Osso Buco Milanese

Osso Buco and Saffron Risotto

Osso Buco - Bone with a Hole. Ryan and I have ordered this at restaurants and have spent quite a few bucks devouring it. That said, of course I had to try to make it on my own; cooked it for the first time in Oct '11 - I have to say they were prettyyyy pretttyyyy pretttttyyy tasty.  This past weekend was my mom's Birthday and I was hosting some VIP's. I wanted to make something special and different so I went with this! Saffron Risotto recipe at the end.

Ingredients: 4 Portions

• 4 pieces veal shank with bone, cut 3 inches thick
• 1/2 cup flour
• 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 spring of fresh rosemary
• 1 spring of fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:
Pat the meat dry to remove any access moisture. Secure the meat with kitchen twine to hold the meat to the bone. In a large shallow platter/container, season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the veal shanks in the mixture and tap off any excess.

Pat Dry

Dredge in flour

   

In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven, over medium flame, heat the oil and butter. Sear the shanks on all sides. Add more oil and butter if needed. Remove the browned veal shanks and set aside.

Sear and set aside

Chop Onion, Celery, and Carrots

In the same pot, add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, and parsley to the pan and cook until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high, add the red and white wine and deglaze the pan.

 

Add to pan with herbs and cook for about 8 minutes

 

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 2-2 1/2 hours, until the meat is falling-off-the-bone-tender. Baste the meat every 10 minutes during cooking and rotate 1-2 times. Remove the cover, continue to simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.

Serve with extra sauce on top, along side risotto. I've also served this with a side of my Parmesan rosemary potatoes.

Saffron Risotto: http://little-italian-lady.blogspot.com/2012/01/parmiggiano-saffron-risotto.html
Rustic Parmesan Rosemary Potatoes: http://little-italian-lady.blogspot.com/2011/12/happy-holiday-sides-part-2.html