Milan Style Braised Veal Shanks Recipes

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS, MILAN STYLE

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from veal shanks. Coat veal with flour. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook veal in oil about 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides; drain.
• Place veal in 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients; pour over veal.
• Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until veal is very tender and pulls away from bones.
• Remove veal and vegetables from cooker, using slotted spoon; place on serving platter. Skim fat from veal juices in cooker if desired. Pour juices over veal and vegetables.

OSSO BUCO (ITALIAN BRAISED VEAL SHANKS) RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Season veal shanks all over with salt and pepper. If you have butcher's twine, you can tie a length of it tightly around the circumference of each shank; this can help them hold their shape during cooking, but is not absolutely necessary.
• Add butter to Dutch oven, along with onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until vegetables are softened and just starting to turn a light golden color, about 6 minutes.
• Prepare a parchment paper lid following these instructions . Cover shanks with parchment lid and transfer to oven. Cook for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, for the Gremolata: In a small bowl, stir together parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. Set aside.
• Carefully transfer shanks to a platter. (Using a spatula and tongs together can help prevent them from falling apart.) Using a spoon, carefully scrape off any excess fat on surface of braising juices. The liquid should be saucy and thick; you can adjust the consistency by adding either water or stock to thin the sauce, or simmering it on the stovetop until more fully reduced. Discard thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
• Remove twine from shanks, if used. Serve shanks on plates, spooning braising sauce on top and passing remaining gremolata at the table for diners to sprinkle as a garnish to their own taste; make sure to offer small spoons for scooping out marrow from bones. Osso buco is traditionally served with Risotto alla Milanese .

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.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS, MILAN STYLE

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from veal shanks. Coat veal with flour. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook veal in oilabout 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides; drain.
• Place veal in 5 to 6 quart slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients; pour over veal.
• Cover and cook on low heat setting 8-10 hours or until veal is very tender and pulls away from bones.
• Remove veal and vegetables from cooker, using slotted spoon; place on serving plate. Skim fat from juices in cooker. Pour juices over veal and vegetables.

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.

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.

VEAL SHANKS, MILAN STYLE

Steps:

• 1 Spread the flour on a piece of wax paper. Dredge the veal in the flour, shaking off the excess. 2 In a Dutch oven or other deep, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, melt the butter with the oil over medium heat. Add the veal and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Turn the slices over with tongs and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter the onion around the meat. Cook until the onion is tender and the meat is browned, about 10 minutes more. 3 Add the wine and cook, scraping up and blending in the browned bits at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and partially cover the pan. 4 Cook, basting the meat occasionally with the sauce, until the veal is tender and coming away from the bone when tested with a fork, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If there is too much liquid, remove the cover and allow it to evaporate. 5 About 5 minutes before serving, mix together the garlic, parsley, anchovy (if using), and the lemon zest. Stir the mixture into the sauce in the pan and baste the meat. Serve immediately. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.