Recipe: Delectable Beef Shank “Ossobuco”

Listen, when I write a recipe, and especially while I’m cooking, I wing it. I don’t measure everything. I eyeball it. Most of the time, following everything to a T on a recipe isn’t required to produce a nutritious and tasty meal. Take this ingredients list as a guide. And guess what, I’m not going to tell you a long story before I give you the recipe either.

This Ossobuco recipe features beef shanks slow-braised with vegetables, tomatoes, red wine, and rich stock, producing tender, fall-off-the-bone meat and a savory, gelatinous bone marrow perfect for savoring with a spoon.

Ingredients Needed

1. All-purpose flour (1 cup or so)

2. Beef Shank (Four beef shanks about 8-ounces each)

3. Cooking fat (Olive oil, butter, or tallow)

4. Onion (1 large diced)

5. Carrots (1-3 large ones diced)

6. Celery (2-3 stalks diced)
   A note on onion, carrots, and celery - this is what is known as the “holy trinity” or “sofrito” or “mirepoix.” You can never go wrong with starting many slow-cooked meals with this trio. I always aim to keep these three ingredients in my kitchen.

7. Garlic cloves (measure it with your heart as my friend once said - as much as you want)

8. Tomato paste (2 tablespoons or so)

9. Fresh tomatoes (3 cups, roughly chopped - We’re making a bodacious veggie stock for the shank!)

10. Red wine (a 750ml bottle or less - you should probably drink a glass, too)

11. Beef stock (about 4 cups)

12. Bay leaves (4 big ones)

13. Italian parsley (2 big ol’ bunch of it. One for the pot, and one for the gremolata garnish)

14. Fresh Thyme sprigs (20-30 sprigs)

15. Coarse (kosher) salt ( Coarse salt and kosher salt are the same thing. It isn’t blessed by a holy man or anything.)

16. Lemon (1 - zested or finely grated for the gremolata)

17. Gremolata recipe (this is a non-negotiable garnish featuring lemon zest, parsley, and garlic. I don’t have a recipe for this, but it’s just finely chopped parsley, raw garlic, and lemon zest. Similar to a chimmichurri - google can help)

Kitchen Tools Needed

1. Dutch Oven (giant oven-proof pot with oven-proof lid)

2. An oven-oven

3. Tongs (to remove things without burning your fingertips)

4. Stirring spoon (I’m a fan of wood)

5. Zester / grater for the lemon

The Road Map

This is how the beef shanks are going to start as frozen and end deliciously slow-braised.

1. Thaw the beef shank thoroughly. Leave on counter to come to room temp. Pat dry.

2. Dredge the DRY and ROOM TEMP beef shank in seasoned flour (salt and pepper)

3. Brown the beef shank in the cooking fat in the dutch oven pot until they’re a deep golden brown on all sides - maybe 6 minutes per side. Use your eyeballs and your nose to guide you.

4. Remove the browned shanks to any bowl or plate. I like a wire rack to allow airflow.

5. Cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the same dutch oven in more cooking fat. Saute until lightly browned.

6. Add tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes. It’ll get kind of chunky and brown. That’s good!

7. Add chopped tomatoes and red wine to the hot, steamy veggies and tomato paste. This is called deglazing and will release all sorts of good bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook for about 2-3 minutes

8. Add beef stock, bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. Be sure to try the liquid at this point to make sure it’s well seasoned. Add more salt and pepper as desired.

9. Add the browned beef shank back to pot, submerge them, cover with heat-proof lid that no doubt is part of your dutch oven.

10. Place dutch oven in 325F preheated over and cook for 2-3 hours.

11. After fully cooked and tender, plate beef shank ossobuco over top some of the cooked veggies from the pot, and covering in some of the sauce. Serve with gremolata!

12. Serve beef shank ossobuco with mashed potatoes, pasta, polenta, or risotto.

Some notes

Non-negotiables, red-wine, gremolata, and taking your time. You cannot rush this dish, and you cannot skip red-wine or the gremolata.

You MUST allow the beef shank to get crusty and golden brown in the pot before taking it out - this makes or breaks this dish in my opinion. And in order to do this, a room-temperature, patted-dry beef shank, allows the seasoned flour to stick well and not get soggy.