Have You Ever Considered Osso Buco with Beef Shanks
Beef shanks osso buco is a rich and flavorful twist on the classic Italian dish traditionally made with veal. This slow-braised recipe combines tender beef shanks, aromatic vegetables, and a deep, savory broth that is both comforting and satisfying.
As the beef shanks cook low and slow, the marrow inside the bones infuses the sauce with a luxurious texture and taste, making every bite a savory experience. The dish gets its name, "osso buco," which means "bone with a hole," from the marrow-filled bones at the center of the shank.
Paired with a gremolata—a fresh, zesty topping of lemon, garlic, and parsley—this osso buco is the perfect balance of rich and bright flavors. Ideal for a special dinner or holiday meal, this recipe brings the comforting flavors of Italy straight to your table, transforming simple ingredients into an unforgettable dish.
Whether you’re familiar with osso buco or trying it for the first time, this beef shank version will impress.
Veal Osso Buco
I love classic osso buco (AW-soh BOO-koh), made with veal shanks braised in wine, stock, and a mix of vegetables. However, some home cooks are hesitant to use veal, and others find it too expensive. So, I decided to try beef shanks and see if they could offer a similar experience.
The result? It worked, but I had hoped for a better outcome. The meal was good but didn’t reach the heights of greatness.
I made several adjustments to my veal Osso Buco recipe, starting with substituting beef for veal. I also took a few shortcuts to speed up prep and make the dish easier to prepare at home, but those changes weren’t what affected the dish’s outcome.
Beef shanks don’t have the same flavor and tenderness as veal shanks. Maybe I didn’t cook them long enough, but after two hours, the beef was a bit dry, and the meat didn’t fall off the bone like veal shanks do.
Still, the braising sauce—rich with wine, stock, and vegetables—was incredible. I can’t wait to serve the leftovers over wide pasta noodles, soaking up all that wonderful sauce.
We paired the osso buco with creamy mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and a spring mix salad with my wife’s favorite dressing.
Some of the adjustments worked well, like using beef/brown stock instead of chicken for a richer flavor and substituting canned diced tomatoes for fresh pulp.
The original recipe calls for six veal shanks, but the beef shanks came in a package of four, much larger than the veal. It still worked, though if you're serving a dinner party, plan to serve one shank per person for presentation.
📖 Recipe
Beef Shanks Osso Buco Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil more as needed
- 6 beef shanks
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 medium onions
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery sticks
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 anchovy fillets or 3 teaspoons anchovy paste
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups beef stock
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- Bouquet Garni consisting of the peel of 1 lemon, 3 parsley sprigs, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf
- Gremolada condiment to serve with
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic
Instructions
Prep
- There's a lot of prep work involved, but once it's done, the rest is easy.
- Chop up the vegetables. The onion, carrot, and celery should be finely chopped, and the garlic should be minced.
- Put together the Bouquet Garni by adding all the ingredients to a piece of cheesecloth and then tying it up like a little satchel with a piece of string.
- Prep the beef shanks by tying kitchen string around the perimeter of each shank. This keeps them from falling apart while braising. This is more important when braising veal shanks that are more tender and fall apart more easily.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
How to Make at Home
- Start the cooking process by heating the butter and oil in a large pan that you can put in the oven over medium-high heat. A large Dutch Oven works great for this recipe, but I have also made it in a large fry pan.
- While the butter and oil are heating up, dredge the veal shanks in flour, shake off any excess, and then add them to the pan: Brown both sides and the edges.
- If your beef shanks are as large as the ones I purchased, you may only be able to cook two at a time. When the browning is done, remove and set aside on a separate plate and continue browning the rest.
- When all the shanks are browned and reserved on a plate, lower the heat to medium and add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté these ingredients until the onion starts to caramelize. I needed to add a little more olive oil because the pan was too dry.
- Add the garlic and anchovy and continue to sauté until you can smell the garlic cooking but be careful not to let it burn.
- Add the wine to deglaze the pan and continue cooking it down until there is just a trace of wine left.
- Add the stock and tomato to the pan. This is an excellent time to add the Bouquet Garni and the beef shanks.
- Bring the stock to a boil, cover and put it into the oven. If you don't have a large Dutch or French Oven and your fry pan is not large enough to hold all the shanks, you will have to transfer them to a large casserole pan with a tight-fitting cover.
- I cooked the shanks for 2 hours, turning them shanks over after the first hour. I also basted them every 30 minutes, checking to make sure the stock was not boiling. If it was, I turned down the oven temp a bit.
- After two hours with veal shanks, the meat falls off the bone. With the beef shanks, this wasn't the case. The meat was not as tender as I would like it to be. I'm still not sure if it's the meat or if I need to cook them longer. In any case, and my opinion, the veal shanks are generally more tender and have more flavor.
- When the shanks are done cooking, remove them and place them on a large serving plate, remove the string and keep warm. Find the bouquet garni, remove it and throw it out. Now it's time to process the wonderful sauce.
- I use a hand blender to process the sauce right in the pan, but you can also use a regular blender, a food processor, or a food mill if you have one. Once you process the sauce, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- On a warmed plate, add your mashed potatoes, risotto, pasta, or whatever you decide to serve this with; add one shank and top with a little of the gremolata. I like to have a small bowl of the extra gremolata at the table if anyone wants more.
Notes
What to Do With Leftover Osso Buco
If you tried my beef shank osso buco recipe from the other night and had any leftovers, you may be interested in knowing what I did with mine. Osso buco is one of those great meals that not only is fantastic the night you make it, but may be better a night or two later.
📖 Recipe
Osso Buco Leftovers
Ingredients
- osso buco leftovers
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta or egg noodles
- salt to taste
- side dishes your choice
Instructions
- I started by heating up a big pot of water to cook the pasta. (see my pasta tips)
- Then I took all the meat off the center bone, cutting it up into ½ inch chunks. Another option might be to shred the meat with your fingers.
- Once the meat is cut or shredded, add it to a saucepan that will hold the meat and the leftover sauce. Heat that up over low-medium heat.
- While the meat is reheating, add some salt to the pot of water and then add the pasta. Cook the pasta to a firmness you like. I find the pappardelle pasta or any egg noodle pasta because it cooks faster than spaghetti or penne. So, be sure to time your side dishes accordingly. You want to serve this as soon as the pasta is cooked to your perfection.
- When the pasta is done, drain it, plate some in a large soup bowl so you can add a lot of that wonderful sauce and serve.
- I served these leftovers with a fresh salad with a mustard vinaigrette along with some broccoli that I made for the kids. It really doesn't get much better than this.
Bob
This looks like a good recipe. I'll try it. I've had pretty good luck with Osso Bucco with both veal and beef shanks. Veal is much better. Thanks for the the tip on tying them. I don't know why I never thought of that. DUH....;) I have never tried basting the shanks. If I use Le Creuset I place a large sheet of heavy duty tin foil over the top. I punch it down to make it concave. I seal it tight and put on the lid. When the braising liquid condenses it drips down over the meat instead of down the sides of the French oven. Much less expensive is the "old Fasioned" cast iron Dutch oven. On some of the lids (I don't know which brands..maybe Lodge.) the under side has been cast with "cones" projecting down to the meat. This causes constant basting. I haven't tried the Dutch oven for Osso Bucco. I don't know if it's too much basting. I've used it for tougher cuts; ie, chuck roasts and they turned out good. I guess it's a matter of experimentation. Anyway, thanks for your great web site.
Karen
My husband had a hankering for Osso Buco - even though he didn't know what it was. He was reading a poem titled "Osso Buco" by Billy Collins and decided that he would make it for me. We found this recipe and it was so well written that my husband who has NO COOKING experience found it easy to make. It was extremely tasty. He did not alter a thing. Excellent! Thank you! It was nice to have him cook for me for once 🙂 !
Karen
P.S. He used the beef shanks and it worked just fine!
kelly
i use beef shanks alot as they are easy to get and very economical here in Argentina and have never had the problem of them being dry or not falling off the bone.. i braise them until they fall off the bone and the timing varies on the beef. I agree veal is better, but if you are patient this can be very good as well
Michael
I've used both beef and veal shanks.
I much prefer the veal. Much more tender and do not seem to get tough from prolonged cooking. I braise in a 250 degrees F oven for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Be sure to have enough braising liquid.
Hi Michael, I agree I prefer veal over beef shanks but the beef is a great economical substitute. - RG
Randal
Thanks big time amigo, wife only likes lamb as french cut chops, yet I love Osso bucco. Tried the recipe with two lamb and a beef, yes all in one pot!. All were happy! You da man!!!
Hey Randal, glad it worked out - RG
Anthony Murdocca
I had Osso Buco alla Fiorentina in Florence less than a month ago, and it was made with beef. It was tender and tasty. Unless I missed something (too long a commentary), I see a few reasons for the beef not being so tender as you wanted it to:
1. For four shanks you used half the amount of wine and you reduced it to almost nothing, thus taking away the acidity that would act as a tenderizer.
2. You may not have had enough liquid. The stock, wine, water, and tomatoes should be almost even with the top of the shank.
3. You did not keep it in the oven long enough. I would bake it for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours -- longer if necessary, as well add more liquid if too much has evaporated. Don't be tied to a timer.
Personally, I prefer beef over veal. To me veal, although somewhat more tender, has a weaker taste. Unless you are a lover of anchovies, they are a "no-no". Osso buco recipes do not call for anchovies, but I do concede that it is a matter of personal taste.
Hi Anthony and thank you for your comments. I would be very interested in checking out your recipe for this dish and give it a try. Sounds like you have one that works better than mine. I was trying to use my veal osso bucco recipe from Cuisine Magazine and it may not have substituted very well.
I agree I may not have cooked it long enough but I don't agree the liquid should be "even with the top of the shank." I want to braise not stew the meat. As for anchovies, I agree, it is a matter of personal taste and I have seen many osso bucco recipes with and without. Some even have the anchovies in the gremolata served with the shanks.
So please send me your recipe via email and where it is from and I will give it a try. - RG
Kaeden
Posts like this brighten up my day. Thanks for taking the time.
Jack Kelly
Sorry to correct your pronunciation but...do not say aw-soh unless you are British. In Italian an O is always 'oh' so it is oh-so boo-koh. ; )
Babushka
This recipe is brilliant! I learned to cook ossobucco when I was living in Firenze from Medici Cooking School. It is one of my favorite dishes but, I lost my text book and cannot remember the recipe. I have battled to find a recipe that used anchovies because that is the way we learned it there. I went the beef route and took the advice of Mr Murdocca as I prefer it a bit stewy.
I used beef shin bone which is a thinner cut, therefore I actually snipped the outer rind a few times to prevent the meat fom curling up as it browned. I tossed the meat in flour mixed with seasoning. I used half a bottle of red wine and 500 ml of stock. Cooking time came to 3.5 hours and temperature ranging between 150 and 170 centigrade. The meat was deliciously tender and the bones were clean as I picked them out.
Thank you RG for sharing this, I really enjoyed making it and it was scummy! Will definitely make again.
Christa
I live in Ecuador and veal shanks are not readily available here. Pork and beef shanks are, and I tried this recipe with both types of meat. I prefer the pork here, because it seems more tender, but prefer the flavor of the beef. Either way, it's the sauce and the marrow that matter most! Your recipe had all the right ingredients for a succulent dining experience. Thank you for sharing.
Christa
Mary Ann Matzer
I would like to try the beef & pork together. Maybe even mushrooms added to your recipe for the osso-buco revisited.
Any suggestions? I LOVE the combo of beef roast & pork roast with onion chopped fine, Bet the osso-buco- would be awesome like that..
Sean
Sauce great, beef shanks, hard as rocks. I even put them in the slow cooker for 7 hours. I had some wagyu grass fed beef shanks and did everything I usually do but these suckers needed a good knife to get thru them. I have had more tender chuck roast. Thoughts?
G. Stephen Jones
Sean, I'm not sure how any meat cooked for 7 hours can be tough. They might dry out but tough? I just read a post on SeriousEats that is a little technical called Stew Science: Why You Shouldn't Cook Your Beef All Day that may answer your question.