Ossobuco alla Milanese
Ossobuco alla Milanese (braised veal shanks, Milan style) is a signature dish from Milan, in the Lombardy region of Italy. This traditional and classic dish is quite old, it predates the mid 18th century when tomatoes were added to the dish. The original version can still be found in restaurants in Milan, where purists call it Ossobuco in bianco; bianco means white, with no color, hence no tomatoes or carrots.
The name Ossobuco literally means “Bone with hole” because the shank bone has a lot of marrow in its center and when the marrow is removed, a hole remains in the bone! By the way, the marrow is considered a delicacy and serious restaurants will bring a small spoon with which you can scoop out the marrow and eat it.
Ossobuco alla Milanese is perfect for special occasions and/or cold, blustery gray days as it is incredibly flavourful and a tad fatty. The rich flavors are a combination of wine (note: the alcohol evaporates making it perfect for all ages), vegetables, herbs, meat and the iconic gremolata with its lemony and herbal flavors. This dish will bring happiness to your soul!
For the perfect meal, plan on accompanying it with a starch; in Milan, ossobuco is usually served with risotto alla Milanese aka saffron risotto while in other areas of Lombardy it is served with mashed potatoes or polenta, which are equally delicious! Lastly, Ossobuco alla Milanese isn’t Milan style if it isn’t sprinkled with gremolata, a lemon and parsley dry condiment, see my recipe below.
Although it takes about 2 hrs to prepare this dish, it is pretty simple to execute. About 30 minutes is dedicated to prepping the ingredients and about 20 are required to actively cooking so while the meat is slowly cooking on the stove, you can do other things.
Don’t miss my notes about ingredients below the recipe. While using veal shanks is the traditional way to prepare this iconic dish from Milan, nowadays many make ossobuco with turkey leg shanks instead. Why? because turkey costs less than veal and because people, myself included, are trying to reduce their consumption of red meat. I have prepared ossobuco with turkey shanks and can confirm it is quite delicious!
My recipe is adapted from La Cucina Italiana
Time: 2 hrs
Calories: you don’t want to know!
For 4 portions
RECIPE for Ossobuco Milanese Style
Ingredients
4 large veal (or turkey) shanks, about 300g each, sliced 3-4 cm thick
Flour, I used rice flour to keep it gluten free, but regular flour is fine
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, I used sunflower oil
50g celery, about 1 stick, minced
50g carrot, one medium sized, minced
50g onion, a small one, minced
80g unsalted butter
100ml dry white wine (see suggestions below)
3 Tbsp tomato sauce
1lt meat or vegetable broth (see notes below)
1 sprig Rosemary (see notes below)
Several leaves of sage
For the Gremolata (with no garlic or anchovies)
Small bunch fresh parsley (5-10 stems)
1 organic fresh lemon
Salt & pepper (see note about broth)
Method
Prepare the sofritto: peel the carrot and onion, wash & dry the celery stick and mince (cut into tiny cubes). Set aside.
If your butcher hasn’t done this, then you should make incisions on the skin surrounding the shanks about every 3 cm so they will stay flat while cooking.
Dredge the shanks in flour.
In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat and when hot, quickly brown the shanks on both sides. Salt the shanks.
When browned, remove the shanks from the skillet and set aside. Lower the heat to Medium-low. Add the wine to the skillet to deglaze it. Scrape off any brown bits sticking to the bottom of your pot. After a 2-3 minutes, pour the cooked wine into a glass and set aside for now.
Once the heat has diminished, add the butter and the soffritto (celery, carrots and onions) and stir gently while they soften.
When the vegetables have softened, add the browned shanks back in the pot to let it absorb the flavors for about 5-7 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce to the cooked wine with gravy bits that you’ve set aside. Pour this over the veal shanks. Cover the shanks with about ¾ of the hot broth and add some sage leaves and a rosemary stem tied together over it. Cover the pot and cook for about 1 hour -1:30 mins.
While the shanks are slow cooking, let’s make the gremolata for this dish:
rinse and dry the lemon.
Remove the lemon peel only (not the white pith) with a knife.
Remove the leaves of 5-6 stems of parsley, the tender part of the stem can be included.
Rinse and dry the parsley in a salad spinner, if you have one, otherwise dry with kitchen towels.
Place the lemon peel and parsley on a cutting board and with a large knife, mince it. The finer the mince, the better.
Place in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix.
You may sprinkle some gremolata on the ossobuco while it cooks or place it on the dining table so that diners can add it to their dish, or do both!
Serve with a saffron risotto Milanese style (recipe coming soon), mashed potatoes or polenta.
3 VERY IMPORTANT TIPS
After a few minutes, check to ensure that the shanks are barely simmering. Lower the heat if necessary.
Check the shanks every 30 minutes: slide the wooden spatula under each shank to make sure they are not sticking to the pot or that the broth is not drying out. Lower the heat and turn over the shanks in the first case, add more broth in the second case. By the way, cooking in a liquid is called braising.
The shanks are ready when they are almost falling apart. It pays to check the meat regularly because the time it takes to cook will vary depending on the exact temperature you use and the thickness of the meat shanks.
UTENSILS
Use tongs to turn the shanks.
Wooden spatula to regularly scrape the bottom of the pot and stir the vegetables
Salad spinner helpful but not necessary to wash and dry the parsley
A large enough skillet with cover or dutch oven
NOTES ABOUT INGREDIENTS
Meat
Traditionally this dish is prepared with veal shanks, sliced about 4 cm thick. For best results, make sure to choose the shanks from the rear legs which have more meat. Shanks from the front legs have less meat and more nerves, so are best to prepare broth or to obtain the marrow for the accompanying Milanese saffron risotto.
If you are trying to reduce your consumption of red meat, try substituting the veal with turkey shanks.
Broth
While meat broth is called for, I didn’t have any on hand and used a vegetable broth and I still got great compliments!
Important: always taste your broth before adding salt to your dish, as many broths, especially pre-made ones, are salty. It may be a good idea to salt your dish at the end.
Wine
Some great dry Italian white wines are Vermentino, Verdicchio, Falanghina, Fiano, and Pecorino while other excellent dry white wines include Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Blanc.
Remember, if you wouldn’t drink it, you shouldn’t cook with it!
Buon Appetito! Enjoy