Delicious Osso Buco Recipe

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Osso buco means literally, bone hole, and is usually translated as "bone with a hole". Like many braised dishes it has its origins in the peasant classes. People that were so poor that they couldn't afford good quality cuts of meat. So the only choices they had were the tough cuts that the wealthier classes didn't want to eat.

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I find it ironic that many, so called, "peasant dishes" have turned out to be some of the best food there is and this osso buco recipe certainly supports that claim, and that really is the heart and soul of comfort food.

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Lamb Osso Buco Recipe

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Make The Trito - Marinate The Shanks

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Ingredients for trito for osso buco, parsley, sage, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, and lamb shanks. - See note 3

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Pick and chop the rosemary, sage, and parsley leaves. Peel and rough chop the garlic and zest the lemon. Combine the herbs, garlic and lemon in a medium mixing bowl.

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Lightly coat the shanks with olive oil and add to the mixing bowl. Season the shanks with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat. 

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Braise The Shanks

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Soffrito or mirepoix, you decide. This is one of those very confusing aspects of Italian cuisine. In Italy celery, carrot, and onion are called a soffrito. However in casual conversation everyone called it a mirepoix, which is the French term for this flavor base. However, anytime I referred to it as mirepoix I was quickly told that it is a soffrito and that mirepoix is an actual vegetable cut, which it is.

So soffrito or mirepoix, either way it is still the holy trinity of French and Italian cuisine.

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After adding the lamb shanks to the pot I am using the garlic and rosemary to scrape out the bowl, into the pot with the lamb shanks.

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Lamb shanks browning in a pot along with herbs and garlic.

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Browned lamb shanks resting on a platter.

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Caramelizing the mirepoix.

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Deglaze the pot with the wine, reduce, and add the tomatoes or tomato puree.

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Add the shanks and herbs back into the pot. Add the stock. Bring to a rolling boil, cover and transfer to the oven.

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Make The Gremolada

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Ingredients for gremolada: parsley, lemon zest, garlic, and salt.

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Mince the garlic as fine as you can. lightly sprinkle the garlic with kosher salt. Run your knife through the garlic one more time to mix the salt in. Scrape the mince into a pile and flatten slightly with the side of the knife blade.

Still using the side of the knife place very firm pressure on the side of the blade and while maintaining the pressure drag the edge of the blade over the garlic, toward yourself. Keep repeating this action until you have a chunky paste.

Important: make certain the sharp edge is not facing you.

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The garlic paste. While you still see some texture it is in fact a paste at this point. 

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Serve And Most Importantly EAT!

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If you're making osso buco be sure to make risotto Milanese to go with it.

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My Osso Buco Recipe

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• Yield: 2 servings
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 1-1/2 hours
• Oven: 325º F / 160º C

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Ingredients

For The Trito

• 10 grams rosemary
• 10 grams sage
• 10 grams parsley
• 25 grams garlic
• Zest of one lemon
• 2 lamb shanks - see note 1
• Extra virgin olive oil, to coat
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Cracked pepper, to taste

For The Shanks

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and split in half
• 2 sprigs rosemary, broken into 4 or 5 pieces
• 1 small onion, rough chopped
• 2 small stalks celery, rough chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and rough chopped
• 250 milliliters white wine
• 250 milliliters San Marzano tomatoes, chopped - see note 3
• 500 milliliters beef stock

For The Gremolada

• 2 cloves garlic
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 10 grams parsley leaves, picked and chopped
• Zest of one lemon

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Method

For The Trito

1. Pick the rosemary, sage, and parsley leaves. Once picked rough dice the leaves, You can opt to dice them together or separately. 
2. Peel and rough chop the garlic and zest the lemon. Combine the herbs, garlic and lemon in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Rinse the shanks in cold water, shaking off the excess water. Lightly coat the shanks with olive oil and add to the mixing bowl. Season the shanks with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat. Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least the day, ideally overnight.

For The Braise

1. When you’re ready to make the ossobuco, remove it from the refrigerator, and preheat the oven to 325º F / 160º C.
2. Set a stock pot over a medium flame and once the pot is hot add the olive oil, shanks, rosemary and garlic. Cook until the meat develops a nice caramelization. Remove to a holding plate. Here you want to remove the herbs with the meat.
3. Add the onion, celery, and carrot to the pot and cook until the edges of the onion just begin to caramelize.
4. Deglaze the pot with the wine and cook until it reduces by half.
5. Add the tomatoes, or the tomato puree, and stir to thoroughly combine. Reduce this mixture until the level of the liquid is just below the mirepoix.
6. Stir the herbs from the holding plate into the sauce and return the shanks to the pot, arranging in a single layer on top of the mirepoix. Add the stock, cover, and bring to a full boil.
7. Immediately transfer the pot to the oven. Cook until the shanks are fork tender. Crosscut lamb shanks take about 45 minutes to an hour. Whole shanks or beef shanks will take longer, about 2 hours.
8. When the meat is done remove it from the oven and turn off oven. Transfer the shanks to the holding plate and transfer the remaining contents of the pot to a food mill.
9. Pass everything through the mill using the large grate. Switch to the medium grate and pass through one more time. Strain the sauce through a medium mesh strainer and back into the pot. - See Note 4.
10. Transfer the shanks back into the sauce, cover and place back into the oven to hold while you make the risotto.

For The Gremolada

1. While the shanks are braising prepare the gremolada. Mince the garlic as fine as you can. Lightly sprinkle the garlic with kosher salt. Scrape the mince into a pile and flatten slightly with the edge of your knife.
2. Still using the edge of the knife place very firm pressure on the side of the blade and while maintaining the pressure drag the edge of the blade over the garlic, toward yourself. Keep repeating this action until you have a chunky paste. See Image.

To Serve

1. Serve with risotto alla Milanese. See recipe.
2. Mound risotto into the center of the plate. Place a shank on top and top the shank with the gremolada.
3. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over it and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

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Tags: osso buco recipe, lamb osso buco, osso buco alla milanese

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