Braciere Malatesta: the place to eat the real Florentine Steak

Florence is the Florentine steak as the Florentine steak is Florence

As early as Etruscan times, the massive Chianina cow, tall, white and mighty, was used as a working breed, pulling the plow in the fields thus providing more substantial meat to the palate.
We still find it today, as then, in medieval historical reenactment processions: most famous is the one that parades every year in June in the sabbione of Piazza Santa Croce during the Florentine Historical Football event.

But when did the Florentine steak become the city’s signature recipe?
Historians seem to locate the birth of this dish as early as the 15th century: during the city celebrations in honor of San Lorenzo, the De’ Medici Family offered the people barbecued beef, thus honoring the legend where it is told that Lawrence while being burned in the fire shouted to the people, “Now turn me over to the other side because I am already cooked from this one.”

The Chianina breed has a distinct, unmistakable taste, which is why today the Chianina is used in the preparation of Florentine steak only as a scottona (female who has never given birth).
This then results in decreased on-call and increased costs.

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The Florentine steak in Florence is Braciere Malatesta

We cherish our history and with it the history of the Florentine Steak, unique in the world and inimitable.
Even today there is no Florentine or tourist in Florence who does not crave or desire it.
Our kitchens are designed to preserve the flavors of tradition even in the lightest and most creative reinterpretations.
We welcome our guests in an exclusive yet familiar environment where the Tuscan master chef relates in a cognitive approach to offer the dish selected from our menu closest to the personality of individual palates.

We have based the selection of each dish onattention to each ingredient, and the Florentine steak is our flagship.
One cannot come to Florence without tasting Florentine steak in order to grasp the origins, tastes, passions and daily life of our beloved city.

In ancient times, cows and oxen were roasted, palates were unpretentious, and it was the bellies, more or less empty, that spoke.
Today, however, meat tenderness is required as a primary and indispensable characteristic, and flavor often takes a back seat.
What we at the Malatesta Brazier have chosen is the most difficult path: that of not giving up either characteristic.

DOC Florentines are wary of tourist restaurants that offer PGI-certified Florentine Chianina steaks for less than €75/kg in the Lombata part.
In fact, most of the steaks sold in the city are sirloins of excellent limousine breeds, which meet with very pleasing feedback from citizens and tourists for quality and price.
What is important is that it be cooked strictly medium rare so as not to alter its flavor and especially its texture.

The Florentine Steak already for Artusi it had to and must be cooked on charcoal grills so that it could absorb the unmistakable aroma of the woods used, held at first vertically on the bone for a few minutes so as to warm the meat inside and then grilled for a few minutes on each side (minutes vary depending on the weight and thickness of the Florentine steak), salted and peppered at the end of cooking and Served rare as the traditional manner dictates.

Embers and the resulting cooking involves careful and rigorous use in which each step becomes a ritual and any mistake can result in failure that is why not all Florentine steaks are the same.