Veal Osso Buco
This is more of a winter dish for me, slow cooking filling the house with the aroma of a stew like dish that warms the soul as much as it warms the body on a cold day. While traditionally this dish is made with veal shanks, it can be made with both pork and lamb shanks as well and if one is willing to slow cook for a longer period one can certainly use beef shanks.
Osso Buco is a classical northern Italian dish that hopefully will never fade from our repertoire. One can go the extra mile and garnish it with a green sauce as many Italians do such as Gremolata, but it isn’t necessary if you choose to skip that final garnish.
8 meaty slices of veal shank about 1 ½ inches thick (look at the shank carefully, it is not uncommon to get one that has essentially no meat on it)
olive oil for sautéing the meat
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion
2 celery stalks
1 cup white wine
1-2 bay leafs
Sprig of fresh thyme or a large pinch of dried
Bit of celery leaves
Handful of fresh parsley or about a ¼ cup of dried
3 cups stock, hopefully veal but beef or chicken will do
Fresh ground pepper
Sea Salt
Preheat the oven to 325°
Sauté and brown the veal shanks in a heavy Dutch oven with a lid, you might have to do this in batches. When the meat is brown, set aside for a moment.
Reduce heat to low, add the vegetable and cook until they are slowly soft about 5 minutes.
Add the shanks back to the pan along with the wine and 1 cup of stock. Place in the oven and braise for an hour.
Check after an hour to determine if you need to add more stock, cook covered until the meat falls off the bones when touched with a fork. I prefer to debone the shanks prior to serving, less of a mess while eating.
Serve in a large bowl with vegetables and broth. It goes well with a side of garlic mashed potatoes.
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