Where to buy the real Fiorentina in Florence

The butcheries in town that hold the record

To make a Florentine steak to perfection, you have to take a steak in the fillet two or two and a half fingers high, weighing about 1.2 kg (some people say that the one in the rib is not so much worse, what is certain costs about 20% less). Before cooking it should be kept at room temperature for 2 to 10 hours. After it is red-hot on the embers of oak or olive tree, 5 minutes on one side and 5 minutes on the other. Do not use salt before cooking is finished. For the choice of meat, one question is a must: Either Chianina or nothing? No breed can always guarantee the necessary quality. The important thing is to choose meat of the highest quality.

Here are the best butcher shops where to buy it in Florence.

In the historical centre:

Antica Macelleria Azzarri (Via della Spada 22/r - tel. +39 055 215995). Giorgio Caterini selects the animals directly in the farms. For Chinina he turns to a small farm in Val di Chiana. For the scottona (virgin female) of Limousine he turns to farms in northern Italy. For his delicious steaks, Giorgio usually chooses female calves, because they are softer and a little fatter than male calves.

Luca Menoni (inside the market of Sant'Ambrogio, Piazza Ghiberti 1- tel. +39 055 2480778) That is, butchers for three generations: before him, grandfather Guido and father Virgilio had been butchers. Luca has known the product he has been selling since before slaughtering and has direct relations with the farmers located between Montecatini, Borgo San Lorenzo, Reggio Emilia and Mantua. On his counter there are daily Limousine and Charolaise steaks, periodically also from Chianina.

Alessandro Soderi (Inside the Central Market of San Lorenzo, tel. +39 055 2398496). On its historic stall there are Limousine steaks and excellent crossbreeds of Simmenthal and Charolais from Croatian farms. Periodically also quinine steaks, but only when it is found from animals of indisputable quality.

Piero Soderi (Inside the Central Market of San Lorenzo, tel. +39 055 294349). A true Florentine institution, inside the Central Market of San Lorenzo, Piero Soderi is one of the most expert steak keepers. For his steaks he prefers the female Limousine Scottona breed, bred in Italy. In our territories he relies on the serious producers of Grafagnana, Casentino and Empoli.

Surrounding areas:
Butcher's shop Comparini Fosca (Via Michele Mercati, 29r tel. +39 055 483602, Poggetto area) His password is excellence and for his Florentine Mauro Paoli prefers a fine product from serious producers who respect the right conditions of hygiene and health.
Saccardi and Panichi (G. P. Orsini, 45r - tel. + 39 055 6812204). Butchers since 1937, they buy only local animals from farms in Mantua and Verona. Although the butcher's shop is one of the few in Florence registered in the Register of Quinine, Roberto says he prefers the Limousine breed, as long as the calves are under 24 months old.