Florentine - Chianina Beef

I've only eaten it once, and it's something I won't forget. It was really THAT good. I dont eat steak rare, but they didn't even blink when we ordered it medium rare. And it came to us cooked just as we asked and it was very flavourful and tender. Now I can certainly see a chef refusing to cook such a gorgeous piece of beef well done. But if you go to a restaurant frequented by Americans, you likely won't have a problem with ordering it medium. They will be more used to people insisting on food just the way they get it at home.

The American adage of "the customer is always right" doesnt fly well in Europe, or much of the rest of the world for that matter. DH was once almost refused service when he tried to order lamb chops well done (can't remember which country it was). The server said the chef would refuse to cook them that way. DH, being the smart man that he is, then asked that they be cooked how the chef recommended. They came rare and tasted perfect.

I vaguely remember seeing a program, part of the Stanley Tucci series where he visited a ranch that raised this type of beef cattle. They talked about only cooking it rare because cooking it longer toughens up the meat. I can’t imagine paying that much for a dinner only to be presented with a piece of leather. Any good chef is not going to serve something he knows will be a disaster just because the customer insists they want something done their way!

Although the Fiorentina is generally done with the Chianina, however it is also done with high quality breeds other than the Chianina, for example the Piemontese. The Fiorentina describes the cut, not the breed. The cut is the T bone steak approximately in the middle of the animal, which must be about 2 inches thick. I doubt that a prestigious restaurant would cook it well done, as its reputation would be at stake (or maybe I should say “at steak”). Maybe you can ask medium rare (cottura Media al sangue) ma it will be pink and somewhat rare in the middle. That is the tradition and also the meat would lose its traditional tenderness and juiciness if cooked longer. That is especially true with the Chianina, an animal that is huge and muscular as it was originally bred as a working animal to pull heavy loads, not for meat consumption. My suggestion is to share it with several people as it is a huge chunk of meat that can easily fill 3 people or even more, if you just want to taste it. If you can only stomach steak that is well done, or even medium done, then don’t order it. Just taste a bite from someone else in your party eating with you.

If you order it with several people, and if you can wait before diving in- say, if you had a good pasta ragu as a starter- the meat that is served to you will rise in temperature as it sits on the table- it will be less red (its not blood, btw, that's all been drained) after 15 minutes, more to your liking. I have had this dish twice in italy, it never disappoints.

Thank you all for the responses, they are much appreciated . I'm really inclined to give it a shot.

John

Theirs is not blood. Eat the steak the way the chef prepares it. It’s delicious.