Osso buco is a dish that has been popping up on my radar for a while now and it always looks so good. Even just the description of it sounds great; “Veal shanks braised in a white wine and tomato sauce.” Braising is one of my favorite ways of cooking meat as it always turns out perfectly falling apart tender and full of flavour. The ossobuco veal shank is cut such that the marrow of the bone is exposed and it starts to melt into the pot as the veal braises infusing the dish with even more flavour. Osso bucco is commonly served with a gremolata topping that consists of chopped up garlic, parsley and lemon zest. The gremolata topping sounded so good that I could not pass on it. Risotto alla milanese or risotto flavoured with saffron is also commonly served with osso buco and I thought that it would be a perfect bed to soak up all of the excess sauce.
The osso buco takes a bit of time to make for the braising but otherwise it is pretty simple. While the meat is braising you have plenty of time to make the risotto and the gremolata at a relaxed pace. The osso buco with risotto alla milanese and gremolata was great! The meat was so tender and the sauce was absolutely packed with flavour. The tasty sauce went really well with the creamy risotto which quickly soaked up its flavours. The gremolata added a really nice touch of freshness to the meal. (I wonder what other dishes I can use a gremolata with?) I made enough for leftovers and now I will get to enjoy this tasty meal all week.
Osso Buco
ingredients
- 4 veal shank
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup flour
- 4 ounces pancetta (chopped)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 carrot (chopped)
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 lemon (zest only)
- 2 cups white wine
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
directions
- Season the veal with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour shaking off any excess.
- Cook the pancetta in a large oven proof pan and set aside reserving the grease in the pan.
- Brown the veal on all sides on med/high heat one at a time and set aside.
- Add some more oil to the pan if needed and saute the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and lemon zest on medium heat until tender, about 7-9 minutes.
- Add the wine, stock and tomatoes and deglaze the pan and bring to a simmer.
- Add the pancetta, veal, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and transfer to a preheated 350F/180C oven and cook until the veal is fall off the bone tender, about 1 to 2.5 hours, turning the veal over in the middle. (Check the liquid every once in a while and top it off with some more beef broth if it falls to half way up the veal.)
Gremolata
ingredients
- 1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
- 1 lemon (zest only)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 handful toasted pine nuts
directions
- Mix everything.
I’ve never had this dish but it looks and sounds delicious!
stunning!! i haven’t gotten into braising yet, but i really need to try it 🙂
That looks absolutely fabulous! Really appetizing!
Cheers,
Rosa
This Osso Bucco looks fantastic, love your presentation, wish I was there to eat it!!!
I love this dish!!
Another classic!!
When I saw this post I realized I’ve never cooked or even eaten Osso Buco. Certainly looks delicious though!
This looks really tasty…right down to the gremolata.
Wow. Great job. It looks so hearty and delicious.
mmmm. i love osso buco. yours looks delicious, as does that gremolata.
Kevin OHHHHHHHHHH I wish I could find veal. Looks like a piece of heaven love all the flavor. Great picture.
Kevin, this use to be one of our favorite dishes. Veal is just not available in our area of Oregon. A tip for others who have the same problem – use turkey drumsticks (whacked to resemble veal shanks) and carry on as usual. IMO – the gremolata is what makes this dish special.
This looks fantastic! Osso bucco is definitely near the top of my list of favorites. I have had it with polenta, too.
Oh wow, Kevin, this looks delicious!!
This is quite possibly one of my dad’s favorite dishes ever. It’s nice to know that a real person can make it (as opposed to a trained restaurant chef)…I’ve always been so daunted by the task. You’ve given me inspiration to make this for him…perhaps as a birthday dinner.
This is beautiful. I am impressed that you always have time to make such wonderful food.
New to me..looks tempting
Beautiful! One of my favorite dishes. And I’ve never made it at home.
I love Osso Buco. Quick question, your ingredients call for chicken broth and your directions refer to beef broth. Which dd you use?
Looks great! never tried it. I tend to be too impatient to braise meat…
I’ve always wanted to make this but I can’t find veal shanks around these parts. It’s always looked like such comforting food to me. Great job!
What a gorgeous picture! This looks better than most meals I’m served at restaurants!
Wow that looks gorgeous, I think you will have to make this for me! Too complicated for me!
Looks great Kevin!
I’ve never had veal before…but I like the idea of braising, so the meat is so tender.
Question for you…I made flank steak over the weekend which even though it was cooked medium rare was totally tough.. Do you have a recipe…or should I have put a tenderizer on it, or marinated it?? Just curious if you knew.
Flank steak used to be one of the least costly cuts that you could buy. In the mid 60’s thru the 70’s My Mother used to buy it because of that. It quickly became a family favorite. The trick is to cook it more like a roast than a steak. If you want to cook it as a steak you need to make sure that you cut it thinly across the grain. This will break the elasticity of the muscle.
Looks great even to a non-veal fan.
Braising meat makes all the difference in the taste. I have to try that Osso Buco. Looks good.
I am not familiar with this dish but it looks and sounds fantastic. I love the presentation.
How delicious Kevin. I love osso buco as well.
Chees,
elra
This is almost eerie. I was going to prepare this exact dish on the weekend but had to put it off. Now I am craving it even more and it might be on the menu for this weekend!
I have never made this at home – Looks wonderful and so tasty!!
Osso Buco is one of my favorite dishes but I haven’t made it in ages. Yours looks wonderful.
That looks like such a hearty, wonderful dinner! I’m sitting in an airport lounge right now (not exactly a bastion of good food) and your post has made me instantly hungry. Yikes!
looks so fancy yet seems like it would be so hearty. YUM!
a classic done right!
Wow Kevin! This really looks great! I’m bookmarking it to give it a try. 🙂
Kevin, this will be my husband’s favorite dish as he is a big fan of meat. I knew that braising is a key point of cooking veal shanks but never heard of gremolata. sounds fantastic!
Karen: I have only been able to find the veal shanks at an actual butchers shop. I have never seen it in a regular grocery store.
Anonymous: Sorry about that, it should be beef stock.
Jennifer: I do not use flank steak all that often but I do use it for fajitas. I find that the combination and marinating it (with some lime juice among other things) and cutting it thinly against the grain works well.
I have never heard of this dish but sounds and looks perfect. It was nice reading the information about the dish.
Never heard of this dish! Looks quite interesting and a gorgeous pic!
Your osso buco looks worthy of a fine restaurant. Great job and beautiful presentation. Makes me want some right now.
Gorgeous!
Easily one of my top braised dishes. Looks amazing!
I could use some of that gremolata for my skate !! Your meal looks awesome!!
Whoohoo, lunchtime! We’d like a piece.
I recently made osso buco for the first time and love it. This looks great!
What an amazing looking plate of food! I’ve never seen osso bucco that big before.
I have been meaning to try osso buco for quite some time. THank you for the inspiration!
No meal that includes a dead baby cow should be described as delicious. Sad, maybe. Delicious, NO.
Wow, looks great Kevin!
wow, that looks SUPERB! lovely dish!!
Can I use lamb shanks instead of veal? Any guess if there would be a difference in the cook time? Thanks Kevin for the wonderful recipe and anyone able to help.
Josh: I like the sound of a lamb shank version. The cook time should be approximately the same but rather than the time, what you are looking for is for the meat to be so tender that it easily pulls off the bone. Enjoy!
This appears to be a simple brown braised approach. I reccomend withholding the lemon zest until just prior to serving. Orange zest will also work. After browning, braise slowly in a 300 F oven in an enameled Dutch oven with the lid on. The idea is to get the internal temp in the 170- 190 F range to break down the collagen, but if you push it at a higher temp the meat will get dry.