Lamb Ossobuco Recipes

LAMB OSSO BUCO SLOW-COOKED

Steps:

• Put flour into a shallow wide bowl. Season lamb shanks all over with salt and pepper; dredge through the flour until coated, shaking off any excess flour.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat; add butter and heat until foaming. Cook lamb shanks in the hot butter until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer lamb shanks to a slow cooker.
• Pour wine into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon; transfer to the slow cooker. Add tomatoes with their juice, onion, chicken broth, celery, and thyme leaves to slow cooker.
• Cook on Low until lamb is very tender and almost falling off the bone, 6 to 8 hours. Transfer lamb shanks to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.
• Transfer the sauce in the slow cooker to a large skillet; simmer over high heat until sauce is reduced to about 2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

OSSOBUCCO

Steps:

• Soak the porcini for at least 15 minutes in 200ml/7fl oz boiling water. Don't remove the membrane that holds the veal together, but trim off any obviously fatty or lumpy bits. Dust both sides of the meat with the seasoned flour.
• Heat the butter and oil in a very large flameproof sauté pan or casserole over a medium-high heat. When the sizzling stops, put in the veal and fry the slices for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Transfer the meat to a plate.
• Replace the pan over a low to medium heat and tip in the carrot and celery. Gently fry for 5 minutes until the vegetables have slightly softened, then raise the heat and pour in the wine. Bubble the wine furiously for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
• Fish the softened porcini out of the soaking liquid, squeeze out the excess moisture and reserve it. Chop the porcini roughly and add to the sauté pan, together with the soaking liquid. Add the sugocasa or passata and stock, then stir.
• Put the veal back into the pan in a single layer, cover and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer very gently for 2 hours, turning the veal slices halfway, until the meat is very soft. The liquid should reduce to a thickish sauce, but if it's still thin after 1¼ -1½ hours, half remove the lid to allow evaporation. Serve with the grain 'risotto' (see link, right).

LAMB OSSO BUCCO WITH RUSTIC LAMB DEMI-GLACE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Season lamb osso bucco liberally with salt and pepper and set aside on a plate. In a heavy-bottomed roasting pan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil on stove top. Carefully place the osso bucco in the hot roasting pan and sear all sides, until nicely browned. Once seared on all sides, remove from pan and set back onto plate. Using the same pot with the lamb drippings in the bottom, add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Saute for approximately 10 minutes using a wooden spoon to scrape the lamb drippings off the bottom of the pan and to caramelize the vegetables. Once caramelized, add tomato paste, coat the vegetables with the paste, and brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the drippings off the bottom of pan using a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half and add the Lamb Stock and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Place the seared osso bucco back into the pan. Change to high heat and once the stock starts to boil, put roasting pan into the oven. Cook the osso bucco for about 2 hours until it is fork tender, almost falling off the bone. You will want to turn the osso bucco every half hour so that it cooks evenly and does not burn on the bottom.
• When finished, take the lamb out of the sauce and set aside. In a blender, blend the sauce until the vegetables are pureed. Place about a 1/4 cup of sauce into the bottom of each serving bowl, top with osso bucco and drizzle with a little more sauce. It is best served with roasted carrots, onions, and potatoes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large roasting pan, roast lamb bones in the oven until dark brown. On a sheet tray, roast carrots, celery, and onion in the oven until browned as well. Place the bones and vegetables in a 4-gallon stock pot. Add 2 gallons cold water, salt and pepper, and bay leaves, if desired. Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn down to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 4 to 5 hours to get the best results.
• If using lamb base, roast vegetables as explained above. In a 4-gallon stock pot, add 2 gallons water and whisk in lamb base. Add the roasted vegetables and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for approximately 1 hour.

LAMB BRASATO OSSOBUCO

Steps:

• In a large stainless steel bowl, coat lamb shanks with some oil, salt and pepper. Bring the remaining blended oil to 385 degrees F in a rondo or Dutch oven. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Sear both sides of the lamb shanks until dark golden brown. Add carrots, celery and onions and cook until caramelized. Add garlic and cook for 10 more minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine, adding it and stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the rondo. Cook, letting the alcohol evaporate, about 8 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, veal demi and chicken stock. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Place lamb shanks in a roasting pan, then add vegetable mix over top. Add bay leaves. Cover with a layer of parchment paper and then a layer of aluminum foil. Bake for 2 1/2 hours. Let it rest, covered, for 30 minutes, then strain the sauce with a fine chinois.
• Place 1 ladle of the Risotto in the center of a plate. With the back of the ladle, press down to create space for plating lamb shank vertically. Plate lamb shank. Ladle the braised lamb sauce around the Risotto. Finish with a drizzle of 1 tablespoon Gremolata over top of lamb. Repeat to make 3 more plates.
• Start by making saffron stock, combining chicken stock with 1 sachet saffron in a pot. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and set aside for later.
• On medium-high heat, using a copper risotto pan, add half of the butter and the rice. The goal here is to toast outer shell of rice, but not brown it. This technique allows rice to have a more al dente texture when the cooking process is complete. Using a wooden spoon, stir the rice around the pot, keeping it moving at all times. Add onion and cook until they turn translucent and fragrant. Your rice should be seared but not browned. Deglaze with white wine and cook off alcohol. Add saffron stock 1 cup at a time. Cook, constantly stirring the risotto with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pot so nothing sticks to it. (The idea behind constant stirring is so all the rice cooks evenly; otherwise the rice at the bottom of the pan is at a hotter temperature and higher humidity, thus, it will cook faster than the rice on the surface of the pot. Add stock as needed. You want your risotto to be al dente, so make sure that when it comes to al dente you have as little liquid in the mix as possible.) The consistency you are looking for is that the risotto will barely run off the end of the wooden spoon. When the saffron stock is absorbed, finish with the Italian technique called "manteca" ...meaning to finish with remaining butter and Parmesan.
• Heat up a saucepan on low heat and add oil. Stir in garlic and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, lemon and orange zests. Season with salt and pepper.

LAMB OSSO BUCCO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly pat dry the lamb steaks. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat three tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. When shimmering, add the lamb steaks and sear, without disturbing, for about five minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Remove steaks and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the onions and saute for about two minutes. Add the carrots and celery and saute for about seven minutes more, stirring. Add the garlic and the tomato paste and stir again. Next, deglaze the pot with the red wine. Add the wine and scrape the bottom with a wood spoon to dislodge any delicious crisped bits on the bottom. Add the chicken stock and stir. Return the lamb steaks to the pot, nestle the sprigs of rosemary and thyme within, and cover. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 1.5 hours, until the meat is falling-apart tender. Check on it halfway through, flipping the steaks. Serve over polenta or risotto. Enjoy with a robust red wine