Bistecca alla fiorentina [100g]

Known all over the world, the Florentine steak represents one of the excellences of Italian cuisine. Let’s start from the fundamental cut of the meat: this must be in the loin and include the bone, the tenderloin and the sirloin. The shape of the bone must represent the classic “T” and the weight is between eight hundred grams and one and two hundred kilos.

A great Italian tradition

According to tradition, the birth of this specialty is due to the Medici family, who governed Florence between the 15th and 17th centuries and who, on the occasion of the traditional celebrations of August 10 in honor of San Lorenzo, used to offer the Florentine people quarters of ox that were roasted in the major squares of the city.

The date commemorates the martyrdom of the Aragonese saint martyred in Rome: legend has it that Lorenzo was condemned to be burned and that the people. The name “Bistecca”, according to the legend, was born in the second half of the 1500s in Florence, during one of these traditional events.

While slices of roast beef were being served, a group of English nobles who were in the capital of the Grand Duchy, a well-known banking center, would have joined the revelers to conclude business. Conquered by the delicacy of the dish, they would have started shouting enthusiastically in the crowd “beef steak! Beefsteaks!” (rib eye steak) for more and to compliment the deliciousness. The Florentines would have immediately Italianized that word into “bi-stecca”.