grill, letting it rest on a wooden board for a few minutes to allow the internal juices to be distributed and the meat to acquire the proper juiciness. NEVER eat it without letting it rest, even if it's only 3 minutes.
Once in plate, the diner is the one who adds the salt in the form of flakes, the freshly ground black pepper and the virgin olive oil. In this also the bistecca fiorentina is different, since as a general rule the meat rests before being cooked with the salt in the form of flakes so that it takes the amount it needs.
In any case, it is a real feast for true meat lovers.