Osso Buco - Veal Shanks Braised with Vegetables, White Wine and Broth

Preparing this osso buco recipe is easy with a few tips and suggestions. The night before we brought our youngest daughter home from the NICU, some friends invited my wife and me over for a "last night out for a while" dinner and served one of my favorite meals, Osso buco, Ossobuco (AW-soh BOO-koh).

I so thoroughly enjoyed the meal I just had to share one of my favorite recipes found a while back in a great cooking magazine, Cuisine.

I can't remember where or when I first tasted Osso buco, but it is one of the most flavorful dishes I've enjoyed serving. It's not a complicated recipe, but there is a lot of prep, so give yourself time to enjoy getting into it.

What Is Osso Buco?

Osso buco, which translates to "bone with a hole" in Italian, is a classic dish from the Lombardy region of Italy. It is made by braising veal shanks with vegetables, white wine, and broth, and is typically served with a side of risotto alla Milanese.

The dish is said to have originated in the 19th century, and it quickly gained popularity in the city of Milan. It is often served on special occasions and holidays and has become a staple of Italian cuisine around the world.

What Is the Key To Great Osso Buco?

The key to a good osso buco is the quality of the veal shanks. They should be thick and well-marbled, as the fat will help to keep the meat moist and flavorful during the long braising process. It is also important to choose a good-quality white wine for the braising liquid, as it will help to enhance the flavor of the dish.

How Osso Buco Is Made

To prepare osso buco, the veal shanks are seasoned with salt and pepper and then dredged in flour. They are then browned in a large pot or Dutch oven, along with diced vegetables such as carrots, onions, and celery. Once the vegetables are softened, white wine is added to the pot, along with beef broth or chicken broth. The veal shanks are placed back into the pot and the mixture is brought to a boil.

The pot is then covered and the osso buco is placed in the oven to braise for several hours until the meat is tender and easily falls off the bone. During the braising process, the veal shanks should be turned occasionally to ensure even cooking.

Once the osso buco is cooked, it is ready to be served. It is typically served with a side of risotto alla Milanese, which is a creamy rice dish made with saffron and parmesan cheese. Some people also like to serve osso buco with a side of gremolata, a chopped herb condiment made with parsley, lemon zest, and garlic.

Perfect for a Cold Winter Day

Osso buco is a hearty and flavorful dish that is perfect for a special occasion or a cold winter day. It is also a great option for a dinner party, as it can be made in advance and reheated just before serving.

Overall, osso buco is a classic Italian dish that is sure to impress your guests. It may take some time to prepare, but the end result is worth it – tender, flavorful veal shanks that are sure to become a family favorite.

Check out my Cooking Primer page for more details on this cooking technique. We served this dish with risotto, sautéed spinach with pine nuts, and salad, and opened a couple of hardy Cabs.

Bouquet Garni

This recipe calls for bouquet garni that can be described as herbs wrapped in something and added to a braise for flavoring. A classic French bouquet garni would be wrapped in leek leaves, but I typically use cheesecloth.

Although no traditional herbs are used for bouquet garni, I like fresh parsley, thyme, and a bay leaf or two. But depending on the recipe, I might add peppercorns, rosemary, tarragon, and/or fresh basil.

📖 Recipe

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Osso Buco Recipe

Prep Time1

Cook Time2 30

Total Time3 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

6 veal shanks 2 inches thick
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup butter unsalted
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups yellow onion chopped
½ cup carrot chopped
½ cup celery sliced
2 teaspoon garlic chopped
3 anchovy fillets or 3 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups fresh tomato pulp or diced tomatoes
Bouquet Garni

Instructions

Chop the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Then, get the tomatoes prepped and put together the Bouquet Garni.
For the gremoloda, finely chop the parsley and lemon zest and then mince the garlic.
Tie the shanks with some kitchen string, so they don't fall apart while cooking and then season both sides with salt & pepper.
Next, prepare your tomato pulp by slicing the tomatoes in half and squeezing the seeds. Using a course grater, remove and reserve the pulp while discarding the skin. ( I used some fresh tomato sauce I recently made from peeled and seeded tomatoes, which worked great.)
Put the bouquet garni ingredients in a piece of cheesecloth, bundle, and tie with a piece of kitchen string. My wife prepped the vegetables in our food processor, saving time and energy. I made the Gremolata in my food processor as well to save time.
Start the cooking process by heating the butter and oil over medium heat in a large pan that you can put in the oven. ( I used my Caphalon 10-inch frying pan) While the butter and oil are heating up, dredge the veal shanks in flour and then add to the pan. To get better browning, don't move them around in the pan.
If your shanks were as large as mine, you might have to cook three at a time. After about 5 minutes, turn and brown the other side. When done browning, remove, set aside on a plate, and brown the remaining shanks. When all the shanks are browned, remove and set aside. Preheat your oven to 325°.
Turn down the heat on your stove to medium and add the onion, carrot, and celery to the same pan you browned the shanks in. Sauté until the onion caramelizes. (I found I needed to add a touch of olive oil at this point because the pan was dry.) Next, add the garlic and anchovy, and sauté until you smell the garlic cooking.
Add wine, deglaze the pan, and reduce until the wine is almost all cooked off. Add the chicken stock and tomato pulp. If you have room for all the shanks, add the bouquet garni and veal shanks and bring them to a boil. I didn't have room for all the shanks in my pan, so I brought the ingredients to a boil and then transferred them to a large casserole pan, added the shanks and bouquet garni, and covered it with a tight-fitting lid.
Transfer your covered pan to the oven and roast. Baste the shanks with the sauce forming in the pan every 30 minutes. After cooking for about an hour, flip each shank over and cook on the other side for another hour. If you notice the sauce in the pan begins to boil, turn down the heat.
When the shanks are finished braising, remove and place them on a hot serving platter, remove the kitchen string and keep the shanks warm. Next, remove and throw out the bouquet garni. If you have one, the recipe calls for using a food mill to process the sauce in a bowl. I used my hand blender right in the pan, but you can also use a regular blender or a food processor to make the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
On a warm plate, add your side dishes, then a shank and sauce, top with gremolata, and serve. This is a delicious recipe and well worth the effort. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.