Osso Buco

Osso Buco: literally "Bone with a hole" in Italian. Traditionally, it's made with veal shanks, but a) veal is an industry I don't support and b) it's expensive. So get beef shanks instead.

Mats:

2 Bone-in beef shanks
1 onion, peeled and halved crosswise, then sliced into thin crescents
1 carrot, peeled and cut as small as you can (~1/8 inch dice)
1 celery rib, leaves removed, then cut as small as you can (~1/8 inch dice)
1 16oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk fresh rosemary, about 7 inches long. Or 1/2 tsp dried leaves
3 stalks fresh thyme. Or 1/2 tsp dried leaves
3 Tbsp butter
2c red wine
3c chicken or vegetable stock
Flour ~1/2c
~1 tsp salt

How-to

Pre-heat oven to 375F

Lay out the beef shanks and pat dry, pressing to get them as dry as possible. Sprinkle the salt on both sides of the shanks. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Pour the flour into a ziploc bag, then add the beef shanks. Seal and shake so the shanks are covered in flour.

Heat a pan over high heat and add 2 Tbsp of the butter **Important Note: You need to be able to fit both shanks in the pan at the same time without them overlapping** Make sure you use a big enough pan with a lid!

When the butter stops foaming, swirl the butter around in the bottom so everything is covered, then shake the excess flour off the shanks and place in the pan.

Cook for 6 minutes, then flip and cook for 6 more minutes. Then remove the meat to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining 1 Tbsp butter, then add the onion, celery and carrot (mirepoix!) Add the minced garlic and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until onions are golden. Make sure to stir often to scrape up all that delicious fat and brown bits that rendered off the shanks and incorporate them into the vegetables.

Add 1c wine, the can of tomatoes, and 1c stock, stir, and bring to a boil.

When it's boiling, add the rosemary and thyme, then put the beef on top of them. The liquid should be about level or 3/4 of the way up the sides of the shanks. Bring to a boil.

Cover and move the whole pan to the oven. We're going to braise the meat for 2 hours now, so the most important thing is to keep adding liquid as it boils off. So cook for 30 minutes.

Flip and add another cup of stock. Cook for 30 more minutes

Flip again and add the other cup of wine. Cook for 30 *more* minutes.

Flip again and add the third cup of stock. Cook for 30 more minutes.

The shanks should be falling-off-the-bone tender now and easily pierced with a fork. Pull out of the oven and serve. Traditionally it's served over risotto, but I paired it with mashed potatoes.