If nothing works better for you on a Sunday evening that a nice pot roast, then you need to upgrade yourself to the meal in a pot known as Osso Buco. It's a fancy Italian term for stewed veal shank. If you're morally opposed to utilizing veal, then feel free to try this same recipe with a lamb shank, turkey leg, or short ribs. Cooking times may vary if you change the meat. This meal is quickly become the favorite through colder weather in my household, and I guarantee that you'll be hooked once you try it. Keep in mind that this is not a cheap date, so the larger portion you make the more you can spread the wealth. The main price points in the recipe are the shanks themselves and the whole bottle of red wine required. You can also combo this recipe with a soup or stew later in the same week to utilize the remaining vegetables. I suggest serving up the gloriously meaty calf bone on a heaping pile of garlic mashed potatoes or a simple risotto. You can get crazy and make some soft polenta or even pappardelle.
The start of the recipe involves chopping one to two celery stalks and two peeled carrots into a regular dice. You'll also need to dice a whole yellow onion, mince or press four garlic cloves, and grab two bay leaves. The last bit of prep is to peel a lemon using a vegetable peeler. Try to remove as much rind with minimal pith as possible. If you struggle, just use the top of your peeler to scrape off the white stuff.
Now put your dutch oven on medium heat, add two to three counts of oil and two tablespoons of butter. While that comes to temperature, season your shanks liberally with salt and pepper, then apply a light dusting of flour to all sides. Note: your shanks should be left at room temp about 30 minutes prior to cooking and shake off as much flour as possible. Once the pot is ready, brown your shanks. This recipe can be done for four shanks or as few as one. You can usually brown two at a time in the pot. They need a light brown on all sides, then place them on a plate for the time being.
Once the meat is browned, you can dump in all the aromatics that you chopped in stage one at the same time including the rind and bay leaves. While these start to sweat, give them some salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and such. These items will cook down for about five or so minutes, then you can place the shanks back in the pot and add an entire bottle of Cab Sav or whatever red wine you like/have. This step requires at least 20 minutes to reduce by half. The more reduced, the richer the flavor. Once reduced, you can add one can of low sodium beef broth and a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes. The whole tomatoes should be hand crushed prior to entering the pot. You can pour in all the sauce and juice from the can. Like you learned earlier this year, always try to use San Marzano tomatoes.
Stir up this concoction, add salt and pepper if necessary, then put the lid on and place the pot in a 375 degree oven for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes of alone time in the oven, remove the lid and cook for an additional 30 minutes in said oven. After those 30 minutes have elapsed, remove the pot from the oven, carefully place the shanks on a plate, then put the pot back on the stove at medium/medium high heat. As you're finishing up all the rest of the meal components, the meat will have time to rest and you can get just a bit more reduction on that sauce. There is no time limit and this step is not necessary if your sauce looks ready to go. Remove the two bay leaves and spoon that dark red goodness all over everything on your plate.
Restaurant Recap
I know I'm going off the beaten path with this one, but with the alma mater on my mind, I'm breaking out a suggestion from good old West Lafayette. Bruno's in the Levee is the place to be on gameday or just on any day. They have by far the best pizza within 60 miles of Purdue's campus, and as advertised on ESPN they have fried pizza dough balls coated in italian herbs and parmesan cheese. You have to appreciate all cultures of pizza and these guys use scissors to cut the pizza into strips. It is great stuff and worth a shot for any pizza fan.
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