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Ossobuco - Braised Veal Shanks,
Milanese Style
 
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
by Marcella Hazan, 1992, A Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf
“Ossobuco, ‘oss bus’ in Milan’s dialect, means ‘bone
with a hole.’ The particular bone in question is that of a calf’s hind
shank, and the ring of meat that circles
it is the sweetest and most tender
on the entire animal. To be sure that it is as meltingly tender on the plate
as Nature had intended, be guided by the follow-
ing suggestions:
-
Insist that the shank come from the meatier hind leg only. If you are
buying it in a supermarket and are in doubt, look for one of the butchers
who is usually on hand during the day, and ask him.
-
Have the ossobuco cut no thicker than 1 1/2 inches. It is the size at
which it cooks best. Thick Ossobuco, however impressive it looks on the
plate, rarely cooks long and slowly enough, and it usually ends up being
chewy and stringy.
-
Make sure the butcher does not remove the skin enveloping the shanks. It
not only helps to hold the ossobuco together while it cooks, but its
creamy consistency makes a delectable contribution to the final flavor of
the dish.
-
Be prepared to give ossobuco time enough to cook. Slow, patient cooking is
essential if you want to protect the shank’s natural juiciness.
Note: When you are buying a whole shank, ask the butcher to saw off both
ends
for you. You don’t want them in the ossobuco because they don’t have
much
meat, but they make a splendid addition to the assorted components
of a
homemade
meat broth.
For 6 to 8
servings
1 cup onion chopped fine
2/3 cup carrot chopped fine
2/3 cup celery chopped fine
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 teaspoon garlic chopped fine
2 strips lemon peel with none of the white pith beneath it
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Eight 1 1/2-inch-thick slices of veal hind shank,
each tied tightly around the middle
Flour, spread on a plate
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup basic homemade meat broth [stock], or
1/2 cup canned beef broth with 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes,
coarsely chopped, with their juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves
2 or 3 sprigs parsley
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Salt
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Choose a pot with a heavy bottom or of enameled cast iron that can
subsequently accommodate all the veal shanks in a single layer. (If
you do
not have a single pot large enough, use two smaller ones, divid-
ing the
ingredients into two equal halves, but adding 1 extra tablespoon
of butter
for each pot.) Put in the onion, carrot, celery, and butter, and
turn on the
heat to medium. Cook for about 6 to 7 minutes, add the
chopped garlic and
lemon peel, cook another 2 or 3 minutes until the
vegetables soften and
wilt, then remove from heat.
3. Put the vegetable oil in a skillet and turn on the heat to medium high.
Turn the veal shanks in the flour, coating them all over and shaking
off the
excess flour.
Note: Do not flour the veal, or anything else that needs to be
browned,
in
advance because the flour will become soggy and make it impossible
to
achieve
a crisp surface.
When the oil is quite hot – it should sizzle when the veal goes in – slip in
the shanks and brown them deeply all over. Remove them from the skillet
using a slotted spoon or spatula, and stand them side by side over the
chopped vegetables in the pot.
4. Tip the skillet and spoon off all but a little bit of the oil. Add the
wine, reduce it by simmering it over medium heat while scraping loose with
a
wooden spoon the browning residues stuck to the bottom and sides.
Pour
the skillet juices over the veal in the pot.
5. Put the broth in the skillet, bring it to a simmer, and add it to the
pot.
Also add the chopped tomatoes with their juice, the thyme, the bay
leaves, parsley, pepper and salt. The broth should have come two-
thirds of
the way up to the top of the shanks. If it does not, add more.
6. Bring the liquids in the pot to a simmer, cover the pot tightly, and
place
it in the lower third of the preheated oven. Cook for about 2 hours or
until the meat feels very tender when prodded with a fork and a dense,
creamy sauce has formed. Turn and baste the shanks every 20 minutes.
If,
while the ossobuco is cooking, the liquid in the pot becomes insuf-
ficient,
add 2 tablespoons of water at a time, as needed.
7. When the ossobuco is done, transfer it to a warm platter, carefully
remove the trussing strings without letting the shanks come apart,
pour the
sauce in the pot over them, and serve at once. If the pot
juices are too
thin and watery, place the pot over a burner with
high heat, boil down the
excess liquid, then pour the reduced juices
over the ossobuco on the
platter.
Gremolada
“If you wish to observe ossobuco tradition strictly, you must add an
aromatic
mixture called ‘gremolada’ to the shanks, when they are nearly
done. I never
do it myself, but some people like it, and if you want to try
it, here is what it
consists of:
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, taking care to avoid the white
pith
1/4 teaspoon garlic chopped very, very fine
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Combine the ingredients evenly and sprinkle the mixture over
the shanks
while they are cooking but when they are done, so that the gremolada
cooks with the veal no longer than 2 minutes.
Ahead-of-time note: Ossobuco can be completely cooked a day or two in
advance.
It should be reheated gently over the stove, adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of
water,
if needed. If you are using gremolada, add it only when reheating the meat.
Featured
Archive Recipes:
Marcella's
Ossobuco in Bianco
Osso Buco
with Mushroom Sauce
Braised Veal Shanks with Tomato, White Beans and Basil
Veal Braised in the Old-Fashioned Way
Le Caméléon's
Braised Veal with Fresh Pasta
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