Osso Buco with Polenta

This recipe is from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything.”

Osso buco means “bone with hole” in Italian and is a dish from the Lombardy region of Italy. It’s traditionally made with veal shanks, but you can use beef shanks instead. Like the name implies, these are cross-cut shanks with the bone in the middle, marrow exposed. After it is cooked, you can scoop out and eat the marrow. This was my first time eating beef bone marrow and it was surprisingly soft and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 beef shanks
a little flour for dredging
4 Tbsp butter (or combo of butter & olive oil)
salt & pepper to taste
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lg onion, chopped
1-2 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 carrots, chopped
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme OR 1 tsp dried
3/4 c dry white wine
1x 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup beef/chicken stock or water
*make polenta or mashed potatoes to serve with the osso buco

Bellair beef shanks come in packs of four, ranging from 3-4 lb total. Let them thaw fully and come to room temperature if you can. Pat them dry and dredge lightly in flour. Note, you can tie each shank with kitchen twine to prevent the meat from falling completely off the bone — they look nicer at the end, but it’s not necessary.

Preheat oven to 350 F. It’s best to use a dutch oven or other ovenproof pot with lid. Preheat the dutch oven/pot on the stove top for a few minutes, then add half the butter and/or olive oil. Brown the shanks on both sides, sprinkling a little salt and pepper as they cook.

Remove shanks to a plate. Wipe the fat out of the pot and add remaining butter & oil. Add the veggies and thyme and cook until soft. You can add salt and pepper here.

Add the dry white wine, turn up heat, and let the liquid bubble away for about 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes.

Nestle the shanks among the veggie mixture and add the stock/water. Cover and place in the oven. Cooking for about 1/2 - 1 hour. Turn the shanks about every half hour.

While that cooks, you can make polenta and Grenolada (a Milanese condiment traditionally served with Osso Buco): mix 1 Tbsp minced lemon zest, 2 Tbsp minced fish parsley, 1/4 to 1 tsp minced garlic (to your taste.) I added just a touch of lemon juice to mine, too.

It’s ready when the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Remove the shanks to a plate. You can sprinkle Gremolada on top, or wait until you plate. If the veggie mixture is a little too soupy, you can cook it down on the stove top. I decided to give it a little whirl of the immersion blender to make a chunky gravy.

I served the shanks on a little nest of polenta with a helping of gravy and Gremolada.