Osso Buco Italian Braised Veal Shanks Food

SLOW BRAISED HERITAGE OSSO BUCO AND RISOTTO ALLA PARMIGIANO

Steps:

• For the osso buco: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Season the pork shanks liberally with salt and pepper. In an oven-safe large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the blended oil over medium-high heat to nearly smoking. Sear the shanks on all sides until deeply caramelized and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and reserve.
• Reduce the heat to medium and carefully remove any excess oil from the pot; only about 1 tablespoon is needed. Cook the carrots, onions, celery, garlic and anchovies over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rosemary, sage and thyme. Add the canned tomatoes and allow to cook until the tomatoes are a rust color (this draws the sweetness out of the tomatoes), 12 to 15 minutes.
• Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan, then reduce the heat and keep warm. Bring the wine to a boil in a small saucepan, then reduce the heat and keep warm.
• Return the shanks to the pot and nestle them at the bottom. Pour the chicken broth and wine over the shanks and vegetables. Cover with a lid and braise in the oven until fork-tender, about 4 hours.
• For the risotto: Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan, then reduce the heat and keep warm. Bring the wine to a boil in a saucepan, then reduce the heat and keep warm.
• Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a pot over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the onions and cook just until translucent; do not allow the onions to become golden. Using a wooden spoon, add the arborio rice and toast in the butter, oil and onions for a few minutes.
• Add the wine and allow the rice to soak it up and release its creamy starch into the pot. When the rice is nearly dry, add enough of the warm chicken broth to cover (about 3/4 cup) and cook, stirring, until the rice soaks it up. Repeat the process of adding broth and stirring as needed until the rice is tender and dry, 20 to 30 minutes.
• To finish the risotto, stir in a few pats of cold butter and the Parmigiano. Spoon the risotto into bowls, top with the osso buco and the braising liquid.

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.

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.

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.

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 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:

• 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.