Veal Osso Bucco

I recently purchased a Groupon for my local butcher and I knew the minute I bought it what meat I was going to purchase...veal shanks. I've never cooked with veal but was looking forward to giving it a try and knew I wanted to try my hand at making osso bucco. And not just because it's fun to say!


So I got a recipe recommendation from an old co-worker who is a big time "foodie" and the perfect person to swap recipes with. He lead me to this recipe which is slightly different than a traditional osso bucco in that it wasn't tomato based. In fact, it would probably be best to describe this as garlic based! Which was perfectly fine with me!


1 Tbsp olive oil 4 center-cut slices veal shank (2 pounds or more)

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 or 4 cloves garlic, lightly mashed and peeled
4 anchovy fillets
1 cup dry white wine, chicken or beef stock, or water
2 teaspoons butter

Heat the oil in a large skiller (we used our dutch oven) and then brown the veal on all sides. Takes about five minutes. Then add in the garlic and anchovy filets and cook until the garlic browns and the anchovies dissolve. (Side note: don't be scared by the anchovies, they are so good and just add a great salty and nutty flavor to the dish, the way these get cooked up you'd never know that's what was in here. Of course for those that DO love anchovies, like me, you can use the leftover anchovies to make a quick anchovie paste to put on crackers for an appetizer-yum!) Then add in the liquid of choice (I used wine, of course) and let it all bubble for about a minute.

Lower the heat, cover and let simmer for about 90 minutes, or until the veal is nice and tender. Turn the veal every 30 minutes or so. Once the meat is tender, take it out, crank up the heat, add in the butter and let the sauce thicken.


The recipe then calls for a Gremolata as a topping. It is amazing and I'll be using this as a topping for lots of dishes in the future. You simply take about a tablespoon of lemon zest, two tablespoons of chopped parsley, and about a teaspoon of chopped garlic. Since you aren't cooking this, be sure you only use as much garlic as you are willing to eat raw.

It was really a great meal and one I'd easily entertain with. There wasn't a whole lot of hands on time, which was great, and smell of garlic and lemon wafting throughout the kitchen was far better than any Yankee Candle I could have had burning on the counter! :)