Osso Buco Con Gremolata Food

PORK SHANK OSSO BUCO WITH POLENTA AND GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Liberally season all sides of the shanks with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the pan and sear the shanks until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes a side. Transfer to a plate.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the Dutch oven, then add the carrots, celery and onions. Season with salt and pepper and saute until the vegetables are slightly soft and browned, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 second. Add the wine to deglaze, scraping all the bits off the bottom. Add the shanks, any accumulated juices, the warm stock, tomatoes and bay leaves. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the shanks are extremely fork-tender, about 2 hours. Remove the shanks and tent with foil on a plate.
• If the braising liquid is a bit thin, right before serving, simmer the remaining liquid until thickened slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary.
• For each serving, put a ladle of Creamy Polenta in a shallow bowl, followed by a warm shank with a ladle of rich braising liquid, then top with the fresh Gremolata.
• Bring 6 cups water to a rolling boil in a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting, add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and pour the cornmeal into the water in a very slow stream from a measuring cup, all the while whisking in a circular motion to prevent lumps.
• Cover and cook, vigorously stirring the polenta with a wooden spoon for about 10 seconds once every 5 minutes and making sure to scrape clean the bottom and corners of the pot, until the polenta has lost its raw cornmeal taste and becomes soft and smooth, about 30 minutes. Stir in the cream, butter, cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix the parsley, lemon zest, orange zest and garlic together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

LAMB BRASATO OSSOBUCO

Steps:

• In a large stainless steel bowl, coat lamb shanks with some oil, salt and pepper. Bring the remaining blended oil to 385 degrees F in a rondo or Dutch oven. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Sear both sides of the lamb shanks until dark golden brown. Add carrots, celery and onions and cook until caramelized. Add garlic and cook for 10 more minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine, adding it and stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the rondo. Cook, letting the alcohol evaporate, about 8 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, veal demi and chicken stock. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Place lamb shanks in a roasting pan, then add vegetable mix over top. Add bay leaves. Cover with a layer of parchment paper and then a layer of aluminum foil. Bake for 2 1/2 hours. Let it rest, covered, for 30 minutes, then strain the sauce with a fine chinois.
• Place 1 ladle of the Risotto in the center of a plate. With the back of the ladle, press down to create space for plating lamb shank vertically. Plate lamb shank. Ladle the braised lamb sauce around the Risotto. Finish with a drizzle of 1 tablespoon Gremolata over top of lamb. Repeat to make 3 more plates.
• Start by making saffron stock, combining chicken stock with 1 sachet saffron in a pot. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and set aside for later.
• On medium-high heat, using a copper risotto pan, add half of the butter and the rice. The goal here is to toast outer shell of rice, but not brown it. This technique allows rice to have a more al dente texture when the cooking process is complete. Using a wooden spoon, stir the rice around the pot, keeping it moving at all times. Add onion and cook until they turn translucent and fragrant. Your rice should be seared but not browned. Deglaze with white wine and cook off alcohol. Add saffron stock 1 cup at a time. Cook, constantly stirring the risotto with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pot so nothing sticks to it. (The idea behind constant stirring is so all the rice cooks evenly; otherwise the rice at the bottom of the pan is at a hotter temperature and higher humidity, thus, it will cook faster than the rice on the surface of the pot. Add stock as needed. You want your risotto to be al dente, so make sure that when it comes to al dente you have as little liquid in the mix as possible.) The consistency you are looking for is that the risotto will barely run off the end of the wooden spoon. When the saffron stock is absorbed, finish with the Italian technique called "manteca" ...meaning to finish with remaining butter and Parmesan.
• Heat up a saucepan on low heat and add oil. Stir in garlic and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, lemon and orange zests. Season with salt and pepper.

EMERIL'S OVEN-BRAISED OSSO BUCO WITH ORZO "RISOTTO"

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until very hot. In a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour with the Essence and dredge the shanks in the seasoned flour. Shake the shanks to remove any excess flour, then transfer shanks to the pot and cook until well-browned on all sides, working in batches if necessary, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the shanks to a roasting pan or deep lasagna pan large enough to hold the shanks in 1 layer and set aside. Add the onions, celery and carrots to the Dutch oven and cook until softened and lightly browned around the edges, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to the roasting pan along with the stock and bring to a boil on the stovetop. Cover the roasting pan and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 2 1/2 hours, or until the shanks are very tender.
• Remove from the oven and add the parsley and orzo to the pan; stir to distribute evenly. Replace the cover and return the pan to the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and stir gently. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve immediately, 1 shank per person on top of a bed of orzo. Garnish with some of the grated Parmesan.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William and Morrow, 1993.

OSSO BUCO WITH RISOTTO MILANESE

Steps:

• For the osso buco: Sprinkle the veal with salt and pepper and heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Spread some flour on a plate, then dredge the veal in the flour on all sides and add to the oil. Brown well on both sides, 2 minutes a side. Remove to a plate.
• Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pot and cook, stirring, until the onion wilts, about 4 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and thyme. Add the white wine, increase the heat and boil until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth and bay leaves. Reduce the heat so that the liquid is simmering gently, and nestle in the veal. Add water, if necessary, to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the meat. Cover and cook until the veal is tender and a paring knife inserted in the meat slides out easily (insert the knife in several pieces to make sure all are done), 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the veal to a plate.
• Strain the sauce into a fat separator, pressing on the solids. Wipe out the Dutch oven. Pour the defatted sauce back into the Dutch oven and reduce over high heat until thickened and the sauce just coats the back of a spoon. Cut the strings on the osso buco and return the meat to the sauce. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm while you make the risotto.
• For the risotto Milanese: Combine the broth and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and add the saffron, then turn the heat very low to just keep warm. Heat a medium Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper; cook until softened but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the rice and cook, stirring, to coat the grains in the oil, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine, bring to a simmer and cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add enough of the hot broth to just cover the rice. Simmer, stirring occasionally until almost totally absorbed. Continue to add broth and stir until the rice is creamy and al dente, about 18 minutes from the first addition. (The risotto will be a bit soupy at this point.)
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and Parmesan until melted and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the gremolata: Combine the parsley, garlic and lemon zest in a small bowl.
• Spoon the risotto into 4 shallow wide bowls. Top each serving with a piece of osso buco and spoon the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the gremolata.

OSSO BUCO MILANESE

Steps:

• In a large shallow platter, season flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the veal shanks in the mixture and tap off any excess. In a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven, over medium flame, heat the oil and butter. Sear the shanks on all sides, turn bones on sides to hold in marrow. Add more oil and butter if needed. Remove the browned veal shanks and set aside.
• Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and parsley to the pan and cook until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high, add the wine and deglaze the pan. Return the shanks to the pan, add the stock and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Baste the meat a few times during cooking. Remove the cover, continue to simmer for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit.
• For gremolata: combine all ingredients together in a small bowl. Strew the gremolata over the osso buco before serving. Serve osso buco with Saffron Risotto.
• In a saucepan, bring chicken broth to a simmer. Keep warm over low heat.
• In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add oil and rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat each grain. When rice begins to make a crackling sound, add saffron threads. Add 1 cup of the warm chicken broth and cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue to stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. Test the rice for doneness, it should be al dente but creamy. Remove risotto from heat, add grated cheese, salt and pepper. Serve at once with Osso Buco Milanese.
• Yield: 4 servings

OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Season the osso buco generously with salt.
• Coat a wide, flat pan generously with olive oil. Bring the pan to a high heat and add the osso buco to the pan and brown them very well on all sides.
• In a food processor puree the onion, celery, fennel, and garlic to a coarse paste. When the osso buco is well browned on all sides, remove from the pan and reserve. Ditch the excess oil from the pan and add a little new oil and bring to a high heat. Add the veggies to the pan with a pinch of crushed red pepper, season with salt, and brown them very well. Do not skimp on this step - it will take awhile, and that's ok. Add the tomato paste and cook until it starts to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and reduce by half.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Return the osso buco to the pan. Add water so the liquid becomes even with top of the meat. Taste the liquid and season with salt if needed. Add in the bay leaves and thyme bundle. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover, and put the whole pan in the oven.
• Cook the osso buco for 1 hour. Pull the pan out of the oven and check the liquid level and the seasoning. Add more liquid, if needed, return the pan to the oven, and cook for another hour.
• Remove the lid and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, remove the osso buco, and hold on a serving platter. Skim the fat off the surface of the sauce, if needed. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning.
• Remove the string from the osso buco. Serve the osso buco with sauce spooned over. Garnish with Gremolata. Serve with a demitasse spoon to scoop out the marrow.
• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.
• For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.
• In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.
• In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.
• Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard.
• Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot.
• Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.