As soon as the weather begins to move into fall, I begin to think of all the hearty meals I will be making in the upcoming months. A slow cooker is such a helpful tool during colder months, it allows you to make a bunch of servings all by dropping them in a pot and just waiting. Slow cooking tough cuts of meat also turns them into the most tender fall-off-the-bone protein. I’ve never tried osso buco before, but a slow cooker version sounds basically idiot proof, so I decided to make it. I actually put this together Sunday night and when I woke up the next morning, spooned out a portion for lunch that day and froze the rest. What a great way to start the week!
I had a heck of a time finding some ingredients despite them being pretty common. So I kind of fudged some of the ingredients. For the original recipe, check it out here.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- About 5 pounds veal (go for the cheaper cuts—its usually made with veal shank but they were all out at my market – I used cubed veal and one veal loin chop so that there was some bone)
- 2 teaspoons butter, divided
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 2 cups coarsely chopped red onion
- 1 ½ cups chopped celery
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon minced anchovy fillets (the original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon anchovy paste)
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups cooked egg noodles
Begin by browning the meat. Combine the flour, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Dredge the veal in the flour mixture.
Heat 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of veal and cook for 6 minutes, browning on both sides.
Place browned veal in a large slow cooker. Repeat with remaining butter, oil, and veal.
Add onion and celery to the saute pan. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat or until tender.
Add minced garlic to the pan and saute for 1 minute. Stir in broth, wine, rosemary and anchovies, scraping pan to loosen the browned bits on the bottom. Bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes.
Pour over veal.
Cover a cook on low for 9 hours. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
To prepare gremolata, combine the parsley, lemon rind and 2 minced garlic cloves.
To serve, place 1 cup cooked pasta and top with veal and broth mixture. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon gremolata.
I always feel so accomplished when my slow cooker meal is finished (as if I’ve been cooking over a stove all day). The meat was oh so tender and the flavorful broth was a perfect sauce for the pasta. The gremolata helped brighten up the deep flavors of the rest of the dish.
This makes a ton of food (6-8 servings depending on how hearty you make your serving) so this is a great meal to make and freeze. When ready to eat, just cook the pasta, prepare the gremolata, and heat up the osso buco!
Nice recipe. Unfortunately, I’m cooking bad :(.
But my friend recommended me a site funny cooking book
I always check out this website before making food.
Sorry for my English. It’s my third language.
I saw this recipe in my Cooking Light but like you, had trouble finding lamb shanks and anchovy paste so I didn’t get a chance to make it. Now you’re making me wish I had done so. It looks delicious.
Braising is one of my favorite cooking methods. Time consuming but well worth the wait.
Wow! This looks awesome! Great job!