VEAL OSSO BUCO

For this holiday party I bought festive napkin holders at Pier 1 Imports and told the guests they could take them home.  I have also in the past bought either tree ornaments and wrapped them around napkins with nice ribbon or if you can find (or make) letters you can use those as place card holders.

Serves 6

Served this for a winter dinner party and it was a huge hit.  This recipe is fantastic for entertaining because you make it 1 or even 2 days in advance then just gently reheat it for your guests.  I also make soup the next day with the leftovers.  I just add some barley and gently heat for about 20 minutes.

6 -12 ounce veal shanks*

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup vegetable oil or olive oil

1 cup flour

4 carrots, peeled and sliced**

2 celery stalks (including leaves on top), sliced**

½ - 1 onion (depending on size), diced**

6 garlic cloves, sliced

2 cups red wine

4 cups veal or chicken stock

1 box (26 oz.) Pomi chopped tomatoes or can chopped tomatoes

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (for serving)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (for serving)

*Sometimes grocery stores don’t have 12 ounces – don’t worry you can use smaller pieces if necessary.

**I cut up more carrots, celery, and onion and add later in the recipe (I’ll explain during the instructions).

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Season your veal shanks liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.  Leave out on counter for 30 minutes

Heat a large ovenproof pot over high heat.  Put the oil in.

Meanwhile shake your veal shanks in a zip lock bag with flour.

Brown the veal shanks a few at a time in the oil for about 5 minutes on each side.  Remove from pan and set aside adding more oil if necessary.  Don’t crowd your veal shanks.  Keep shanks on a dish covered with foil.

Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pan and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. 

Add wine, bring to a boil and cook for about 2-3 more minutes.

Add stock, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves to the pot.

Return veal shanks to the pot, cover and put in your oven for 2 ½ hours until the meat is really tender.

Let your dish cool out of the oven (don’t forget to turn your oven off!).

Strain your whole pot through a fine mesh strainer in the sink with a large pot underneath.

Remove herbs and place shanks on a dish.

There are 2 ways of doing this next step – I like to push the veggies through the strainer as I believe it adds lots of flavor and thickness to the broth.  It is time consuming though.  When I do it this way I then cut up 4-5 more carrots and ½ onion then add those again the next day when I am warming up the dish before serving.

Otherwise, you can add the veggies to the broth, add the veal shanks to it and refrigerate overnight.

Take pot out of refrigerator 1 hour before.

Check to see if there is any fat on surface that you may want to skim off.

Reheat your Osso Buco gently before serving – approximately 30 minutes.

I make polenta and put some in individual bowls before poring Osso Buco on top.

Serve individual dishes with chopped parsley and lemon zest over each.

Serve with crusty Italian bread for dipping!

With the broth that’s left over add some barley to it and make a hearty soup  for the next day.