Mario Batalis Osso Buco Recipes

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.

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

Steps:

• 1. Lay the veal shanks in a shallow baking pan and sprinkle liberally on both sides with salt. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• 2. Rinse the veal shanks of their salt and pat dry with paper towels. Wrap each veal shank once around the circumference so that it holds the bone and meat together in the center. Tie the twine with a good knot. Season the veal shanks with pepper.
• 3. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• 4. Heat a large, ovenproof casserole over high heat. Put the oil into the casserole and let it heat.
• 5. Meanwhile, put the flour in a shallow bowl, dredge the veal shanks in it, and pat off the excess. Brown the veal shanks in the hot oil for about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside. If the oil turns dark during the process, discard it and heat a fresh cup of oil.
• 6. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pan and cook over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until reduced by half.
• 7. Add the stocks, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf to the pan. Return the veal shanks to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the liquid boils, cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender and falling off the bones.
• 8. Remove the herbs from the braising liquid and discard. Let the veal shanks come to room temperature in the braising liquid. Remove the veal shanks and set aside. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve or chinois into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until reduced by a quarter. Using a skimmer or large spoon, skim off any grease or foam that rises to the surface. Return the strained vegetables to the liquid and taste for seasoning.
• 9. To serve, cut and discard the twine, put a single osso buco (veal shank) in a bowl, and ladle about 3/4 cup of the sauce and vegetables over it. (If the sauce and the meat are not still warm, heat them together very gently over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes.)
• 10. Garnish each osso buco with the fresh horseradish, lemon zest, and chopped parsley and season with pepper.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
• 2. Season the shank all over with salt and pepper. In a heavy-bottomed, 6- to 8-quart casserole, heat the olive oil until smoking. Place the shank in the pan and brown all over for 12 to 15 minutes, turning with long-handled tongs to sear every surface. Remove the shank and set aside.
• 3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the carrot, onion, celery, and thyme, and cook, stirring regularly, until golden brown and slightly softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, chicken stock, and wine and bring to a boil. Return the shanks to the pan, making sure they are submerged at least halfway; if not, add more stock. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid of aluminum foil. Braise in the oven for 2 hours, then remove the cover and cook another 30 minutes, until the meat is nearly falling off the bone.
• 4. Just before the meat is done make the gremolata. In a small bowl, combine the parsley leaves, pine nuts, lemon zest, and horseradish and mix well by hand. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and set aside.
• 5. Remove the casserole from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before carving the shank and dividing among four warmed dinner plates, topped with the gremolata.

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.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 275 degrees. In a 7-quart flameproof casserole or Dutch oven over medium to medium-low heat, heat vegetable oil until hot but not smoking. In medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Coat each veal shank well with flour; tap off excess. Working in batches if necessary to keep veal shanks from touching at all, add shanks (they should sizzle the moment they hit the pan). Cook until well browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes; do not rush. Remove the veal shanks from the casserole, and set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat, add dried mushrooms, and let stand until softened, about 20 minutes. Strain mushrooms, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid.
• Prepare bouquet garni: Tie bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, lemon zest, and peppercorns together in a piece of cheesecloth. Add carrots, celery, and onion to casserole; cook until softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, stock, mushrooms with soaking liquid, and bouquet garni.
• Return browned shanks to casserole; stir gently to combine. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven; cook until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Check occasionally to ensure a gentle simmer; adjust heat or height of rack as needed.
• Transfer shanks to a platter, and cover with foil to keep warm. Set casserole over medium heat; simmer until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Return shanks to casserole just to heat and coat with sauce. Serve hot with broccoli rabe and polenta