Osso Buco - My Favorite Italian Dish

I've seen this dish prepared by TV chefs all the time but have not tried cooking it. While in Italy last summer, I tried Osso Buco for the first time at a restaurant in Florence named La Bussola Ristorante Pizzeria and I was in heaven. You can see in the photo below that it was served with steamed rice and the sauce has A LOT of tomatoes. I love tomatoes so I didn't mind it at all.

If you're not familiar with Osso Buco, it is a regional dish from Piedmont in Italy. It is made with veal shanks although if that is not available, you can substitute beef shanks instead. For the dry white wine, I used Chardonnay since that's what's readily available in my fridge. I also used canned tomatoes.

This recipe is from Epicurious.com and I found it to my liking. It is the classic version of Osso Buco. I omitted the orange zest since I don't remember tasting it in Italy., You can also use the crockpot in cooking this. You only need to brown the shanks and saute the veggies on the stove top first before adding all of the ingredients to the crockpot. This recipe is a keeper. It is as close to the Osso Buco I had in Florence and I will definitely make it again.

CLASSIC OSSO BUCO
4 pounds (1.8 kg) veal shanks, cut in 1 1/2-inch ( 4 cm) slices
1/4 cup (30 g/1 oz) flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

2 onions, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 bottle (375 ml) dry white wine
a 14.5-ounce (435 g) can plum tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
grated zest of 2 oranges (I omitted this)
1 cup (250 ml/8 fl oz) veal stock, more if needed

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (176°F/Gas 4). Put the flour on a plate, add generous amounts of salt and pepper, and coat the veal slices, with flour, patting to remove the excess. Heat the oil and butter in a sauté pan or frying pan big enough for all the veal slices to touch the bottom. Add half the slices and brown them over quite high heat, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them, brown the other side and remove them to a plate. Brown the remaining slices and remove them also.

2. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and carrot and sauté until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in the wine and boil until reduced by half, stirring to dissolve the pan juices. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, orange zest, veal stock, salt, and pepper. Immerse the veal slices in this sauce — the liquid should come at least halfway up the sides. Cover the pan and bring it to a boil.

3. Braise the shanks in the oven until the meat is very tender and falling from the bone, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir from time to time, gently turning the slices, and if the pan seems dry, add more stock. At the end of cooking, taste and adjust seasoning of the sauce. Osso buco can be cooked ahead and stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator, or frozen. Keep it in the pan ready to be reheated on top of the stove.

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