Many people think that Bistecca is a tuscan tradition… this isn’t right! The story of the Bistecca Fiorentina (large grilled beef steak) grow out in land very far from Tuscany and Italy, exactly in north Europe where anglo-saxons and normans used to banquet with roasts and rare meat while on the mediterranean coast greeks and romans developed the vegetarian diet. So you don’t have to be astonished if the famous Bistecca Fiorentina arrived in Tuscany only in the XVII century when Italy was an compulsory stage for all european intellectuals, artists and knights.
Some of them arrived in Florence on the 10th August of 1565 during a feast beloved by the Medici: San Lorenzo feast. So they could see in the square enormous braziers where abundant pieces of veal were cooked for be distributed to the people. Some english knights eating this meat exclaimed: Beef Steak… in italian Bistecca.
Ever since, when a tuscan citizen talk about Bistecca simply he alludes to the Bistecca Fiorentina. The meat used in the real Bistecca Fioorentina has to come from Val di Chiana breeding situated between Arezzo and Siena and in particular it’s the sirloin steak including the bone having a T shape. The cut of Bistecca is 5-6 cm thickness, 1,2-1,5 kg weight should have to be done 1-2 days before the cooking.
At the moment of the bistecca’s cooking, the embers made by wood coal has to be hot with a light ash sails and overall without flame; so arranged the grill and putting on it the meat without any condiment for leave it soft; you have to cook the meat for 3-5 minutes turn it only once. Now for having a real good Bistecca Fiorentina you have to cook it standing on the bone part until all the blood trail are disappeared. A good cooking in fact is the secret of these typical tuscan dish that you can prepare using the fireplace of your Villa… now you can say that the Villa is beautiful and…..tasty! Enjoy your meal!

Rent Holiday Villa in Tuscany, book now at Villa Le Fonti.