Steak & Meat
Bistecca fiorentina: history, cuts and how to recognise the real thing
The history of bistecca fiorentina, the correct cuts, the Chianina breed and how to recognise the authentic version. Everything before you order.
The origins of bistecca fiorentina: the feast of San Lorenzo
The bistecca fiorentina has a precise legendary origin, although like every legend it mixes history and folklore in variable proportions. The most widely accepted version places it in Medici Florence - during the celebrations of the feast of Saint Lawrence (10 August), the Medici organised great public festivals where quarters of ox were roasted over open fires and the meat was distributed to the people.
According to this tradition, English merchants present in the city for trade with the Medici family - Florence was in those centuries one of the most important commercial centres in Europe - very much enjoyed the roasted meat cooked this way, rare, and asked for it at the fire with the expression “beef steak”. From beef steak to the Tuscan bistecca the step is short: the Italianisation followed the pronunciation, and bistecca remained.
The story cannot be verified with certainty - bistecca appears in written Italian texts only from the 18th century - but the connection with Florence and with the tradition of roasting beef in a simple and direct way is real. The bistecca fiorentina is Tuscan not only in name but in approach: quality meat, essential cooking, nothing that covers or hides the flavour of the raw ingredient.
The Chianina: the breed that makes the difference
An authentic bistecca fiorentina is made from Chianina beef - and this is not just a matter of geographical denomination but of concrete quality. The Chianina is the oldest cattle breed in Italy (and perhaps in the world), originally from the Val di Chiana between Arezzo and Chiusi, and produces meat with characteristics that no other breed can fully replicate.
The Chianina is a white or very light grey bovine of impressive size - bulls can exceed 1,700 kg, cows 1,000 kg. But size is not the most important characteristic for the bistecca: it is the composition of the meat. Chianina has lean meat with little intramuscular fat (marbling), but with a muscle fibre structure that, if the animal has been correctly raised and the meat properly aged, produces a tenderness and flavour that disprove the prejudice that marbled meat is necessarily better.
The flavour of Chianina is clean, decisive, with almost sweet notes - different from the fatty intensity of northern breeds like Angus or Wagyu. It is the meat of an animal that has lived at pasture, in ample space, on a quality diet. This simplicity of life is reflected in the simplicity of the flavour.
The correct cut: loin, fillet and sirloin
The bistecca fiorentina is not just any cut - it is a precise section of the beef loin that includes both the fillet and the sirloin, separated by the T-shaped bone (T-bone in English terminology). It is this presence of the bone - with the two different meats flanking it - that structurally defines the bistecca fiorentina.
The fillet, softer and less flavourful, sits on one side of the bone. The sirloin, more compact and with a more intense flavour, on the other. Cooking them together on the bone means finding the balance between the two cooking times - the fillet cooks faster, the sirloin requires more time. Tradition says to hold the bone towards the fire in the final phase, so that indirect heat finishes cooking the part closest to the bone without burning the surface.
A standard bistecca fiorentina weighs between 800 grams and a kilo and a half. A 300-gram bistecca fiorentina does not exist - that is simply a tagliata or a small steak. The size is part of the identity of the dish: it is a dish to share, designed for two people, with that generosity of quantity that reflects the Tuscan philosophy of the table.
Thickness: why it cannot be thin
The minimum thickness of a bistecca fiorentina is three centimetres - four is better. This is not an aesthetic matter but a technical one: a thin steak does not allow for the combination of seared outer crust and rare centre that is the distinguishing mark of the dish.
A thin steak placed on a very hot grill heats too uniformly - in a few minutes it is cooked through to the centre, losing that pink, almost raw heart that is the sign of correct cooking. A thick steak, on the other hand, allows the surface to char and form the dark crust without the heat reaching the centre too quickly. The gradient of cooking - from burned exterior to almost raw centre - is an integral part of the pleasure of eating it.
This is why bistecca fiorentina is always ordered as a whole piece, never in slices. Slicing happens at the table after cooking, to show the diner the degree of doneness and to allow the meat to rest for a few minutes before eating.
Rare: not an option, but a rule
On this point the Tuscan tradition allows no compromise: bistecca fiorentina is eaten rare. Not medium-rare, not medium, not well done. Rare - with a red centre at just above body temperature, around 50-55°C at the core.
The reason is not purely cultural - it is also technical. Chianina, with its structure of lean fibre and little fat, loses tenderness rapidly if brought to higher cooking temperatures. A well-done bistecca fiorentina of Chianina becomes dry and stringy. Rare, it is tender, juicy, with that concentration of flavours that prolonged cooking destroys.
The traditional cooking is over a live charcoal fire - not on a gas barbecue, not on a cast iron griddle, but over wood or charcoal embers that reach temperatures close to 400-500°C. This very high temperature creates the crust in a few minutes without cooking the centre too much. Three to four minutes per side, then resting on a cutting board for at least five minutes - time for the heat to distribute and the juices to stabilise inside.
How to recognise a mediocre bistecca fiorentina
With such a famous dish, the risk of encountering mediocre versions is real. Some signs that indicate a bistecca fiorentina below standard:
Insufficient thickness: if a steak two centimetres thick arrives at the table, it is already a problem - it has not been cut correctly and it will not be possible to achieve the right cooking.
Breed not declared: restaurants that serve real Chianina bistecca fiorentina declare it - it is a value, not something to hide. If the menu just says “steak” without specifying the breed, you can ask; if the answer is vague, scepticism is warranted.
Unaged meat: dry ageing (maturation of the meat in a controlled refrigerator) is fundamental to tenderness. A Chianina that has not aged at least thirty days will be tough and characterless. It is not visible from the outside, but felt immediately at the first bite.
Overcooked: if it arrives at the table well done when rare was ordered, the restaurant does not know what it is doing. Cooking rare is not dangerous for quality meat - a kitchen that serves it well done on customer request is accommodating, but one that serves it already well done as default does not respect the dish.
Want to taste it for real?
At Ristorante Alcide you will find it on the table - made the right way, with fresh ingredients and the care of the Ancillotti family since 1849.
