Braised Veal Shanks Recipes

OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf 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. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.
• In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown 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 the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken 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 chicken 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 in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen 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.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Coarse sea salt, for garnish, optional For the braised veal shanks: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge the shanks in the flour, making sure to get off any excess. Add the shanks to the pan, in batches if necessary, and cook on all sides until browned, 3 to 4 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate. If browning in batches, repeat with the remaining shanks. Add the onions, carrots, celery, coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and chiles to the pan and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until glossy, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, scraping to deglaze the pan. Add the chicken stock and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Taste the simmering braising liquid at this point; it should taste seasoned. Return the shanks to the pan, cover and braise in the oven until the meat is very tender, 3 to 4 hours.
• For the gremolata: When almost ready to serve, combine the parsley, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt and garlic in a small bowl. Stir to combine. To serve, remove the shanks to a serving platter and spoon the sauce and braising vegetables over the top of them. Sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt and garnish with gremolata.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place a braising pan large enough to hold shanks over medium high heat. Add oil. Season veal with salt and pepper, then add to hot pan. Brown shanks all over, about 20 minutes. Remove to a plate. Pour off or add oil to pan until you have 3 tablespoons. Heat oil until shimmering. Add onions and carrots, and cook until golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Nestle veal in vegetables, and pour wine on top. Reduce by three-quarters. Add garlic and thyme, and pour broth on top. Bring to a simmer. Cover meat with a piece of foil, turning corners up. Cover pan with a lid, and place in oven. Braise until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Season to taste. Remove from oven, and let cool in pan. Refrigerate.
• The next day, reheat veal over low heat. Serve with risotto or potatoes and the sauce and vegetables.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH ROSEMARY AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place all purpose flour in shallow bowl. Sprinkle both sides of veal shank pieces with salt and pepper. Dredge each veal piece in flour, shaking off excess. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add veal pieces to pot, arranging in single layer, and sautéuntil brown, about 6 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer veal pieces to plate.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to pot. Add onion, carrot, celery, thyme sprigs, rosemary sprig and bay leaf and sautéuntil vegetables brown, about 12 minutes. Season vegetables to taste with salt and pepper. Place veal atop cooked vegetables in pot and pour chicken stock over. Bring to simmer; cover and place in oven. Cook until veal is very tender, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Transfer 1 veal piece to each of 6 plates. Spoon excess fat off sauce, if desired. Spoon sauce and vegetables over veal and serve immediately.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Stand the shank pieces up on a flat end. Cut six lengths of twine, each about 2 feet long, and wrap one around the outside of each ossobuco, in the middle (the meat will look as though it's wearing a very tight belt). Tie the twine securely and trim the ends.
• Cut a small square of cheesecloth and wrap up the bay leaves, cloves, rosemary sprig, and juniper berries. Tie the packet with twine. Shave off the peel of the orange and lemon in broad strips with a paring knife or vegetable peeler-remove only the colorful zest, not the bitter white pith. Squeeze and strain the juice from the orange.
• Just before browning the meat, salt the ossobuco lightly, using 1/2 teaspoon in all. Dredge the shanks in the flour to coat all surfaces.
• Pour the vegetable oil into the pan, and set over medium-high heat. Shake off excess flour, and set all the ossobuco in the oil, standing on a cut end. Let them sizzle for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bottoms are well browned; turn to caramelize the other cut side. Flip the pieces onto their round edges, and rotate so the fat crisps all around the shanks. Remove them to a platter when nicely colored-this will take 10 minutes or more.
• When all the ossobuco are browned, carefully pour the hot vegetable oil out of the empty pan, leaving the crusted bits of meat on the bottom. Pour in the olive oil, set over medium-high heat, and dump in the onions. Stir them around for a minute or two, scraping the pan to release the caramelized bits, then stir in the carrot and celery. Drop in the cheesecloth herb sachet, sprinkle on a teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are sizzling and wilting.
• Clear a space in the pan bottom, and drop in the tomato paste; cook the paste in the hot spot for a minute, then stir it into the vegetables. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir well, and bring to a boil. Raise the heat to high, pour in the wine, and cook for a couple of minutes at a boil to evaporate the alcohol. Pour in the orange juice and about 6 cups of the hot stock; drop in all the strips of citrus zest and the remaining salt, and bring the liquids to a boil.
• Return the ossobuco to the saucepan, standing them on end so they're evenly immersed in the sauce. Add more hot stock, if necessary, just to cover the tops of the ossobuco with liquid. Cover the pan, and lower the heat so the sauce is perking steadily but not too fast. Cook for an hour or so, covered, checking that the sauce has not reduced and is still covering the meat (add stock if needed). Turn the ossobuco over in the pan so the meat cooks evenly.
• Uncover the pan, and cook for another hour or more at a bubbling simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain slow but steady concentration of the sauce. As the braising-liquid level gradually drops, carefully turn the shanks again, so no parts dry out.
• Cook for 2 to 3 hours in all, until the meat at its thickest part is tender enough to pierce with a fork with only slight resistance, and the sauce is thick, reduced well below the tops of the shank pieces. Season with fresh pepper to taste and stir. Turn off the heat. Lift each ossobuco from the cooking pot with sturdy tongs, letting the sauce drain off, and place it on a large platter. Snip the knotted twine pieces with a scissors; pull off and discard. Lift out the cheesecloth sachet, press to release all the juices back into the pot, and discard.
• Set a wire-mesh sieve in a bowl or saucepan. Strain all the sauce through the sieve, pressing the liquid from the strips of peel and vegetable bits. The sauce should be thick and velvety, with the consistency of molasses (if it is too thin, quickly reduce it over high heat). Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning for the last time.
• Chop and stir together the chopped parsley, garlic, and lemon zest for the gremolata just before serving, for freshness. Spoon the Risotto alla Milanese (page 48) into the center of six wide plates, and nestle the ossobuco in the center of the risotto. Spoon over it some of the sauce, and sprinkle lightly with gremolata (about 1/2 teaspoon per serving). Serve with small spoons for scooping the delicious marrow from the bones, and pass the remaining gremolata at the table.

MILAN-STYLE BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Tie kitchen twine around circumference of each veal shank so that veal will hold shape while cooking. Set heavy large pot over medium heat (pot should be big enough to accommodate veal arranged in single layer). Add 1/4 cup butter to pot and melt. Add onions, carrot and 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic and sauté until vegetables are tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
• Sprinkle veal shanks with salt and pepper. Coat veal with flour, shaking off excess. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add veal to skillet and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer veal to pot with vegetables. Discard fat in skillet.
• Add 1 cup white wine to skillet and boil until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, scraping up browned bits, about 3 minutes. Pour over veal and vegetables. Add canned tomatoes with juices, 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped basil and lemon peel strips to pot. Add enough beef broth to cover veal. Bring mixture to boil. Cover pot tightly with aluminum foil, then lid. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until veal is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before continuing.)
• Transfer veal to platter; cover to keep warm. Boil sauce until slightly thickened and reduced to 4 cups, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix grated lemon peel, remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and 2 tablespoons parsley in small bowl. Pour sauce over veal. Sprinkle with lemon peel mixture.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Make shanks:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat shanks dry. Stir together flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper on a sheet of wax paper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. While oil heats, dredge 4 shanks in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Brown shanks in oil on all sides, turning with tongs, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large (17- by 12- by 2-inch) roasting pan. Add 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and repeat with remaining 4 shanks. Discard remaining flour mixture.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook onion, garlic, anchovies, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine and boil, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, water, zest strips, and remaining teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, then pour mixture over shanks. Tightly cover pan with foil and braise in oven 1 hour. Turn shanks over, cover, and continue to braise until meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours more.
• Remove from oven and skim fat from surface of sauce, then transfer shanks and sauce to a large platter. Discard bay leaves.
• Make gremolata:
• Stir together parsley, grated zests, and garlic and sprinkle over shanks.

TRADITIONAL OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Dust the veal shanks lightly with flour. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the veal, and cook until browned on the outside. Remove to a bowl, and keep warm. Add two cloves of crushed garlic and onion to the skillet; cook and stir until onion is tender. Return the veal to the pan and mix in the carrot and wine. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Pour in the tomatoes and beef stock, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, basting the veal every 15 minutes or so. The meat should be tender, but not falling off the bone.
• In a small bowl, mix together the parsley, 1 clove of garlic and lemon zest. Sprinkle the gremolata over the veal just before serving.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Make stew:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F.
• Bring demiglace to a simmer in a 1-quart saucepan over moderate heat. Remove from heat and keep warm, partially covered.
• Pat shanks dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge shanks in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy ovenproof pot over moderately high heat until just smoking, then brown shanks on all sides, about 10 minutes total, and transfer with tongs to a plate. Add butter to pot and heat until foam subsides, then sauté onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 9 minutes.
• Add wine, scraping up any brown bits, then add warm demiglace, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Return shanks (with any juices accumulated on plate) to pot and bring liquid to a boil, then cover pot and braise shanks in oven until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Carefully transfer shanks with a slotted spoon to a clean plate and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Skim fat from sauce, then simmer, uncovered, on top of stove, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper and add shanks, then cook over low heat until heated through. (Discard strings and bay leaf before serving.)
• Make gremolata:
• Stir together parsley, zest, rosemary, and thyme and sprinkle over osso buco just before serving.
• *Available at specialty foods shops and cooking.com.

WHOLE BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• On a cutting board, use the side of your chef's knife to smash together the chopped garlic and the rosemary to make a coarse paste. Cut several deep holes in the veal shanks with a paring knife-really stab them! Using your index finger, stuff the holes with the rosemary-garlic mixture; this will perfume the shanks with a beautiful aroma while they braise.
• Season the shanks generously with salt. Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and bring to high heat. Add the shanks to the pan and brown well on all sides; this may take up to 20 minutes. Don't skimp on this step-this is where the big, rich, brown flavors start to develop, so take your time!
• While the shanks are browning, put the onions, carrots, celery, apples, and the remaining 3 cloves of smashed garlic in a food processor and purée to a coarse paste; reserve.
• When the shanks are very brown, transfer them to a roasting pan. Ditch the fat, add a bit of fresh olive oil, and add the puréed veggies and apples to the sauté pan. Season generously with salt and cook until the mixture is very brown and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Again, don't skimp here-you want the veggies to form a crust on the bottom of the pan. This is where more of that lovely brown flavor develops, so take your time.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the wine, bring it to a boil (BTB), and stir frequently until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Then transfer everything to the roasting pan with the shanks. Add about 1/2 cup water to the sauté pan to help release any of that good crud stuck to the bottom, then add it to the roasting pan.
• Add 4 to 5 more cups water to the roasting pan and stir to combine; the mix should be pretty soupy. Taste and add more salt if needed, then toss in the bay leaves and the thyme bundle.
• Put the pan in the oven and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, turning the shanks every 30 minutes, stirring and adding more water if the liquid reduces too much. If the shanks brown too much during the cooking time, tent the pan with aluminum foil. When the shanks are done they should be incredibly tender and flavorful.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH GREEN OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Make Braised Veal Shanks:
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Pit 1/4 cup olives and chop fine. Lightly crush remaining 1/2 cup olives with side of a large knife.
• Pat veal shanks dry between paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dredge top and bottom (not side) of each shank in flour, knocking off excess. In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and brown tops and bottoms of shanks in batches, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer shanks as browned to a flameproof roasting pan.
• Wipe out skillet and add remaining tablespoon oil. Heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook onion, stirring, until golden. Add garlic and anchovy and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chopped olives, zest, capers, rosemary, and wine and boil 5 minutes. Add broth and crushed olives and bring to a boil.
• Pour broth mixture over shanks and cover tightly with foil. Braise shanks in oven 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Shanks may be prepared up to this point 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat shanks before proceeding.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Transfer shanks with a slotted spoon to another roasting pan or deep oven proof platter and keep warm, covered, in oven. Strain cooking liquid through a sieve into a 1-quart glass measuring cup and reserve solids, discarding zest. Let liquid stand until fat rises to top and skim and discard fat. (There should be about 1 1/2 cups liquid. If necessary, in a saucepan boil liquid until it is reduced.) Add reserved solids to liquid and pour over shanks.
• Serve shanks sprinkled with gremolata and garnished with caper berries.
• Make Gremolata:
• In a small bowl toss all ingredients together well. Makes about 1/3 cup.