Italian steakhouses are all over the US. The food is delicious, the atmosphere varies from white table cloth to the little Mom and Pops that are cozy, friendly and just down to earth. As I was preparing to teach an Italian Steakhouse cooking class I decided to do a little more extensive research than just throw together another “insert Steakhouse house name here” knockoff.
From my research there is a steak in Italy called bistecca alla fiorentina, or literally steak florentine. It is a large porterhouse to be accurate the exact beef is Chianina beef from the Chiana Valley, cut 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick. It is dry aged then prepared simply with salt and olive oil, then seared over a very hot wood fire to rare.
A little background on me…I completely gave up eating commercial beef 20 years ago. Let’s just say whenever I ate some I ended up feeling pretty yucky. Several years later through work related travel and a couple personal trips, I was able to visit several countries in Europe. I seem to be able to tolerate their meat so much better than the beef in the US. I am assuming this is in part due to what the animals are fed and of course not fed. So when I discovered grass-fed/grass finished beef it changed my life. Do your own research into grass-fed beef I was actually surprised at some of the added health benefits to including it in your diet. (yes I know my vegan friends won’t agree but to each their own). For me I can digest it, allowing me to enjoy beef once again.
So back to this recipe. I decided to incorporate the cooking method used to prepare the steak florentine by searing my meat on a grill, only flipping it once, then covering it and allowing it to rest for 15 minutes to finish cooking just slightly and let the juices redistribute. I secured a beautiful steak from New Life Coffeehouse , Kim has a nice health food store attached to her coffee house offering her own grass-fed beef and a lot of other great items. If you live in the Sheboygan, WI area it is worth your time to stop in and check it out!
Since I don’t know how to leave well enough alone I decided to marinate my steak in some wine, herbs and garlic like I would picture them doing at one the fancy steakhouses I have visited. So for the marinade it’s as simple as 1 cup of good red wine (don’t use some crap you wouldn’t drink), a tablespoon of olive oil, a few crushed garlic cloves, a large sprig of rosemary and several sprigs of thyme. Season your steak with salt and pepper then drop it in the marinade. I prefer to do this in a zip top bag so you can cover your entire steak. I allowed my steak to marinate for several hours in the refrigerator, if you don’t have that kind of time, let it marinate on the counter for an hour so it marinates as it comes to room temperature.
If you do marinate the steak in the refrigerator be sure to pull it out an hour before grilling. Trying to get a good char on a cold steak does not work very well, and it will mess with your cooking time.
The recommended cut for this steak is a porterhouse, but use what you have access to. I made this with a grass-fed sirloin and a porterhouse and both were tender and juicy.
While your meat is coming to room temperature I recommend you prepare the onions and mushrooms. Heat a pan over medium to medium high heat. Drizzle your warm pan with olive oil. Add your onions, mushrooms, garlic and anchovy fillets to the pan and sauté until onions begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Splash your wine in and allow to reduce a bit. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter. Keep warm while you cook your steak.
Remove steak from the marinade and pat dry. Prepare your grill by building a nice hot fire. For the fuel source charcoal or wood is best. If you don’t have a charcoal grill but have a gas grill, hey go for it! Just a pan, that’s totally fine too. Cooking is an art, you can change up things to fit you, don’t stress about little things, just relax and enjoy yourself. Whatever your heat source is make sure it is nice and hot before slapping that steak down to sear.
Now sear your lovely marinated steak on each side for 4 minutes. I did not have a 3 inch steak, mine was about an inch to an inch and a half. Once you have seared both sides, remove it from the heat, top with the butter pat and cover tightly with foil, allowing your meat to rest 10-15 minutes. If you are feeling extra spunky today go ahead and mash a few of the leftover anchovy filets into that pat of butter before dropping it on top of your steak.
Serve topped with mushrooms and onions and a good glass of wine and enjoy!
