The best-known osso buco recipe around the world is Milanese osso buco (ossobuco alla milanese — veal shank braised with onion and white wine), and one of its authentic side dishes is polenta. So osso buco with polenta is not only incredibly delicious, it’s so authentic you can almost feel like you’re in Milan when you serve it at home.
I write more about both parts of this dish, the polenta and the osso buco, in their own separate recipes. They’re worth reading too, since you’ll find lots of useful tips in each one. But these two don’t just belong together on the plate — they also fit beautifully together during cooking.
Firm, yet still wonderfully soft polenta goes very well with bold, deeply flavorful osso buco. It’s no coincidence that it’s one of the essential companions to this special meat dish. And even when it comes to timing, they were practically made for each other. After preparing the meat, it needs to cook for about 30 minutes, then another 60 minutes, turned only once after the first half hour. The polenta takes about 50 minutes to make. So while the meat is braising away during the second round, you can prepare the side dish in exactly that time.
Buying the Meat
The only real challenge in this recipe is buying the meat for osso buco. It’s veal shank, but cut crosswise in a special way, about 3/4 inch thick (2 cm).
In this form, osso buco is usually something you can buy in stores almost only in Italy. Otherwise, you either need a lot of luck to find it in a supermarket, or it’s better to order it ahead from a good butcher.
Osso Buco with Polenta
Ingredients
For the Meat
- 4 pieces osso buco sliced veal shank, about 2.2–2.6 lb (1–1.2 kg)
- 2 onions about 9 oz (260 g)
- ¼ cup white wine 60 ml
- ¼ cup olive oil extra-virgin, 60 ml
- 3 ½ tbsp butter 50 g
- ⅓ cup flour flour
- 2 ½ cups stock 600 ml
- salt
- ground black pepper
For the Polenta
- 1 ½ cups cornmeal 250 g
- 4 cups water 1 l
- 1 tsp salt 6 g
For the Gremolata
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch parsley
- lemon zest grated zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Preparing the Osso Buco
- Peel and slice the onions.
- In half of the oil, cook them over medium heat for 20 minutes in a large skillet or wide pot, stirring from time to time. They should be golden yellow, but not too browned.
- Add half of the white wine, stir, and cook over low heat for another 10 minutes. When done, set the onions aside on a plate.
- While the onions are cooking, prepare the veal shank. Cut into the tendons around the edges in 3–4 places with sharp kitchen scissors or a knife, so the slices curl up as little as possible during searing and cooking. Salt and pepper both sides of the meat.
- Dredge the meat slices in flour, shake off the excess, and place them on a plate.
- Pour the other half of the oil into the pot used for the onions, and add the butter. Melt the butter over high heat, then add the meat slices. Brown them on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. If the meat doesn’t fit into the pot all at once, as it didn’t in my case, brown it in two batches.
- Add the remaining wine, pour in enough stock to almost cover the meat, and add the onions. If you’re using unsalted stock, add more salt at this point. If the meat doesn’t fit in one layer, you can stack the slices during cooking. But pour in only enough stock to just cover the first layer.
- Start cooking it covered over low heat. After half an hour, carefully turn the meat over. If your skillet doesn’t have a lid, use aluminum foil. Take care that the meat doesn’t fall apart when turning, and that the marrow doesn’t come out. If you stacked the meat slices, move the top ones to the bottom when turning so every slice softens evenly.
- Cook the meat for another 45–60 minutes, until completely tender. This makes the total cooking time 75–90 minutes. It depends on the thickness of the meat slices, and even on the skillet. It’s better to cook it longer so it becomes completely soft and tender, rather than leaving it even slightly chewy.
Making the Polenta
- While the meat is braising in the second round, after turning, put the water on to boil with the salt for the polenta. When it comes to a boil, add the cornmeal in a few batches, stirring constantly.
- Cook over very low heat, stirring almost constantly, for about 50 minutes. In practice, by the time the polenta is ready, the osso buco will be ready too.
- Pour the finished polenta onto a large wooden platter or cutting board, smooth it out, and let it cool until you serve the meat.
Making the gremolata
- Finally, make the gremolata fresh. To do this, grate the lemon zest, peel the garlic, and crush it with the flat side of a large knife. Remove the thicker stems from the parsley. Finely chop the garlic and parsley with a sharp knife, then add the grated lemon zest. Gremolata is an indispensable element and a wonderful finishing touch for Milanese osso buco.
Assembly
- Slice the polenta with a sharp knife and place it on the plate. Spoon the meat and sauce over it, then sprinkle the gremolata over the meat slices.
Notes
Enjoy!
