This is the most popular dish at my summer supper club and it’s surprisingly easy to make. 

We Italians believe that if you have a great quality piece of meat then you shouldn’t have to do much to it, and luckily here in Canada high quality beef is widely available. 

Ingredients

2-inch thick T-bone or rib steak  

Good quality coarse sea salt

Good quality extra virgin olive oil  

Instructions 

Before Grilling

  1. Take the steak out of the fridge an hour before cooking, you want it around room temperature when it goes on the grill. 
  2. Cut excess fat off the steak before placing it on the grill to avoid excessive flaming. 
  3. Light a charcoal BBQ and let the charcoal reach ash colour, so it’s extremely hot but will not flame too much.

Grilling the steak

  1. Place the meat on grill raw – without any oil or seasoning. It will cook fast – 4-5 minutes on each side will do. If it’s getting too dark don’t worry about moving it around a little. 
  2. The final step for grilling it so stand the steak up on it’s bone side on the lowest heat point of your BBQ for 3-4 minutes. The meat will cook a little more and you’ll get some additional grilled flavour on the bone side. 
  3. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Cover with lightly with aluminum foil – we do not want to steam the steak, just prevent it from getting cold on the outside. 
  4. Remove the bone and extra fat from the steak, and slice into ¼ inch strips.
  5. Arrange on a platter, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt before serving. 

Tips and Notes 

  • I’ve tried many ways of making this Florentine: with rosemary, sage and thyme, and with marinating it ahead of time, but I found in the end this simple method is the best way to make a fiorentina. The most important thing is to get the best quality steak you can – believe me it’s worth it! 
  • Another tip is to not over touch and turn the steak unless the flame is too big 
  • Every grill is a little different so you may have to try this a few times and slightly adjust the grill times before it is perfect to your liking. 
  • Sometimes when I have guests, I’ll make the steak in advance and keep it at room temperature. When they come I put the steak in the preheated oven at 400 for 15-17 minutes.

 

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