Making grilled Tuscan steak (also known as steak Florentine) is all about having the best ingredients on hand that you can buy. It’s the sort of recipe where there is nowhere to hide since it’s so simple and straightforward! So buy some nice, thick bone-in steaks, get out your favorite fruity extra virgin olive oil, pick up some fresh lemons and rosemary, and get grilling.
Just the other day when I was posting my Blueberry Sangria recipe, I was complaining about how cold it was. As I wrote up that post we were dealing with a rainy day in the 40s. In June. I mean we were seriously thinking about starting a fire and would have if we had a few pieces of wood in the garage. The thought of going out in the cold rain and getting some wet wood to start a fire just had us putting on sweaters and complaining instead. 🙂 That is the best part of bad weather. Complaining about it.
And now we’re having a heat wave! The heat will be breaking this evening for some cooler weather tomorrow, but 40s to 90s in less than a week. And this means it is totally time to have blueberry sangria, or the other cold beverage of your choice, and fire up the grill.
Who wants to heat up the house when you’re already paying to cool it off?
Not me!
Oh, I will do a little baking here and there in the mornings when the house is cool, especially since I have some rhubarb looking at me from the fridge and I think it would be even better as a Rhubarb Crumb Cake (yum!). However, in the evening when the weather is hottest, it’s time to make a salad and grill up some dinner, and one of our favorite summertime grilling dinners is to make Tuscan steak. You really can’t go wrong buying the best thick bone-in steak you can find, dressing it simply in rosemary and coarse salt, and then drizzling it with super fruity olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
Just pair it with a salad, like maybe my Italian Salsa, and some crusty bread (Rosemary No-Knead Bread would be awesome…just saying), and you have dinner! Tasty, quick, and doesn’t heat up the house at all. That’s my idea of dinner on a hot summer’s night.
While Bistecca alla Fiorentina is traditionally made with a t-bone or porterhouse, this is one of those recipes where the most important part of the cut you use is that it is high quality and basically the best steak you can get. Don’t buy a sub-standard porterhouse just because porterhouse is traditional. Sometime I can get good porterhouse, and other times there is lovely strip steak and not a porterhouse to be seen.
The other question is bone-in or boneless? Honestly, there is little or no taste difference between the two, so it’s a matter of tradition and of which you prefer. And do you want the yummy, crispy bits that attach to the bones or not?? Well, do you? 🙂 I went with bone-in here, but we have certainly been known to buy boneless as well. What do you like, and what’s the best looking piece of meat? That will guide you!
– Happy Grilling, Annemarie
Grilled Tuscan Steak (Bistecca alla Fiorentina)
Ingredients
- 2 porterhouse steaks, each about 1 1/2 lbs
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Take the meat out of the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking it. Sprinkle both sides with 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Heat your grill to high.
- Blot the meat with a paper towel to dry it. Then sprinkle the meat with the remaining teaspoon of salt, the ground pepper, and the rosemary. Rub the steak with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- Cook the steaks, uncovered, over the hottest part of grill until well-marked on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Then move the steaks the cooler side of the grill, or turn down the burners to medium, cover the grill, and cook for 6-8 minutes longer. The meat should read 120-125F on an instant read thermometer for rare to medium-rare steak. If you prefer your steak medium, cook it for about 2 minutes more, or until it reaches 135F.
- Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let them rest for 5 minutes. Cut strip and tenderloin pieces off the bones and slice the meat into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange the slices on a plate, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with lemon wedges.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
Yum!! The steak looks AMAZING!!! I can practically smell it cooking on the grill. If I weren’t trying to lose a couple pounds of vacation weight right now, I’d make this tonight!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Haven’t you heard? Steak is good for you! Apparently you are supposed to skip the bread instead. 🙂