Veal Shanks With Lemon Food

VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine flour, salt and pepper. Add veal, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In an ovenproof Dutch oven, brown meat in oil in batches on all sides; drain., In a large skillet, saute the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in butter until tender. Return veal to the Dutch oven; top with vegetable mixture. Add tomatoes, broth, basil, thyme and bay leaves., Cover and bake 2 to 2-1/4 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaves. Just before serving, combine garnish ingredients; sprinkle over veal. Freeze option: Place individual portions to cooled meat and cooking juices in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little broth if necessary.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Make shanks:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat shanks dry. Stir together flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper on a sheet of wax paper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. While oil heats, dredge 4 shanks in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Brown shanks in oil on all sides, turning with tongs, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large (17- by 12- by 2-inch) roasting pan. Add 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and repeat with remaining 4 shanks. Discard remaining flour mixture.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook onion, garlic, anchovies, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine and boil, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, water, zest strips, and remaining teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, then pour mixture over shanks. Tightly cover pan with foil and braise in oven 1 hour. Turn shanks over, cover, and continue to braise until meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours more.
• Remove from oven and skim fat from surface of sauce, then transfer shanks and sauce to a large platter. Discard bay leaves.
• Make gremolata:
• Stir together parsley, grated zests, and garlic and sprinkle over shanks.

TRADITIONAL OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• Dust the veal shanks lightly with flour. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the veal, and cook until browned on the outside. Remove to a bowl, and keep warm. Add two cloves of crushed garlic and onion to the skillet; cook and stir until onion is tender. Return the veal to the pan and mix in the carrot and wine. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Pour in the tomatoes and beef stock, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, basting the veal every 15 minutes or so. The meat should be tender, but not falling off the bone.
• In a small bowl, mix together the parsley, 1 clove of garlic and lemon zest. Sprinkle the gremolata over the veal just before serving.

OSSO BUCCO (VEAL SHANKS) WITH LEMON/TANGERINE GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Note: shanks cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces, tied with string around the circumference.
• Note: i use 3 cups drained canned tomatoes chopped but cant remember can size so put fresh. both work.
• Heat oven to 350. Melt butter in a dutch oven/casserole dish or use an electric frying pan for it all. Add chopped carrots, celery and onion to butter until they are lightly colored.
• In a heavy skillet heat 6 tbs olive oil. Season veal and dredge in flour then brown on ALL sides including edges. Add to casserole on top of vegetables.
• Deglaze the skillet by adding the cup of wine and scraping up the browned bits. Boil till reduced to 1/2 cup. Add stock, tomatoes and herbs, bring to a boil and pour over veal. Make sure it comes at least 1/2 way up the side of the meat and add more wine or stock if needed.
• Cover the pot and bake in oven for 1 1/2 hours basting occasionally until meat is fork tender.
• Remove veal from casserole, and if you wish put meat in oven heated up to 450 on a plate until it browns and glazes. Or just set it aside and keep warm.
• To strain the sauce press through a fine mesh sieve until all juice is back in the pot. Can be whizzed in the processor as well. Heat to boiling.
• Add the lemon and tangerine peel, garlic and parsley, boil till reduced and thickened, season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over the meat. Garnish with a few strips of zest from both fruits.
• Serve with Risotto alla milanese or plain rice, and some crusty bread to put the marrow on and mop up the sauce.
• If you have any leftovers enjoy, and if there is no meat but just sauce its wonderful over rice or noodles as a light supper.

VEAL SHANKS WITH LEMON

Steps:

• Dredge the pieces of shank in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the pieces in one layer and cook the pieces, turning often, until they are browned all over.
• Pour off the fat from the skillet. Scatter the onions and garlic around the meat, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are wilted.
• Add the wine, and stir to dissolve the brown particles that cling to the bottom and sides of the skillet. Add the broth, lemon juice, thyme and parsley, and stir. Cover closely and bring to the boil. Cook over moderate heat one hour and 15 minutes. Stir in the lemon rind and serve.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Coarse sea salt, for garnish, optional For the braised veal shanks: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge the shanks in the flour, making sure to get off any excess. Add the shanks to the pan, in batches if necessary, and cook on all sides until browned, 3 to 4 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate. If browning in batches, repeat with the remaining shanks. Add the onions, carrots, celery, coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and chiles to the pan and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until glossy, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, scraping to deglaze the pan. Add the chicken stock and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Taste the simmering braising liquid at this point; it should taste seasoned. Return the shanks to the pan, cover and braise in the oven until the meat is very tender, 3 to 4 hours.
• For the gremolata: When almost ready to serve, combine the parsley, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt and garlic in a small bowl. Stir to combine. To serve, remove the shanks to a serving platter and spoon the sauce and braising vegetables over the top of them. Sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt and garnish with gremolata.

VEAL SHANKS WITH PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Combine lemons, 1 teaspoon salt and sugar in a small saute pan. Cover with 2 cups water and simmer over medium heat until soft, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Cook the bacon in a large, heavy bottom saucepan over medium-low heat until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Increase the heat to medium high, add the shanks and sear until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
• Add the onion and garlic. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to high and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, lemons, carrots, turnips, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Return the shanks and bacon to the pan. Cover partly and simmer gently until the meat falls off the bone, about 2 hours.
• Divide the shanks among 4 plates. Ladle the sauce over each shank. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. Serve with root vegetable puree (recipe below).

VEAL WITH LEMON AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Pour the flour mixture on a plate, and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the scaloppini in the flour and shake off the excess, set aside. Melt butter and olive oil together in a skillet over medium fire. Add scaloppini to skillet and brown on both sides. Set aside until all the veal has been cooked. After the veal has been removed from the pan, add the chicken stock to the pan over high heat and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits. Cook until the liquid has thickened. Straining the liquid may be necessary to remove the larger pieces of the scrapings. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, capers, lemon juice and parsley to sauce. Stir over a high heat about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over the veal. Garnish with sliced lemons and serve.

ITALIAN STYLE VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Mix gremolata ingredients together and serve with the cooked shanks.
• Preheat oven to 180 Degrees Celsius.
• Season shanks with salt and pepper.
• Dust flour shaking off excess.
• Heat oil in large frying pan and brown shanks.
• Transfer to ovenproof casserole.
• Wipe pan clean with paper towel and melt butter over low heat.
• Cook vegetables stirring until onion is soft, then add all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer 2 minutes.
• Pour over shanks.
• Cover bake for 1 1/2 hours until meat is tender.

VEAL SHANKS, ARTICHOKE HEARTS, AND CHICK-PEAS WITH PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Make four-day preserved lemon zest:
• Scrub lemons and with a vegetable peeler remove zest in strips. In a saucepan of boiling water blanch zest 1 minute and drain in a sieve. Transfer zest to a glass jar (about 1-cup capacity). Add salt and juice, pressing zest down to keep it covered by lemon juice, and cover jar with a tight-fitting glass lid or plastic-coated lid. Let zest stand at room temperature 4 days, shaking jar each day. Preserved lemon zest keeps, covered and chilled, 6 months. Makes about 1/2 cup.
• Make the veal:
• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• In a heavy kettle large enough to hold veal shanks in one layer without crowding arrange shanks and season with salt and pepper. Roast shanks in middle of oven, covered tightly, 3 hours, or until tender. (Meat will give off juices as it cooks.)
• While shanks are roasting, in a large saucepan combine chick-peas with enough water to cover by 4 inches and simmer, covered partially, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until tender but not falling apart. Drain chick-peas in a colander. Chick-peas may be cooked 2 days ahead, cooled, uncovered, and chilled, covered.
• Transfer shanks to a deep platter and keep warm, reserving pan juices.
• In a large heavy skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook onion, stirring, until softened. Add artichoke hearts, chick-peas, and reserved pan juices and simmer, covered, until artichoke hearts are just tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer about 1/2 cup chick-peas with a slotted spoon and about 1 cup pan juices from skillet to a blender and purée. Stir purée into artichoke and chick-pea mixture to thicken and stir in coriander and salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon artichoke and chick-pea mixture over shanks and sprinkle with preserved lemon.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH GARLIC, LEMON, AND PARSLEY

Steps:

• Peel and cut the onion and carrots into 1/2-inch dice. Cut the celery into 1/2-inch dice. Coarsely chop the tomatoes.
• Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350ºF. Pat veal shanks dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Tie the shanks securely. Dredge shanks in the flour.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a 5-quart dutch oven. Saute the veal shanks over high heat, turning to sear on both sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer browned shanks to a plate. Discard oil and heat the butter. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and color slightly, about 10 minutes. Return the shanks to the dutch oven, placing them on top of the vegetables. Add the wine, chicken stock, tomatoes, and thyme and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover and transfer pan to the oven. Braise, basting every 30 minutes, until the meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Can cool, cover, and set shanks aside for several hours, or refrigerate in sauce up to 3 days).
• Serving:.
• For the gremolada, peel and mince the garlic. Grate 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Mince the parsley. Mix the garlic, lemon zest, and parsley; set aside. If shanks have been refrigerated, warm them over low heat. Transfer the shanks to a platter. Skim the cooking liquid and transfer the braised vegetables and the liquid to the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade; puree. Adjust the seasoning. Return the meat and sauce to the dutch oven. Sprinkle gremolada over the meat, and simmer for 5 minutes, until the shanks are warmed through. Spoon sauce onto 6 warm dinner plates. Put shanks over the sauce and serve immediately.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Lay veal in a single layer in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake in a 400ºF oven until browned (about 35 minutes). Remove pan from oven; turn veal over. Then add lemon, broth, marjoram, bay leaf, peppercorns, and coriander seeds to pan. Cover tightly with foil, return to oven, and bake until meat is so tender it pulls apart easily (about 1 1/2 hours).
• With a slotted spoon, lift veal shanks gently to a warm platter; keep warm.
• Pour juices through a fine strainer into a 1 quart measure; press residue in strainer to extract any liquid. Discard residue. (At this point, you may cover and refrigerate veal and pan juices separately until next day. Before continuing, reheat veal, covered, in a 400ºF oven until warm, 15 to 20 minutes. Place on a warm platter; keep warm).
• Skim and discard fat from pan juices. Pour pan juices into a wide frying pan; add vinegar and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, uncovered, until reduced to 1 1/2 to 2 cups (8 to 12 minutes). Mix cornstarch with water. Stir in cornstarch mixture and return to a boil, stirring.
• Pour gravy into a small pitcher; offer at the table to pour over meat to taste.