Florentine Steak (Reverse Sear)

 

Bistecca alla Florentina. Without a doubt, this is the most famous recipe from Florence, Italy. It's a steak. And not just any steak. It is four inches thick and drops on the scale at a huge, honkin' four pounds. It comes only from Chianna cattle.....a massive and ancient Tuscan breed...prized for its incredible meat.

You are not going to find this steak at your grocery store....ever. I've bought them online  from several different specialty-meat purveyors. The going price is typically 2 kidneys or a small midwestern home plus your first-born. 

So I typically buy a big stinkin' American porterhouse (for about 20% of the cost of the real thing). The best quality and cheapest price I have found is at Wild Fork:  https://wildforkfoods.com/products/usda-choice-black-angus-bone-in-beef-florentine-steak/. (NOTE: I have no financial interest or affiliation with the site.)

In Italy, the steak is seasoned just with salt and cooked over a wood fire. The entire focus of Bistecca alla Florentina is the meat....just the meat...and nothing but the meat. 

When a Florentine steak is cooked in Italy, it's grilled for 10 minutes while standing upright on the bone. Then each side is grilled for 4 minutes. They rest the steak, then slice and serve. This cooking methodology yields a rare steak. A really, really rare steak. As in the interior has never felt heat.

When I cook a Florentine Steak, I like the finished meat to be medium-rare. This requires a lot more precision, so I skip the grill and just use my oven and stovetop....with a little help from my meat thermometer.

 If you make this recipe, you will be cooking the biggest steak that you have ever done in your life. But by following the simple 5 steps below, you will be cooking the easiest steak you have ever done in your life. A reverse sear gives you perfect results, every single time.

INGREDIENTS

1 Florentine Steak, 3" to 4" thick, approximately 4 pounds

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Fresh ground black pepper

Sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. One day prior to cooking, place thawed steak on cooling rack over a sheet pan. Salt generously on all sides and place in refrigerator, overnight and uncovered.
2. Four hours prior to cooking, set steak on counter and allow it to come to room temperature.
3. Wipe steak dry of all salt and moisture with paper towels. Preheat oven to 250º F. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the steak. Then slide steak into oven. When steak reaches 118ºF (this will take approximately one hour), remove steak from oven and tent with foil. Let the steak rest 10 minutes.
4. Heat a carbon steel or cast iron pan over high heat. Melt butter in pan and add vegetable oil. Remove meat thermometer from steak. When the pan is smoking, add steak to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Then flip steak and cook for 2 minutes more.
5. Set steak on cutting board. Cut each side away from the bone.  Then slice each against the grain (see above photo) and serve with sea salt for passing. 

Wine pairing: Barolo

Grilled NY Strip Steak with Gorgonzola-Garlic Butter

 

When I grill steaks, I prefer to season them with just salt and pepper. I find that most rubs and sauces just get in the way of that great steak taste. However, I have been known to sprinkle a little blue cheese on a finished steak. The contrast in tastes makes that union a very special one. 

Now this compound butter recipe is simply another way of delivering blue cheese (and a healthy dose of garlic) to your steak. I cook the steak as I always do (grilled over blazing-hot lump hardwood charcoal) and add a dab of Gorgonzola-Garlic Butter before serving. 

INGREDIENTS

For the Butter
2 heads garlic, roasted and peeled 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temp)

1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese (crumbled)

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Steaks
2, 16-ounce NY strip steaks, at least 1-1/2" thick

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

For the Butter

1. Mash garlic in a small bowl until smooth. 
2. Add butter, Gorgonzola, parsley and black pepper. Stir to mix thoroughly.
3. Chill butter for 30 minutes. Then roll into a 1-inch log in plastic wrap.
4. Put back in fridge until ready to use.

For the Steaks

1. Four hours prior to cooking, put steaks on counter to come to room temperature.
2. Prepare your grill for direct cooking over high heat.
3. Season steaks with salt and pepper.
4. Place steaks directly over the coals. Cook for 5 minutes with the grill covered. Then flip steaks and cook for 4 minutes more (grill covered).*
5. Remove steaks from grill and cover with foil. Let steaks rest for 10 minutes. 
6. Slice butter into rounds. Set a round on each steak and serve.

* Cooking times are for charcoal grills. Gas grillers will need to cook steaks a little longer.

 

Wine pairing: Barolo

Happy 100th Birthday, Caesar Salad!

 

In May of 2011, I posted a Caesar salad recipe that I had been using for years. And I was using it all the way up to the end of 2017, when I stumbled upon the original recipe for Caesar Salad. The Caesar Salad I had been making was heavy (2 egg yolks) and very garlicky (4 cloves of garlic). Things changed when I made Caesar Salad using the original recipe. It was light, zesty and very refreshing...a completely different experience.

The original recipe was created by Caesar Cardini on July 5, 1924. Most people think the salad originated in Italy. I know I was shocked to find that the salad was created in Tijuana, Mexico. Mr. Cardini opened his restaurant, Caesar's, in Tijuana. Tijuana was a popular destination then as many Americans crossed the border to escape Prohibition.

Caesar's became one of the most popular restaurants in Tijuana. And it's most popular menu item was the incredible Caesar Salad. It was a salad made with romaine lettuce, lots of anchovies and a surprise ingredient...lime juice. Yes, you read that right. I had been making Caesar Salad with lemon juice for the last 45 years. The original recipe used lime juice...and it absolutely transforms the salad!

The salad was served on a plate with several large croutons. There were no utensils accompanying the salad....it was meant to be eaten by hand like a plate of French fries. For the croutons, I find it best to use a baguette of crusty bread. A hard crust and chewy interior makes the best croutons. And they should be big. As you can see in the photo above, I cut a 1-1/2 inch slice from the loaf and then cut that into 6 large croutons after toasting the bread in a skillet. Each person should get 3 to 4 croutons on their salad. This recipe makes 4 side salads.


INGREDIENTS

For the Croutons
1/2 baguette, cut into 1-1/2 inch slices
1 garlic clove, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

For the Salad
1 clove garlic, minced
8 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and finely chopped
1 large egg yolk
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 cup olive oil
1 head chilled romaine lettuce, leaves separated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


DIRECTIONS

1. Make the croutons. Rub bread with garlic. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bread in a single layer and toast until crisp and golden, 2 minutes per side. Remove from heat, sprinkle with salt and Parmesan. Then cut into croutons.
2. Make the dressing in a large wooden bowl. Use a spoon to mix garlic with anchovies to form a paste. Add egg yolk and squeeze lime over egg yolk and then stir to blend (the lime juice will partially "cook" the yolk). Add the Worcestershire, mustard, pepper and half of the grated cheese and mix to form a loose paste. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, vigorously stirring until dressing is thick and glossy, 2 minutes.
3. Make the salad. Gently roll whole lettuce leaves in bowl with dressing until coated. Transfer to  salad plates and top with the remaining Parmesan and croutons. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pairing: Anchovies and lime juice make this salad very difficult to pair with wine. Any red is certainly off the table. Wine drinkers would best be served by selecting a very dry, white wine like Mer Soleil Unoaked Chardonnay ($19.99 at Total Wine). If you fancy beer, this salad goes great with a Belgian-style blond ale like Duval.

Me and Goldie, 1956