The Art of Cooking Ossobuco: A Traditional Italian Dish

When it comes to traditional Italian cuisine, few dishes are as beloved as ossobuco. This hearty braised veal shank dish is a staple of Northern Italian cooking, and its rich flavors and tender meat make it a favorite among foodies. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the art of cooking ossobuco, from preparing the ingredients to serving it with a side of risotto or polenta.

Preparing the Ingredients

One of the most important things in making a great ossobuco is preparing the ingredients correctly. "Goes in goes the carrots and onions expertly cut," our chef notes. This attention to detail is crucial, as the vegetables provide a vital boost of flavor and texture to the dish. A few cloves of garlic are also added to the pot, which will help to add depth and complexity to the sauce.

The Stock: A Key Component

The stock is another critical component of ossobuco. "I like white wine," our chef says, "even though we're going with tomato in a meat stock." This may seem counterintuitive, but using white wine helps to create a rich and creamy sauce that's full of flavor. The can of whole peeled tomatoes adds natural sweetness and acidity to the dish, while the meat stock provides a boost of umami flavor.

Cooking the Ossobuco

With the ingredients prepared and the stock simmered, it's time to cook the ossobuco. "We put these in the oven at 375 for about two and a half hours," our chef explains. This slow-cooking process helps to break down the connective tissues in the meat, making it tender and fall-off-the-bone delicious. The vegetables also have time to absorb all the flavors of the sauce, which adds to the dish's richness and depth.

Aromatherapy: Adding a Touch of Brightness

While ossobuco is often served with risotto or polenta, our chef prefers to add a touch of brightness to the dish. "I like the kind of lightness, the brightness of the um aromatherapy," she says. This refers to the use of herbs and spices that add a fresh and citrusy flavor to the sauce. A few sprigs of parsley or rosemary can also be added to the pot for an extra burst of freshness.

Serving the Ossobuco

Finally, it's time to serve the ossobuco. Our chef recommends serving it with a little bit of string cheese on top, which adds a salty and creamy element to the dish. The red wine vinegar is also sprinkled on top, which provides a tangy and refreshing contrast to the richness of the meat and sauce.

The Chef's Secrets Revealed

When our chef served a piece of ossobuco to the president of France, she was nervous about making a mistake. "I had I really had these thick rib eyes and I always tied them up because they were so heavy and thick," she recalls. She cooked three steaks and chose the best one, but then made a mistake by grabbing the wrong steak instead. Luckily, she quickly cut the string and served the correct steak to the president.

A Word of Caution

One thing that our chef learned from her experience is the importance of not overcooking the ossobuco. "The meat looks up at you and says I'm ready for my close-up," she jokes. This refers to the fact that when the meat is cooked just right, it will start to pull away from the bone and become tender and juicy.

A Personal Touch

Our chef also likes to add a personal touch to her ossobuco dishes. "I put cheese on anything," she says with a smile. She believes that adding a little bit of cheese can make any dish more delicious. And in this case, the cheese adds a rich and creamy element to the sauce.

The End Result

In the end, our chef's ossobuco is a true masterpiece. The meat is tender and juicy, the vegetables are cooked to perfection, and the sauce is rich and creamy. It's a dish that's sure to impress even the most discerning palates. And with its rich flavors and comforting texture, it's no wonder why ossobuco remains one of Italy's most beloved dishes.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: entoday we're making pork asobuco now I know it's traditionally done with veal Shanks or beef Shanks I'm doing it with pork shanks because it's cheaper look how beautiful this is pretty and you've got them nice and trust and tied up yes why tie them keep it together while they're cooking this is going to cook for a long time so just a little double layer of string and my my favorite thing is tie it once and then knot it through again that'll give you that pull without tearing the meat I love that okay and then immediately we want a salt pepper and start Browning these Sunny you have an onion and two carrots just quarter up the onions and slice up the carrots okay I kind of like the vegetables a little big so that the whole time the meat is cooking by the time you're done the vegetables still have some shape so this is not like a mince and dice I go heavy on the salt and pepper on both sides with this these are two inch cut and you have the bone in the middle the shank bone with the marrow and actually also Buco means bone with a hole in it which I didn't even really know um so the hole obviously where the marrow is a little bit of oil you just don't want to wait until the oil gets a little bit hot I have carrots onion we're going to put some garlic cloves and of course some bay leaves people write me about bay leaves all the time yeah what does it do you got to put it in in the beginning it's not like a quick at the end thing I still don't think we answered the question yeah no neither do I by the way I don't know if anybody can really articulate it but do it trust us I Brown These sometimes I take 30 40 minutes get them nice and brown now we know you're not Browning to lock in or seal any any juices because Browning doesn't do any of that all it does is straight up make things unbelievably delicious which is to my mind the most important thing of all in goes the carrots and the onions expertly cut right in there in the end kind of big the vegetables some garlic cloves quite a few it's not date night and they can go in their hole I get some white wine in there I like the white wine even though we're going with tomato in a meat stock and then add a can of whole peeled Tomatoes just bring this to a nice simmer so this is traditionally served with like a risotto or something but you could just do a little peel off a rice pilaf when you know you're at the last stages of taking this out throw a little peel off in your already hot oven send the stock to cover um whoa look at that gorgeous container you have that looks huge nice stock now if you're not quite covered what do you do you know what I just put a little water I think at a certain point you know you got about a quart of stock you're good this meat with the marrow and all the flavor you can add a little bit of water we're gonna put these in the oven at 375 for about two two and a half hours my asobuko is just about ready I am sauteing a little bit of spinach by the way in just salt pepper and olive oil really quickly just kind of wilted let it finish kind of cook it halfway and let it hang now we know that and also bucco is maybe more traditionally served with a nice rich risotto or something like that I like the kind of lightness the brightness of the um aromatherapy so this has been cooking the oven at 375 degrees for about two and a half hours until it's tender right you just you you touch the meat you look at it the meat looks up at you and says I'm ready for my close-up it's a different voice it's spring offer you just leave it on and then serve look at that no definitely not and I will say that I served a piece of string to the president of France when I lived in Paris and so I am honestly string and I have a toughness Guillotine for that one dream about it it says anxiety dream I did I did one worse I think I I served one too she was a New York Times food critic with Reichel Ruth at Patroon I had I really had these thick rib eyes and I always tied them up because they were so heavy and thick she when I was so freaking out I just yep I you know I cooked three steaks and chose the best one and I turned around and grabbed the wrong one oh no so I cut the string and then I just I I grab it with the scissor then wrestling it with then take it right off yeah see you want to take them up with a spatula and tongs just to keep them intact because they they are falling apart and those vegetables so beautifully cut so just top it with this and you see that perfect combination of the stuff yeah that sauce is crazy they would have navy beans up in there and just yeah done I really like to eat those carrots I love when the carrots have cooked in the meat juices so do I yeah right oh gorgeous traditional here we go it does get just the tiniest the tiniest the tiniest you don't even know did you ever put cheese on that kiss the orange um I would put cheese on anything so yeah why not and then just the tiniest little I'm sorry yeah it's a little red wine vinegar dot it on let's not even mix it in so there's like a little burst here and there and it really wakes up those Tomatoes I gotta have a bite of this Alex I'm getting there I'm getting there I'm sorry I mean my mouth I'm like obsessively glazing so a little bit of the spinach maybe spinach is perfect two people a little bit of spinach this is like when you have the diet cola with the full size meal it's like all the extra large fries the super sized double bacon cheese spinach Diet Coke or like a a Roman Diet Coke hey that's a good drink on a plane you know me forks and knives you don't even need a knife no really you don't I want you all to take a look at this meat this really pays off and a lot of this is falling apart in the oven it looks like it oh you are just doing it yeah oh God I hope so do this we do this is my favorite thing you've ever made wow you can't put that out there this is delicious or something when that happens that meat is just falling apart and the sauce I mean the the tomatoes get so rich from having all that pork fat in there and the little hit of the red wine vinegar at the end I'm gonna get to that spinach someday I will what Katie now I'm gonna stick with this beautiful pork ossobucotoday we're making pork asobuco now I know it's traditionally done with veal Shanks or beef Shanks I'm doing it with pork shanks because it's cheaper look how beautiful this is pretty and you've got them nice and trust and tied up yes why tie them keep it together while they're cooking this is going to cook for a long time so just a little double layer of string and my my favorite thing is tie it once and then knot it through again that'll give you that pull without tearing the meat I love that okay and then immediately we want a salt pepper and start Browning these Sunny you have an onion and two carrots just quarter up the onions and slice up the carrots okay I kind of like the vegetables a little big so that the whole time the meat is cooking by the time you're done the vegetables still have some shape so this is not like a mince and dice I go heavy on the salt and pepper on both sides with this these are two inch cut and you have the bone in the middle the shank bone with the marrow and actually also Buco means bone with a hole in it which I didn't even really know um so the hole obviously where the marrow is a little bit of oil you just don't want to wait until the oil gets a little bit hot I have carrots onion we're going to put some garlic cloves and of course some bay leaves people write me about bay leaves all the time yeah what does it do you got to put it in in the beginning it's not like a quick at the end thing I still don't think we answered the question yeah no neither do I by the way I don't know if anybody can really articulate it but do it trust us I Brown These sometimes I take 30 40 minutes get them nice and brown now we know you're not Browning to lock in or seal any any juices because Browning doesn't do any of that all it does is straight up make things unbelievably delicious which is to my mind the most important thing of all in goes the carrots and the onions expertly cut right in there in the end kind of big the vegetables some garlic cloves quite a few it's not date night and they can go in their hole I get some white wine in there I like the white wine even though we're going with tomato in a meat stock and then add a can of whole peeled Tomatoes just bring this to a nice simmer so this is traditionally served with like a risotto or something but you could just do a little peel off a rice pilaf when you know you're at the last stages of taking this out throw a little peel off in your already hot oven send the stock to cover um whoa look at that gorgeous container you have that looks huge nice stock now if you're not quite covered what do you do you know what I just put a little water I think at a certain point you know you got about a quart of stock you're good this meat with the marrow and all the flavor you can add a little bit of water we're gonna put these in the oven at 375 for about two two and a half hours my asobuko is just about ready I am sauteing a little bit of spinach by the way in just salt pepper and olive oil really quickly just kind of wilted let it finish kind of cook it halfway and let it hang now we know that and also bucco is maybe more traditionally served with a nice rich risotto or something like that I like the kind of lightness the brightness of the um aromatherapy so this has been cooking the oven at 375 degrees for about two and a half hours until it's tender right you just you you touch the meat you look at it the meat looks up at you and says I'm ready for my close-up it's a different voice it's spring offer you just leave it on and then serve look at that no definitely not and I will say that I served a piece of string to the president of France when I lived in Paris and so I am honestly string and I have a toughness Guillotine for that one dream about it it says anxiety dream I did I did one worse I think I I served one too she was a New York Times food critic with Reichel Ruth at Patroon I had I really had these thick rib eyes and I always tied them up because they were so heavy and thick she when I was so freaking out I just yep I you know I cooked three steaks and chose the best one and I turned around and grabbed the wrong one oh no so I cut the string and then I just I I grab it with the scissor then wrestling it with then take it right off yeah see you want to take them up with a spatula and tongs just to keep them intact because they they are falling apart and those vegetables so beautifully cut so just top it with this and you see that perfect combination of the stuff yeah that sauce is crazy they would have navy beans up in there and just yeah done I really like to eat those carrots I love when the carrots have cooked in the meat juices so do I yeah right oh gorgeous traditional here we go it does get just the tiniest the tiniest the tiniest you don't even know did you ever put cheese on that kiss the orange um I would put cheese on anything so yeah why not and then just the tiniest little I'm sorry yeah it's a little red wine vinegar dot it on let's not even mix it in so there's like a little burst here and there and it really wakes up those Tomatoes I gotta have a bite of this Alex I'm getting there I'm getting there I'm sorry I mean my mouth I'm like obsessively glazing so a little bit of the spinach maybe spinach is perfect two people a little bit of spinach this is like when you have the diet cola with the full size meal it's like all the extra large fries the super sized double bacon cheese spinach Diet Coke or like a a Roman Diet Coke hey that's a good drink on a plane you know me forks and knives you don't even need a knife no really you don't I want you all to take a look at this meat this really pays off and a lot of this is falling apart in the oven it looks like it oh you are just doing it yeah oh God I hope so do this we do this is my favorite thing you've ever made wow you can't put that out there this is delicious or something when that happens that meat is just falling apart and the sauce I mean the the tomatoes get so rich from having all that pork fat in there and the little hit of the red wine vinegar at the end I'm gonna get to that spinach someday I will what Katie now I'm gonna stick with this beautiful pork ossobuco\n"