The Italians call this cut of beef steak Fiorentina, the English call it a T-bone, the Americans call it a Porterhouse. Whatever you call it, it is a huge slab of tender fillet and hunky sirloin surrounded with creamy fat that keeps it juicy as it is grilled on all sides. It is grilled briefly and served rare on wooden boards with grooves around the edges to catch the juices. In Tuscany’s capital city of Florence, the smell of chargrilled steak wafts out of restaurants and the huge cuts are usually shown to the customers before they are cooked. A Fiorentina is large enough for two or more people to enjoy, and as the edges are seared brown and the centre is blue rare there is something for everyone.
Much of what gives flavour to meat is the breed of cattle from which it originates. In this case, the huge white cattle, the Chianina (named after the Chiana Valley in Tuscany where they have grazed for centuries, where Chianti wine is made) is the breed typically used for bistecca Fiorentina, which is traditionally grilled over an open fire. The Chianina are one of the oldest breeds and feature in Roman sculpture and artwork. Their meat is both tender and flavoursome, its well-marbled fat making it succulent and flavourful. Because of the size reached by the animals the steaks can easily exceed 2 kg. Each restaurant has a certificate to prove their steaks are Chianina; if they don’t, it is likely they are not serving genuine Chianina.