Osso Bucco

A very simple way of making a perfect Osso Bucco.

 Osso Bucco is made from braising veal shanks. I made a saffron risotto that went perfect with the veal. I didn't think to photograph this dish till the last minute. I probably would have plated better. The picture quality is low because I used my three-year-old phone, but you get the picture?

This dish is super easy and full of flavor perfect for chilly weather. I tried by best to write up a recipe for ingredients that I used for this dish. You could very well substitute the veal shanks with lamb shanks or even beef shanks.



For the Osso Bucco:
2 whole veal shanks
Bouquet garni (see below)
Cooking oil
1 small onion, medium diced
1/2 of a carrot, medium diced
1/2 of a celery stalk, medium diced
1 C. dry white wine
3 C. Chicken stock (approx.)
1 T tomato paste
1 whole roasted garlic
1 T flour for making roux

Preheat oven to 250-325. The higher the degree the faster the veal will cook. I kicked up the heat to 325 and pulled my Osso Bucco out in 3.5 hours. If you set your oven to 250 it will need around 4-5 hours cooking time. 

Sear veal shanks in any type of nut/vegetable oil you have on hand (I prefer not to use olive oil) and remove from the pan. Sweat onion, carrots, and celery letting them develop color without burning (letting them fully cook and brown will help develop a rich pan sauce). Add white wine (I substituted with red wine since that is what I had on hand) and/or tomato paste (I used both) to develop flavor/color and will deglaze the pan. Add 1 T flour and cook to make a brown roux. While sweating your aromatics in a separate saucepan heat chicken stock on low heat for later use. 

Return the meat to the pan and add warm stock anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 way up on the product. Add any additional seasonings (dry herbs, bouquet garni, Roasted Garlic, etc.) to liquid, and bring product up to a boil, and down to a simmer. Cover with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven until product is done approx. 4-5 hours (I took mine out at 3.5 hrs since I was cooking at 325 degrees) Be sure to rotate product 1/2 way through cooking to ensure even cooking. Remove from the oven when veal connective tissue has dissolved and is fork tender and starting to fall off the bone (but not completely falling apart.)

For pan sauce:
Place meat aside and remove your bouquet garni. Bring liquid to a simmer (degrease if necessary) and adjust the consistency by adding a slurry (see below). After sauce is at desired consistency plate up.

For bouquet garni:
3-4 black peppercorns crushed
1 dry bay leaf
1 spring thyme
1 spring rosemary
Tie seasonings in cheesecloth with twine.

For slurry:
Mix flour and butter together into small balls. Add to sauce to thicken one at a time till you reach your desired consistency. Give your sauce time to thicken between balls so you don't over thicken.