Classic Veal Osso Buco and Braised Pork

Traditional Osso Buco 
Rabe-stuffed Pork Osso Buco Style
Ultimate Meat Lover's Stuffed Pork and Sausage Cooked Osso Buco Style



Traditional Osso Buco
The direct Italian translation of Osso Buco is "bone with a hole".  It refers to the classic Milanese specialty dish made with veal shanks.  Veal shanks are braised in a delicious zesty sauce with a trio of finely diced carrots, onion and celery, white wine, and broth.  A small amount of tomato paste and Pete’s garlic infused oil intensifies its flavors.  Osso Buco is served with a pinch of Gremolata, finely chopped garlic, lemon zest and fresh flat Italian parsley.

Risotto, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and polenta go well with Osso Buco.  Polenta is coarse cornmeal cooked with water or chicken broth, optionally flavored with grated parmigiana and/or herbs.   

Lamb shanks or legs are reasonable substitutes for veal shanks.  Below I've also included creative and wonderful recipe for Stuffed Pork in the Style of Osso Buco (no bone with a hole).
Ingredients:
Pete’s Garlic Oil  
  • 1 cup of olive oil
  • 10 large garlic cloves with skin
  • 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt)
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
Other Ingredients
  • 8 veal shanks tied around their thickest part with cooking twine
  • Tuscany seasoned salt (or dried rosemary, sage and garlic salt)
  • Flour for dredging
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 garlic clove chopped fine
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup dry white wine
Gremolata
  • 1/2 cups chopped parsley
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Rev. 9-15-2018


Season meat with Tuscany seasoned salt.  Refrigerate covered at least four hours or overnight.

Prepare Pete’s Garlic Oil.  Remove rough garlic clove end; slice each clove in half lengthwise.  Do not remove skins; they contribute added favor. 

Place in a narrow stainless-steel butter melting pot with all remaining garlic oil ingredients.  Over medium heat until oil begins to simmer; lower heat to retain a gentle simmer.  Garlic will be ready when skins fall off, garlic tans and softens inside (up to 2 hours).  Garlic will be wonderfully flavorful, sweet, and tender. 

Use a high rimmed frying pan that can also be placed directly in the oven for final cooking.
Dredge shanks in the flour.  Brown them on all sides with oil from Pete’s Garlic Oil.  Remove the shanks.  Add carrots, celery and onion to the pan.  Sautee until softened.  Add tanned roasted garlic from Pete’s Garlic Oil.  Incorporate tomato paste.

Add broth and wine.  Reduce liquid by about half.  Add veal shanks and place in a 325° oven.
Assemble Gremolata. 

Periodically turn shanks over.  Add more broth if needed.

Remove shanks when very tender, about 2 hours.  Sprinkle with gremolata or make it available at the option of guests and serve.
Rabe-stuffed Pork Osso Buco Style

This recipe substitutes rolled stuffed pork for veal shanks.  It also uses broccoli rabe and sausage stuffing. 

"Peter's Seasoned  pot Roaasted Garlic and Infused Olive Oil",  sweet roasted garlic and infused oil enhanses flavor wherever incorporated and is easy to make.     

Pork requires a little longer braising time before their connective tissues in pork break down.  The pork becomes very tender in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  You can make it ahead and reheat with more broth when near ready to serve.  

Note:  You can substitute your favorite ingredients to stuff the pork; bread crumb stuffing, tomato pesto, olive tapenade, or simply sun dried tomato and garlic from Peter's garlic oil. 

​​​​​​​Rev. 4-13-2020

Ingredients:

Pork

  • One large (or several smaller) flat rectangular cut of pork, preferably from pork butt or another similarly marbled pork section.

Peter's Seasoned pot roasted garlic and infused olive oil

  • 1 cup of olive oil
  • 10 large garlic cloves with skin
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tuscany seasoning (or several fresh sage leaves, a sprig of rosemary and a 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt)
  • pinch of red pepper flakes

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Stuffing

  • Peter's garlic and oil
  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe 
  • 1 13.5 oz. can chicken broth
  • 1/2-pound mild Italian sausage meat without casing
  • 2 cups shredded Italian cheese mix
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Osso Bucco Ingredients
  • Infused Garlic oil
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup dry white wine

Gremolata, optional

  • 1/2 cups chopped parsley
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest

Garlic oil

​​​​​​​Remove rough end of garlic cloves and slice each in half lengthwise.  Do not remove skin, it contributes favor.  Place them in a narrow stainless-steel butter melting pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  If the olive oil doesn't cover the garlic, add more.

Place on medium heat until the olive oil begins to lightly sizzle.  Reduce heat to a low simmer.  Pending settings, garlic will richly tan and sweeten in a couple of hours. You can hasten the process with slightly higher heat but be careful not to burn the garlic. 

Remove the garlic skins from the pot when they are released from the cloves.

Broccoli Rabe and Sausage Stuffing

Remove about 1 1/2 inch of the rabe rough stems and any wilted leaves.  Chop rabe into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

Place chicken broth into a pot large enough to comfortable hold all the ingredients.  Once it reaches a boil add the rabe, boil until the thicker stems start to tender, about 3 minutes.  Remove the rabe with a slotted spoon.  Lower the heat.

Add Italian sausage meat to the remaining hot chicken broth.  Break the meat apart with a spatula while cooking.  When the broth evaporates, lightly brown sausages with infused oil from Pete's Garlic Oil.

Re-add rabe, 1 cup of the shredded cheeses, red pepper flakes and 6 mashed pot roasted garlic cloves.  Mix well.  Remove from he eat when the cheese begins to melt.  Spread stuffing on the pork as shown above.  Top with remaining cup of shredded cheese.  Roll the pork and tie with butcher's twine. 

Osso Buco ingredients

Use a high rimmed frying pan that can also be placed directly in the oven for final cooking.  Dredge pork in flour and brown on all sides with seasoned olive oil; remove.

Add chopped carrots, celery and onion to the pan.  Sauté until softened.  Stir in the tomato paste.

Add broth and wine.  Reduce liquid by about half.  Add stuffed pork and place in a 325° oven.  Periodically rotate pork, adding additional broth as needed.

Pork will be very tender in 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove butcher's twine and cut pork in thick slices.  Add to serving platter.  Remove fat from pan and pour sauce over the meat.  Option, either sprinkle with gremolata or make it available for guests to add if desired.



Ultimate Meat Lover's Stuffed Pork and Sausage
Braised Osso Buco Style


As stated in the beginning of this section, Osso Buco is a classic dish made with veal shanks.  Even the translation of its name "bone with a hole" is very specific.  There probably is something almost irreverent substituting and adding other meats and ingredients and still calling it Osso Buco. 

The problem is, at its core the dish is so special that it just seems to beg for creative expansions.  For those reasons, I'm careful to label my creations "in the style of Osso Buco".

This dish is for meat eaters that love robust flavors.  Pork is stuffed; filled, rolled and tied with any combination of prosciutto, capicola or Italian salami.  For additional zest, add either sweet or hot Italian sausages.                        
Ingredients:
  • One large (or several smaller) flat rectangular cut of pork, preferably from pork butt or similarly marbled pork section (see pictures above).
  • 5 or 6 Italian mild or hot sausages
Stuffing
  • Finely chopped garlic
  • Grated parmigiana cheese
  • Fresh chopped parsley
  • Prosciutto, capicola, or Italian salami
  • Flour for dredging
Osso Buco ingredients
  •  olive oil
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup dry white wine
Gremolata, optional
  • 1/2 cups chopped parsley
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Spread Garlic, grated cheese and parsley over the pork.  Top with a overlapping slices of Italian meats.  Roll and tie pork with butcher's twine.

Use a high rimmed frying pan that can also be placed directly in the oven for final cooking.  Sauté sausages in olive oil until just browned all around; remove.  Dredge pork in flour and also brown on all sides and remove.

Add chopped carrots, celery and onion to the pan.  Sautee until softened.  Add garlic until softened.  Stir in the tomato paste.

Add broth and wine.  Reduce liquid by about half.  Add rolled pork and sausages and place in a 325° oven.

Periodically rotate pork and sausages.  Add additional broth if needed. 

Pork will be very tender in 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  Remove butcher's twine and cut pork in thick slices.  Add to serving platter.  Cut sausages in half and also place in the serving platter.  Remove excess fat from pan and pour contents over the meats. 

Option, either sprinkle with gremolata or make it available for guests if desired.