Slow-Cooker Osso Buco
By Lawman JohnsonPublished on October 16, 2019
Time
5 to 6 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high
Yield
Serves 6
Slow cooker size
5 to 7 quarts
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You will need an oval slow cooker for this recipe.
Instructions
- 1. Pat shanks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of shanks on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to large plate. Repeat with 2 tablespoons oil and remaining shanks; transfer to plate.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, onions, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt to fat left in skillet and cook until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, mushrooms, pepper flakes, and half of garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.
- Stir broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme sprig into slow cooker. Nestle shanks into slow cooker, adding any accumulated juices. Cover and cook until shanks are tender and fork slips easily in and out of meat, 5 to 6 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high.
- Transfer shanks to serving dish and discard twine. Extract marrow from bones using end of small spoon and reserve. Tent shanks loosely with aluminum foil and let rest while finishing sauce.
- Combine parsley, lemon zest, and remaining garlic in bowl. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig. Process reserved marrow and 1½ cups cooking liquid in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Stir marrow mixture and one-quarter of parsley mixture into remaining cooking liquid and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place shanks in individual serving bowls, ladle sauce over top, and sprinkle with remaining parsley mixture. Serve.
Time
5 to 6 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on highYield
Serves 6Slow cooker size
5 to 7 quartsIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
This venerable Old World braise extracts incredible flavor from a handful of simple ingredients: veal shanks (which we brown), aromatics (onions, carrots, and celery, all sautéed), and liquids (usually a blend of wine, stock, and tomatoes). Here in the test kitchen we certainly have tackled the traditional version, but now it was time to put the slow cooker to the test and see if we could turn out a version that rivaled it. To provide a savory backbone for the veal shanks we started with the stock. Veal stock is traditional, but few cooks have access to it. We found that chicken broth, along with garlic, onions, carrots, and celery, made a sturdy yet subtle flavor base for our braising liquid. A combination of tomato paste and fresh tomatoes worked perfectly to create plenty of deep tomato flavor. To serve six people, we called for good-size shanks and tied them around the equator to keep the meat attached to the bone. While many recipes suggest flouring the veal before browning it, we got better results by searing the meat seasoned only with salt and pepper. Browning the shanks in two batches prevented overcrowding, while deglazing the pan with wine after softening the aromatics enriched the sauce. At the end of cooking, we processed the marrow from the supertender veal shanks with the braising liquid to give it a lush, thick consistency. Gremolata—a classic component of osso buco comprising a mixture of minced garlic, parsley, and lemon zest—is sometimes used just as a garnish, but often some of it is stirred into the sauce as well. We stirred a quarter of the gremolata right into the braise, and used the remaining to garnish each serving for a final hit of fresh flavor.
Before You Begin
You will need an oval slow cooker for this recipe.
Instructions
- 1. Pat shanks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of shanks on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to large plate. Repeat with 2 tablespoons oil and remaining shanks; transfer to plate.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, onions, carrots, celery, and 1 teaspoon salt to fat left in skillet and cook until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, mushrooms, pepper flakes, and half of garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.
- Stir broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme sprig into slow cooker. Nestle shanks into slow cooker, adding any accumulated juices. Cover and cook until shanks are tender and fork slips easily in and out of meat, 5 to 6 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high.
- Transfer shanks to serving dish and discard twine. Extract marrow from bones using end of small spoon and reserve. Tent shanks loosely with aluminum foil and let rest while finishing sauce.
- Combine parsley, lemon zest, and remaining garlic in bowl. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig. Process reserved marrow and 1½ cups cooking liquid in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Stir marrow mixture and one-quarter of parsley mixture into remaining cooking liquid and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place shanks in individual serving bowls, ladle sauce over top, and sprinkle with remaining parsley mixture. Serve.
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