Traditional Osso Buco Recipe

I tried this recipe as written the first time and I have to admit it was very good, however when I mentioned it to a friend of Italian ancestry he suggested instead of butter, I brown the shanks in pancetta fat. I chopped up about a 1/4 lb. of pancetta, fried it, removed it from the pan, drained off all but about 2 tbls of the fat and browned the shanks. I removed the shanks and used the same fat to saute the onions, added the wine and deglazed the pan. I added the previously fried pancetta with the other ingredients. I know it's not as healthy but it was absolutely delicious. The one thing he told me was, do not subsitute bacon, it has to be pancetta.

Seasoned meat with coarse black pepper and kosher salt before flouring. Doubled the recipe. Added my own dried basil and oregano. Added some tomato paste and half can of fire roasted tomatoes. Finished in the oven at 300 for 1 hr 45 min in covered Dutch oven. Next time will add cayenne or red pepper flakes. Served as Christmas lunch with mushroom Parmesan risotto and sides of roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts. Huge success!

As written, I would have to rate it 3-4 stars. I browned the meat with pancetta/drippings and added 1T Herbs de Provence and 2T Italian Seasoning to the sauce. With those additions, it was 5 stars +++. Served with wide egg noodles and green beans, pan-fried w/ bacon and garlic. Amazing meal!

Veal is rubbery - careful not to cook too high heat - go very long - did 2 hours - still tough; try doing it a day ahead. Added italian spices as well as half can of tomato paste. Did Ricardo recipe - best to do in oven slowly at 325 degrees and the day before.

Instead of butter, I used 5 oz of pancetta cooked and the grease. I used corn starch instead of flour to be GF. Cooked in crock pot on high for 5 hours. Severed i on cheesy polenta cooked in the oven.

I agree with all those that loved this. I, too, made it just as the recipe specified. I was so hungry, I ate it right after I cooked it...tasted great, but wait! Someone discussed cooling slowly, refrigerate, then reheat in 325 deg oven, tightly covered for 45 - 60 minutes, depending on how many portions are being reheated. I have to say, the dish tasted better than when I had it the previous evening. The cooling was the key to enhancing the flavor; the reheating seemed to finish the dish...i.e. the center part had popped up nicely and the marrow was nice and warm and accessible. What a dish! This is the first time I have ever eaten it, nor have I ever prepared the dish. TIPS: Do the pancetta processing, use the oil for searing the veal shanks, cut the pancetta into small pieces and heat with a can some kind of green beans (I liked french cut), add 1/2 tsp soy sauce.

I loved it except that my veal needed about another half hour on heat to be right. I also added madiera, in additon to the dry white wine. And I love fish sauce for salt. I got that from Nom Nom Paleo Chef, Michele Tam. The fish sauce makes it taste as though it's already at that day later best moment. And then it still got better the next day. Served w/ a gremolata and orange zest. Simply salt and peppered zucchini and japanese eggplant.

I followed recipe and did the following little changes: 1) seasoned meat 2) dredged in flour 3) cut up pancetta and used fat to brown shanks and sauté onions and carrots. Everyone was so impressed with meal. It was very tender.

This was absolutely wonderful. My husband requested Osso Bucco for his birthday today 2/26/13. With that said, I prepared this recipe for 14 people. I read all the reviews first and made a couple of changes. First, I rendered pancetta and seared off my salt/peppered/ flour dusted veal shanks in the fat. Scrapped the bottom of pan, hit it with the garlic and onion and cooked. Deglazed the pots with the white wine. I added italian seasoning through the cooking process and salt and pepper. I made this the day before so this dish could rest overnight and become more flavorful. Dinner was at 5:30pm, I took osso bucco out of the frig around 1pm and let it come to room temp for about an hour, put on low and let simmer until dinner time. Meat was fall off the bone tender and the sauce was wonderful. I have leftover sauce with carrots that I will probably throw some pasta into and make a nice soup. One thing I will do next time is dredge the veal in flour in lieu of dusting. This will help to thicken the sauce a little more though you don't want this to be stew like. The cooking time is off. Should be about 2 hrs the night before and then three hours the next day. Also, served this with a parmesan risotto and good italian bread. Will definitely make this again.

This is absolutely delicious. I did make a couple changes. 1) I minced the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. I don't think Osso Buco was meant to have whole veggies; they are just supposed to form the sauce. I could be wrong, but this has been the norm in my experience thus far. 2) I seasoned the veal shanks with salt and pepper before dredging in flour. 3) I added 1/4 t dried thyme, 1/4 t dried basil, and 1/4 t dried parsley before allowing to simmer. 4) Finally, I cooked this in the oven at 300 for 2.5 hours. Will definitely make again.

I have made this several times; it's my new favorite dish to make. Adding a dried bay leave, 1 tsp dried rosemary, and 1 tsp dried thyme really adds a lot of flavor. I've used tomato paste and I've used canned diced tomatoes - I think I like just the tomato paste better. Served it over Parmesan risotto and (OMG) I love the Gramolata. When I can't find veal shanks, beef shanks work well, too.

I used beef instead of veal. It was phenomenal! Our new Christmas dinner.

You can’t go wrong with this one.

So disappointed. Something went wrong somewhere. I followed the instructions to the letter. Meat purchased from a farmer's market. All ingredients were purchased fresh. Nonetheless, the recipe came out like shoe leather and was inedible. Not fall off the bone as expected but was more suitable for a bulletproof vest. My first try at osso bucco. Concerned that perhaps a short cook time 90 minutes over low heat may not be suitable for osso bucco. Would love to hear back from you.

I underestimated this recipe — my bad.

Thanks for this wonderful recipe! Made it twice this week. This will be added to our regular meal menu!

It's really very very good! First time I did it, was fabulous, now I am repeating every week. Congratulations for such wonderful recipe. My hat is off to you.

Love it's simplicity. I use a full flavored red like a Chianti or Pinot Noir instead of white and I substitute the beef with pork. It's much cheaper and equally delicious. . It's so delicious in fact, It's always requested by friends and invited guests.

I just made this meal and it was one of the best I ever made. I lived most of my adult life in Europe and traveled every week through Italy. The gremolata is a must. What a great recipe!

I followed the directions but used venison osco buco cut. My husband loved it. The sauce was delicious. I served it with risotto. I will definitely be making this again (& again).