This week I woke up craving meat. And, since in the past days I’ve had the pleasure to spend some time in Florence, I thought that it was a good opportunity to talk about her, the illustrious bistecca alla fiorentina. This post will be divided in two: this one, with its history and “technical features” and another one, with the place that, in my opinion, is the best one to taste such dish in loco, the Buca Lapi. Let’s start the first part.
Bistecca alla Fiorentina – Buca Lapi (Florence)
The bistecca alla fiorentina is one of the most famous dishes of the Italian cuisine – or, more precisely, the Florence region. Its history goes back to the Medici’s era (the Medici were the family that governed the region between the 15th and 17th centuries) and story tells that during the festivities of Saint Lawrence’s day (San Lorenzo), on August 10, the whole town gathered together to celebrate and the Medici family offered quality meat to the people – including the most outstanding cuts.
Everything was roasted in big bonfires across the town and, during the entire year, everyone looked forward to such feast. It was such an important occasion that its main dish became one of the symbols of the Florentine (“fiorentina”) tradition.
The word bistecca, on the other hand, has an even more curious origin. Rumor has it that during one of those feasts, and still in the 15th century, some Englishmen were also present for business reasons – the Medici were one of the most important families within the finance world. Well, what happened was that after tasting the roasted meat, had falling in love with its taste, they started to shout: “Beef steak! Beef steak!” in order to get some more of that wonderful meat. The Florentine, on the other hand, having appreciated their reaction, immediately “Italianized” the word: “Bi-stecca!”
If all this is true or not doesn’t matter, but the fact is that the real bistecca alla fiorentina has some typical characteristics: firstly, it is made of a piece of meat located in the back of the cow (more o less half down the column) and necessarily comprises the filet, the sirloin and the bone – in other words, it is the American T-Bone Steak.
And there are also some other details: it must be served rare and seasoned only with unrefined sea salt and pepper – only after it’s already ready to serve. That simple.
Before and after – and a great article from Dissapore.com
As for the entire piece of meat, the ideal is that the animal from which it is cut is killed at least two weeks before and that the meat is stored in a cold cellar for this entire period, until served. This big chunk of meat is then cut in slices of at least “one and a half fingers” height and prepared in the simplest way: grilled over charcoal, i.e., as the noblest barbecue of Italy.
See the size of the chefs? Well, now figure the size of the bistecca they serve…!!
This dish is a classic of Florence and I can’t help but smile when I see tourists – particularly Japanese – astonished and overwhelmed when the plate containing that beauty arrives in front of them.
I know that Brazilians and Americans may be used to a good barbecue. But I can guarantee that if you find the right place (that uses the right technique and has excellent meat) it will blow you away. In fact, I guarantee not only the smile when the dish arrives, but also the satisfaction when it ends.
– In the nest post, I’m going to talk about the place where I ate the best bistecca alla fiorentina in Florence, the Buca Lapi.
See you soon! A presto!
FloCiBO 