Osso Buco

By marlabeth19

Ingredients

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 dry bay leaves
• 3 whole cloves
• cheesecloth
• kitchen twine, for both bouquet garni AND tying the veal shanks
• 6 veal shanks, about 1 lb. each, trimmed
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• all purpose flour, for dredging
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 2 small onions, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 small carrots, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 ribs celery, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 4 c. chicken or veal stock
• 4 T. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 T. lemon zest
• 1 box of orzo pasta for serving

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Place the herbs and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture (they will brown better when dry). Secure the meat to the bone by tying them tightly with twine around the middle. Season each shank with salt and pepper, then dredge through flour and shake off excess.

In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook another mintue. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine, reduce liquid by half for about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.

Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place on a serving platter. Cut off the twine and discard.

Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot.

Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest, and serve with orzo pasta.