Nothing better on a cold day than a rich and comforting veal osso bucco Milanese.
Not only does it smell wonderful in the house while it cooks, but the fall off the bone meat is to die for. All you should need is a fork to tear the meet from the bones. I remember like it was yesterday when my mother used to make osso bucco and you could just taste it in the air in anticipation of what was to come, a delicious meal!
A bonus treat from this osso bucco meal is the bone marrow from the veal shank bones which you can spread on baguette bread with a pinch of Fleur de Sel. We usually fight for this, but for those of you that don’t enjoy it, I’m sure there will be someone around the table ready to sacrifice themselves for some extra!
Try to get your pieces of veal shank from a butcher and ask for the right 1.5 inch thickness. Ensure that you have nice bones with plenty of marrow to share and that you have healthy portions of meat around the bones. Note that if you choose uneven thickness, you may end up with drier pieces of meat when they are too thin.
The key to this osso bucco recipe is going with Marsala wine instead of traditional red or white which gives the sauce a sweeter flavor.
The finishing touch on the dish is a light touch of Gremolata. I usually do my gremolata with grilled pine nuts to add a nice earthy complement.
What to pair this meal with?
I like to pair this osso bucco recipe with a rich and creamy Saffron Risotto recipe. It is decadent and downright delicious! You can also go for large pasta such as tagliatelle, linguini or fettuccini which will pick up the sauce on every bite!
Ingredients
- 1 tsp of thyme
- 1/2 cup flour
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 pieces veal shank with bone, cut 1.5 inches thick
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup dry Marsala
- 2 cups veal stock (chicken will do also)
- 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 portion of Gremolata, see recipe
- 1 portion of Saffron Risotto, see recipe
Instructions
- In a large shallow platter, season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the veal shanks in the mixture and tap off any excess with your hands.
- In a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven, over medium flame, heat the oil and butter. Sear the shanks on all sides.
- Remove the browned veal shanks and set aside.
- Remove some of the excess fat.
- Add onion, celery, carrots and cook for 3-4 min
- Add garlic, thyme, bay leaves and parsley to the pan and cook until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
- Raise the heat to high, add the Marsala wine and deglaze. Scrape off the browned bits at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Return the shanks to the pan, add the stock and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
- Baste the meat a few times during cooking Watch every 30 minutes and ensure there is sufficient liquid. Add more as required.
- If the sauce is too thin at the end, remove the cover, continue to simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.
- For gremolata (see Gremolata recipe): combine all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Strew the gremolata over the osso bucco before serving.
- Plate the saffron risotto recipe in a round mold.
- Serve osso bucco on top of the saffron risotto.
- Add sauce on the osso bucco
- Strew the gremolata over the osso bucco and serve immediately.
