Osso Bucco, Braised Veal Shanks

The tongue and taste know a no more delicate, sweet and entrancing sensation than a perfectly slow braised osso bucco. When my children were small osso bucco was one their favorite dishes. For children, there is no meat more tender and sweet than the rich fatty veal that surrounds the veal shank bone. The meat needs no knife. It melts with the touch of a fork. Then, after the meat, came the unusual table game of plunging into the shank bone’s center, its “bucco.” My girls giggled as they turned their forks upside down and plunged the edge of the handle into the bone’s center to retrieve its rich marrow pudding. It’s the center of the shank bone that gives this dish its name. In Italian “osso” means “bone;” “bucco” means “hole.” So, “osso bucco” means "the hole in the bone."

Finding good veal shank bone can pose a problem.Grocery store veal shanks tend to be very thin. For grocery store veal there is also the question of how the animal was raised and how it was slaughtered.A good butcher with quality meats from ethical sources offers something quite different.You will also have to be willing to pay for the difference. A good veal shank is not inexpensive.

D'Angelo Brothers

As a Philadelphian, I have access to the excellent meats of D’Angelo Brothers on 9th Street. I would hope that you might find an equivalent butcher in your area.

Curiously, osso bucco was not something I ever had growing up. To the best of my knowledge osso bucco was not a dished served in any Italian American family that I know. My guess is that the cut of meat, an individual shank per person, simply did not fit the home style mass feeding of the Italian American kitchen.

Panzetta

I cannot even imagine an Italian family table where a dozen people would each have their own individual serving of a piece of meat on a bone.The only kind of veal on a bone that we would have would be a veal rib that went into the Sunday gravy or a stuffed veal breast called "panzetta."

I brought osso bucco back to my family after my studies and travels in Italy. It met with mixed reviews with the older folks. Those of my parents’ generation did not seem to care for the fatty quality of the veal shank. They had grown accustomed to leaner American style meats.Yet, some years later with my own children osso bucco was only really popular.While osso bucco may not be a recipe from the old generation Italian American kitchen, it deserves a place in the Italian American kitchen of today. This is one of the finest dishes that needs to be preserved and passed on not only to Italian Americans but to everyone.

Osso bucco recipes vary when it comes to the secondary ingredients that create the sauce. Many recipes call for tomatoes and garlic combined with other elements. I find that these recipes mask the sweet fatty delicacy of the veal shank. For me, the best osso bucco recipe requires little more than some lemon and a dose of wine and chicken stock.A simple wine and chicken stock braise will render a remarkable unctuously caramelized sauce. For a bit more texture and a deeper dimension of flavor add crimini or porcini mushrooms just short of the finish.Serve the osso bucco with a chicken stock risotto finished with Pecorino Romano and with a side serving of something bitterly edgy such as Brussels sprouts.Ossa bucco may not have been on the Italian American tables of the past century, but it is a delicacy that merits entry into the Italian American kitchen of our own generation.

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Osso Bucco - The Illustrated Recipe

Equipment

Heavy skillet or Dutch oven with lid
Wooden Spoon
Sharp knife
String

Ingredients

Veal shanks, about 2 inches thick
Chicken stock
White wine (and) Sherry
Olive oil
Butter
Flour for dusting
Lemon
Mushrooms (optional)
Parsley
Salt and pepper
String for wrapping the shanks

Tie the shanks

Tie the shanks with kitchen twine to hold them together while braising. This can be tricky because the meat and fat tend to slide. Don't tie too tight.

Flour

Dust all sides of the shanks very well with flour.
Set the shanks aside for a few minutes to dry as you prepare the mushrooms and parsley.

Mushrooms

Cut the mushrooms in half and set aside for the last half hour or the braise.

Parsley

Chop the parsley and set aside. Half will go into the braise with the mushrooms at the end. Half will serve as a garnish.

Oil

Heat the oil in the skillet.

Browning

Be sure that the flour on the shanks is dry.
Brown the shanks on all sides in the oil.

NOTE: if the flour creates too much burnt brown in the pan, clean out the pan and add fresh oil before continuing.

Wine and Sherry

Add about a half cup of white wine and a half cup of sherry.
Let the simmer for a few minutes to burn off the alcohol.

Chicken stock

Add the chicken stock to about half way up the sides of the veal shanks.
Bring the stock to a slow and even boil.

Cover and braise

Lower the heat.
Cover the pot and let it simmer on low for about two and one halfhours.
Check periodically. If the liquid evaporates, add a bit more stock or water.

The Finish

About thirty minutes before the end, add the zest of one lemon, half the parsley and the mushrooms. Replace the lid for the final half hour.