By Dorie Greenspan
- Total Time
- 2 hours, mostly unattended
- Rating
- 4(235)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Cross-cut veal shanks are the cut for osso buco, a braised dish. The sauce for my rendition is tomato-based, bolstered (subtly) by anchovies as well as white wine and broth. But it’s the addition of orange zest and oil-cured black olives that makes this a standout. Like most slow-cooked dishes, you can make this a few days ahead and it will only be better for the wait. The tradition is to serve the veal (you can use pork, if you prefer) with a last-minute dusting of gremolata, a mix, in this case, of basil, orange zest and garlic. Osso buco is good over rice, noodles or other grains; I like it over mashed potatoes or a smooth squash purée.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 128-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes, preferably imported
- 3tablespoons canola oil
- 6cross-cut veal shanks or 12 pork ones, patted dry
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 4cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2carrots, thinly sliced
- 1large onion, finely chopped
- 3sprigs thyme, leaves only
- 1bay leaf
- 6anchovy fillets
- 1cup dry white wine
- 1cup chicken broth
- ¾cup oil-cured black olives, pitted
- 4wide strips orange (or lemon) zest
- Pinch red-pepper flakes
- Rind of 1 orange (or lemon), finely chopped
- ¼cup basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1clove garlic, finely chopped
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Osso Buco
For the Gremolata
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
799 calories; 32 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 101 grams protein; 1861 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
To Make the Osso Buco
Step
1
Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 350 degrees. Cut the tomatoes into pieces, and reserve the juice; set aside.
Step
2
Heat the canola oil in a Dutch oven (or other large pot) over medium heat, and working in batches, brown the meat on all sides, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl as the pieces are browned. Discard the oil.
Step
3
Add the olive oil, garlic, carrots, onion and herbs to the pot. Season with salt, and cook over low heat, stirring, until the vegetables are soft but not colored, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the anchovies, and cook a minute or two, until they dissolve. Increase the heat, add the wine and boil until almost evaporated. Stir in the broth, tomatoes with their liquid, olives, zest and pepper flakes. Return the meat, submerging as much of it as possible. Seal the pot with foil, and cover with the lid. Slide the pot into the oven.
Step
4
Braise for 1½ hours — if the meat is falling off the bone, it’s done; if it’s not, give it another 30 minutes or so.
To Make the Gremolata
Step
5
Mix all the ingredients together.
To Serve
Step
6
Serve the meat with the sauce (or refrigerate for up to 3 days; reheat gently). Pass the gremolata at the table.
Ratings
4
out of 5
235
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Cooking Notes
Sharon
What a delicious cozy winter / dinner party recipe. This could feed 4 adults very comfortably. The orange peel and gremolata definitely add an amazing winter element. I purchased 2 large shanks which required 2 hrs. of cooking time. I made a polenta with Parmesan cheese to accompany the dish. Fantastic with a Barolo and a Caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing and croutons.
Didi
Added more red wine (didn't quite cook it all off), more vegetables (celery...), more orange zest, and used buffalo osso bucco shanks. Cooked for 2 hours and got sweet, tangy, and deep flavors, so delicious!!! It went too fast! Fabulous recipe!
Misha
I dusted the meat with flour, salt and pepper before browning. I think a small amount of sugar should be added or the sauce before pouring over the veal to sweeten the canned tomatoes.
Richard
If this was bitter, it was because you got pith in with the zest. Nothing else in the recipe would cause bitterness.
Caroline 0ne
This was fabulous. Will make again and again. Inspired by another recipe I started with a couple of ounces of pancetta, which I removed after browning and added back later. For two cross cuts of veal shank, I halved the other ingredients - perfect amount of sauce.
Liza
Made this w beef as Whole Foods no longer sells veal. 2 hours and the meat was falling off the bones perfectly. Used red wine. Doubled carrots and added celery. The gremolata was loved. Served w risotto and an arugula salad. Perfect Sunday night dinner for 2!
KCC
Had anyone tried this using a slow cooker?
Coley Bert
This is fantastic with lamb shanks. Serve over polenta into which you've stirred half a cup of grated Italian fontina and some butter.
mgodoytess
Making this without anchovies! I thought I had some but I don’t … hopefully it will be good
Kim
Another fantastic braise! My grocer was out of oil-cured black olives, so I bought dry-cured and soaked them in olive oil over night. Worked great.
Edward Blau
By chance, I found two nice pieces of veal shank at a bargain price and used the Craig Claiborne recipe in The NY Times which is from the north of Italy and does not use tomatoes.I think the delicate flavor of the veal gets overwhelmed by the addition of tomatoes.I would urge those who want to use the precious pieces of veal to consider Milanese Osso Bucco.We served it with polenta and a 2015 Tuscon red.
Cristina
a classic for us would be risotto alla milanese with ossobuco!
Liza
Made this w beef as Whole Foods no longer sells veal. 2 hours and the meat was falling off the bones perfectly. Used red wine. Doubled carrots and added celery. The gremolata was loved. Served w risotto and an arugula salad. Perfect Sunday night dinner for 2!
Maria
Skip the gremolata, made with parmesan polenta, was delicious.
chris
Wow. Followed recipe to the hilt save no fresh basil so added some homemade pesto to the zest also decreased temps to 275 as I’m old school in letting it cook slower. Delish!!
sassysf
Terrific! Highly recommend. The the orange zest and basil is key. I made this with beef shanks. Cooking time 2.5 hrs. I lightly salted the meat 24hrs before cooking. I doubled the carrots and added diced celery. I used 50/50 white/red wine and 50/50 veg/beef stock. However, I used only 1/2 c of dry-cured olives, I was worried it would be too salty. Served over polenta. Just delish!
craig mclaughlan
Delicious. The touch of chilli and orange zest are key. Not sure why recipe calls for white wine but whatevs, it was great.
FDionne
Fantastic recipe. I had only two shanks but didn't change the quantities otherwise. The gremolata was actually a great complement instead of overwhelming the dish like it usually does. I'll use the leftover sauce as a base for a pasta dish.
Susan
I’ve done this handful of times now, sometimes for 2 where I’ve halved the recipe and sometimes for 4 where I had 4 veal shanks with the sauce recipe as is.I’ve used shallots when I was out of onions, anchovy paste instead of the fillets, and veal demi-glace instead of the broth. It is superb every time, definitely company worthy, but delish when it’s just me and my hubby. I usually serve it over polenta and often with a salad w/Sam Sifton’s Grilled Romaine dressing (yum).
Susan
Oh, and it freezes and reheats very well.
Shaun C
Superb! Loved the addition of olives and lemon (in our case) peel. Consider using a little more stock and tomatoes to ensure there’s enough liquid. We also added finely diced celery to the vegetable mix. N
Jeff E
Don’t use beef shanks. Finally tender after 2.5 hours, but it’s better with veal or lamb. Also, no point in browning the meat. A messy and time consuming step that makes no difference.
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