Bistecca alla Fiorentina - Grilled Porterhouse and Herbs

Originally posted 2017-10-02: Updated recipe format. Cook Well! Eat Well!

INTROduction: Head on over to your butcher and buy this steak! You’ll be amazed how well the steak grills. The "sauce" presents a nice balance between woody herbs, saltiness, and spiciness from the fresh ground pepper.

The steak costs around $40 to $50 (CDN here up North), which is likely cheaper than dinner for 4 at your local fast food joint. Trust me, you will enjoy this dinner and be happy with your choice.

BACKground:

We were invited to a friend’s house for an evening of food, drinks, and laughs - not necessarily in that order. Thanks Barry and Connie!

Barry prepped and grilled this monster steak to perfection – medium , tender and juicy. This was the first time I was introduced to Bistecca Alla Fiorentina - I'm hooked. I couldn’t wait to research and blog the recipe. This blog post represents Barry’s input, and as with any recipe there are literally 100’s of variations on-line. I’m looking forward to trying a plethora of ingredients in the weeks to come.

Connie paired the steak with sautéed spinach, slightly wilted with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and sliced garlic. We tend to cook our spinach down until fully wilted – not anymore. Thanks for the tip Connie! It was delicious!

Let’s GRILL!

Rinse the steak with cold water and pat dry. Let the steak sit until room temperature.

• TIP: If your steak is not quite to room temperature and you want to start the cooking process, prepare the steak as outlined below and grill it vertically on the flat edge of the bone for about 10 minutes. As bone is a poor conductor of heat, heat will transfer slowly through the bone gently and warm up the interior of the steak.

In a small bowl mix salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme (reserve 1 tsp for later). Apply generously to both sides of the steak, and edges.

Sprinkle 1 tbsp of olive oil and gently pat the steaks. You can also mix the olive oil with the salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme, and apply. Either way works fine.

Pre-heat your grill to 500’f. Add the steak to the grill and close the lid. Cook the steak for 12 minutes. To paraphrase "Anthony Bourdain", don’t look at it, don’t think about it, don’t smell it, you get the idea – don’t open the lid. “It you’re lookin, it ain’t cookin”!

• TIP: ALWAYS keep a full glass of water near the grill. DO check for flare-ups. You have permission to open the lid to manage any unwanted flames or flare-ups.

• TIP: USE a thermometer. This is a thick cut of steak and you want it to be perfect. I always go to my trusty Thermoworks' Thermapen MK4. Turns on and off automatically. Readings rotate and are quick.

Note, when using air and meat probes, ensure the air probe and meat-probe transition is far enough away from the meat that if there is a flare-up it will not touch the transitions. (Transition Max Temp: 644°F [340°C])

Flip the steak and close the lid. Cook for another 8 minutes or until an internal temperature of approximately 130’f (medium). The steak will continue to cook 5 – 10’F while resting.

Add the 1 tsp of the olive oil to the remaining reserved mix. Remove the steak to a cutting board and sprinkle the reserved mix on both sides and ends. Loosely cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.

Cut the steak along the bone and slice into 1” pieces. Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve with a side of your choice. Grill On my social media friends.​

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