This recipe is part of the cooking curriculum for Cooking Italy, a cook along group that cooks mostly from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classical Cooking. It’s a group of friends and food bloggers who want to seriously learn how to cook regional Italian cooking. If you are interested in join ing, this group, go to Cooking Italy, and email me.

Toscana or Tuscany is the region we visit today and in that region you will easily find Bisteca Fiorentina being served in most restaurants.  It’s grilled porterhouse steak for two, specially cut as one large 2-3 pound steak using Chianina beef, from cattle that date back to the roman empire, and is a unique white color with a black switch.

How does one explain that the simplest recipe can be a culinary mind blower. That is,  as long as you use the best ingredients, and you carefully pay attention. You need to know when to bring on the power and when to play the softest note.  I used T-Bone steaks as Marcella suggested, but not chianina, but she states in her recipe that any good aged steak will do.

In this case the power is in the freshly cracked peppercorns, generously sprinkled on both sides of a porterhouse steak.  The soft note is the caressing of garlic done only after the side is grilled.  And, then maybe, if you feel like it, a drizzle of olive oil, but it better be a worthy choice.  A dusting of course sea salt, and a patient wait of ten minutes and you have a perfectly seasoned delicious piece of meat.

I’ve read a few different takes on this dish. Some rub the garlic prior to cooking, but Marcella is very emphatic about waiting until you flip the steak, and then drizzling a touch of good olive oil AFTER the steak is cooked. This makes perfect sense because you will be using a very high heat, which is not good for either garlic or olive oil.  Just be sure to bring your steak to room temperature before you begin. 

Recipe (adapted from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking)

A charcoal or wood burning grill (I used a gas grill)

Black peppercorns, ground very course or crushed with a pestle with a mortar

1 T-Bone steak, 1 1/2” thick, brought to room temperature

Coarse sea salt

OPTIONAL: a lightly crushed and peeled garlic clove

Extra virgin olive oil

If grilling with charcoal, wait until you see a white ash. If grilling on gas grill, preheat 20 minutes ahead to high.

Rub steak with peppercorns on both sides.

Grill to desired wellness.  Medium rare is about 5 minutes on one side, 3 on the other. As you turn steak, rub with garlic clove, including the bone, add salt.  Do this on both sides.

When steak is finished, drizzle with  extra virgin olive oil.

Serve at once. (I personally always allow meat to rest for at least 10 minutes)

Other dishes you may enjoy:

Bruschetta                                  Insalata Caprese                            Dijon Garlic Roast Potatoes

Key Words:  Marcella Hazan, Italian, Cooking Italy, Meat, Steak

Spinach Tiger Entry  81 Angela Robert - Cooking Italy: Bisteca Fiorentine--T-Bone Steak Florentine Style

All original content (outside of adapted recipe) copyright © 2009 Angela Roberts, All Rights Reserved