Now that the weather is turning, dramatically so, and winter is upon us it's time for some comfort food. And what is it about tender, well cooked meat that's braised in a simple sauce of veggies, wine and stock? For the Italians and their peasant dishes, that mean Osso Bocco. At once it's as simple as a country meal while at the same time being decadent, unctuous and delicious !!
It's a one pot meal that isn't all that difficult to prepare. I decided for this cook to marry it with barbecue and kick it up a notch by combining both smoking and braising to get the needed results. The marriage is incredible. So let's make some smokey Osso Bucco.
I went to my butcher who just happened to have some veal shanks, exactly what I was looking for. Another somewhat somewhat cheaper option would be to use ox tails. The first thing you want to do is tie them up. It's a long slow process and you don't want the meat falling completely off the bone and getting lost in the braising sauce. After that dry brine and leave for several hours or even over night in the refrigerator.
When ready fire up your smoker and give them a good seasoning. I chose BBBR for this but any favorite rub would do. I put them on the smoker at 250* with some chunks of pecan for the smoke......
I didn't bother to temp them, all we're doing is getting some color and smokey taste established. We'll let the braising take care of the rest, that's the tenderizing phase of our cook. Here they are after about an hour, I decided to let them go for a total of and hour and a half, again that's subjective at this point.....
After I pulled them I set them aside to rest while I prepared my ingredients for the braising sauce.....
They sure do look good enough to eat at this point but they still need to become tender and fall off the bone delicious, so let's make a braising sauce.
Osso Bucco Braising Ingredients
2 cups Veal Stock (or beef stock if you can't find veal)
1 cup Dry White Wine (red wine is also good if you want an even richer sauce)
1 cup celery diced
1 cup carrots diced
1 whole onion diced
4-5 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup Lea & Perrins worcestershire sauce (has to be L&P !!)
2-3 bay leaves
A bouquet garni of sage, rosemary and thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
Take a heavy cast iron pot and begin by sweating down your veggies in some olive oil, seasoning this layer....
After they are soft, go ahead and add your tomato paste and work it into the veggies. I like to cook the tomato paste and let it begin to cook down or even a bit of char develop. In doing so the intense sweetness of the tomato begins to emerge. Next add your liquid ingredients to de-glaze the pan and stir your sauce. Bring to a gentle boil....
Once everything in incorporated, check your seasoning and adjust to taste. Add your bay leaves and bouquet garni. Nestle your veal shanks into the liquid taking care not to let them get totally submerged. At this point you can cover the pot and bring it back out to your cooker, or as I did I just put it in my indoor convection oven at 300*......
I checked the meat at one hour and it was beginning to tenderize but needed another hour to finish. The results were absolutely amazing. Tender, deep beefy broth and delicious. We served them up on a big platter country style on a bed of Parmesan, buttered egg noodles. Absolute country comfort on a cold night. Try some smoked Osso Bucco, it's an amazing dish !!!!
Oh and ever wonder what Osso Bucco means? If you look it up it roughly translates "bone hole". And that's the real hidden secret of Osso Bucco, be sure to dig out the unctuous bone marrow for an awesome taste treat.....
THERE'S A PARTY GOING ON IN MY MOUTH...SO TROUTMAN STEVE IS OUTTA HERE !!!!
It's a one pot meal that isn't all that difficult to prepare. I decided for this cook to marry it with barbecue and kick it up a notch by combining both smoking and braising to get the needed results. The marriage is incredible. So let's make some smokey Osso Bucco.
I went to my butcher who just happened to have some veal shanks, exactly what I was looking for. Another somewhat somewhat cheaper option would be to use ox tails. The first thing you want to do is tie them up. It's a long slow process and you don't want the meat falling completely off the bone and getting lost in the braising sauce. After that dry brine and leave for several hours or even over night in the refrigerator.
When ready fire up your smoker and give them a good seasoning. I chose BBBR for this but any favorite rub would do. I put them on the smoker at 250* with some chunks of pecan for the smoke......
I didn't bother to temp them, all we're doing is getting some color and smokey taste established. We'll let the braising take care of the rest, that's the tenderizing phase of our cook. Here they are after about an hour, I decided to let them go for a total of and hour and a half, again that's subjective at this point.....
After I pulled them I set them aside to rest while I prepared my ingredients for the braising sauce.....
They sure do look good enough to eat at this point but they still need to become tender and fall off the bone delicious, so let's make a braising sauce.
Osso Bucco Braising Ingredients
2 cups Veal Stock (or beef stock if you can't find veal)
1 cup Dry White Wine (red wine is also good if you want an even richer sauce)
1 cup celery diced
1 cup carrots diced
1 whole onion diced
4-5 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup Lea & Perrins worcestershire sauce (has to be L&P !!)
2-3 bay leaves
A bouquet garni of sage, rosemary and thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
Take a heavy cast iron pot and begin by sweating down your veggies in some olive oil, seasoning this layer....
After they are soft, go ahead and add your tomato paste and work it into the veggies. I like to cook the tomato paste and let it begin to cook down or even a bit of char develop. In doing so the intense sweetness of the tomato begins to emerge. Next add your liquid ingredients to de-glaze the pan and stir your sauce. Bring to a gentle boil....
Once everything in incorporated, check your seasoning and adjust to taste. Add your bay leaves and bouquet garni. Nestle your veal shanks into the liquid taking care not to let them get totally submerged. At this point you can cover the pot and bring it back out to your cooker, or as I did I just put it in my indoor convection oven at 300*......
I checked the meat at one hour and it was beginning to tenderize but needed another hour to finish. The results were absolutely amazing. Tender, deep beefy broth and delicious. We served them up on a big platter country style on a bed of Parmesan, buttered egg noodles. Absolute country comfort on a cold night. Try some smoked Osso Bucco, it's an amazing dish !!!!
Oh and ever wonder what Osso Bucco means? If you look it up it roughly translates "bone hole". And that's the real hidden secret of Osso Bucco, be sure to dig out the unctuous bone marrow for an awesome taste treat.....
THERE'S A PARTY GOING ON IN MY MOUTH...SO TROUTMAN STEVE IS OUTTA HERE !!!!
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