In this installment of Urban Cookery, I am sharing probably one of my favorite meals to eat and cook: Osso Buco (Braised Veal Shank).  This is a classic meal, perfected by my dad, who then passed down his recipe to me.....and of course I had to make my own alterations to it because I refuse to follow directions and I like to experiment!  The first time I made this dish was when Justin (my husband) and I were dating - we decided to cook it together, reading my dad's very detailed recipe except for one MINOR detail.....where my dad wrote "1 large garlic clove" Justin and used 1 large head of garlic....as in an entire bulb of garlic.....so now the big joke is that:

a) I can't read and

b) 1 clove does not equal 1 bulb.

So now that we got my first major cooking blunder out of the way, I will share with you this awesomely impressive meal that's actually super easy to make.  It's best served with potato gnocchi, which you can find my recipe for here. I also like to serve it with a simple vegetable like steamed broccoli.  When buying your veal shanks, you can usually assume that you're going to be making 2 shanks per person, but tonight I made 1 per person because each shank was 1 pound in weight....this is not a cheap meal, unfortunately (Veal Shanks usually cost about $15-$17 a pound) but is worth it for special occasions.....or for random Tuesday nights like I did tonight!

Braised Osso Buco

Prep Time

15 Minutes
Cook Time

4 Hour 30 Minutes
Total Time

4 Hour 45 Minutes
Yield

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs Bone in Veal Osso Buco (2 pieces of Osso Buco)
  • 3 T Flour
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1/2 small dice Onion
  • 2 small dice Carrots
  • 3 small dice Celery Stalks
  • 3 chopped roughly Garlic Cloves
  • 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine (pinot grigio)
  • 1 1/4 Cups Beef Stock
  • 2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
  • 10 Sprigs Thyme
  • 2 Sprigs Rosemary
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 1/2 T Butter
  • 2 T Flour

Directions

  • Season all sides of your Osso Buco with salt and pepper. Meanwhile in a medium sized pot, heat up enough canola oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pot over a high heat. Put your flour in a dish and dip your osso buco in the flour and coat all over. Once the oil is smoking hot, sear the osso buco until golden brown. Sear on all sides. Remove from the pot and let the osso buco sit on a plate.
  • Add your onion, carrots and celery to the same pot and let cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes. Add in your garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add in the white wine and cook until it's completely reduced (about 5 minutes).
  • At this point, add back your osso buco, add in the stock and herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours and 15 minutes. After this time, uncover, and cook another 30 minutes over a medium heat.
  • Take your osso buco out of the pot and place on a cutting board. Strain the braising liquid through a fine mesh sieve and into a fat strainer. Pour the liquid (without the fat) back into the pot you were braising in, and place over medium heat. In a separate small pot, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the flour all at once. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Add your butter/flour mixture (roux) to your braising liquid and whisk in. Cook a few minutes until it thickens. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add back your osso buco and heat through (a few minutes). Serve hot over gnocchi.