Osso Buco

A special dish for a special cut of meat

• CuisineItalian
• CategoryBeef
• CourseMains

Ingredients

• 1.2 kgsOsso buco
• 2 tbspPlain flour
• ½ tspGround pepper
• 50 gmsButter
• 100 gmsPancetta, chopped
• 2Carrots, sliced
• 400 gmsOnions, chopped
• 200 gmsLeek, sliced
• 2 clovesGarlic, sliced
• 1 tspChilli flakes
• 1 cupRed wine
• 400 mlBeef stock
• 2 x 400 gmsDiced tomatoes, canned
• 2 tbspTomato paste
•  Olive oil
•  Thyme
•  Salt

Preparation

1. Mix plain flour, pepper and salt
2. Put in a plastic bag and dust each piece of osso buco, one by one
3. Heat butter and olive oil and brown the osso buco, two pieces at a time
4. Remove osso buco, add more oil
5. Add pancetta, carrots, garlic, onion, leek and chilli flakes, stir till soft
6. Add red wine, beef stock, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, salt, heat through and then simmer for 10 minutes
7. Add osso buco to the pot, checking that they are completely submerged
8. Put in an oven at 140°C for 2 to 3 hours

Many years ago, while touristing in Perth, it was getting late in the night. We just went into one of the few restaurants that were still open. I ordered the osso buco - something I had never tried or cooked before. It was the end of the day. The meat must have been cooking all day - it was soft and almost falling apart. The sauce bubbling away all day was thick and rich. The cook had given up on any more customers walking in and had given me a double helping. It was delicious and there was lots of it. I came away thinking it should be something I should try to make at home.

This dish has a special cut of meat specifically for it. Osso buco, in Italian, means bone with a hole. It is a cross-cut veal shank. You get the bone with marrow in the middle surrounded by meat. A membrane surrounds the outside. Keep this membrane on - it keeps the meat together when cooked till soft. It is not hard to find - every butcher carries it and so do many of the supermarkets.