Ossobuco, or veal shank, is a staple of Milanese cuisine, and it's often served alongside risotto alla Milanese, the rice dish with a golden hue due to saffron.
Davide Brovelli serves ossobuco alla milanese at Il Sole di Ranco, his restaurant on Lake Maggiore. He was gracious enough to give us a lesson on making it, revealing some tips for the best results.
The right meat
The cut of veal is the rear muscle (the shank). The slices should each be about 1½″ and include the marrow along with the bone. Each single-portion slice should weigh about 9-12 oz.
Ossobuco in gremolata recipe by Chef Brovelli
Ingredients for 4
4 veal shanks
½ medium-size white onion
1 medium-size carrot, washed
1 medium-size celery stalk, washed
2 cup dry white wine
1 cup beef broth
pepper
salt
Cut the outer lining of the meat, removing some of the internal connective tissue without breaking it.
Finely chop the white onion, carrot, and celery. Brown the vegetables with ½ stick butter until lightly colored (for about 10 minutes). Lightly flour and salt the ossobuco meat slices. Transfer to the saucepan with the vegetables and turn up the heat until browned – take care not to burn the vegetables.
Add the wine and let it evaporate for 7-8 minutes. Add pepper and meat stock, lower the heat, cover, and cook for about 1½ hours, turning the meat every once in a while. If necessary, add more broth to keep the meat moist.
Gremolata
Gremolata – or gremolada in dialect – is a green sauce that's traditionally served with ossobuco. It consists of mixing ½ minced clove of garlic with a handful of chopped parsley and the grated rind of a small lemon. Mixing with a mortar and pestle really helps extract flavor. Otherwise, use the back of a spoon to press down on the ingredients in a bowl. Only use the yellow part of the lemon peel as the white pulp is too bitter for the sauce. Once the meat has finished cooking, it should be tender enough that it falls off the bone. Make sure the gremolata is mixed well and pour over the cooked meat. Let the meat and gremolata blend for one more minute. Serve warm.
Switch it up a little!
Add 1 tsp. tomato paste or 1 Tbsp. tomato sauce to the broth. You can also add the tomato to the gremolata or finely chopped rosemary for a little extra flavor as well. For a “non-Lombardian” version, add the creamy pulp of 2-3 desalinated anchovies to contrast with the lemon’s acidity.
The esattore
To eat ossobuco “properly," the Milanesi have traditionally kept an esattore handy. The esattore – which ironically means tax agent – is an elongated, thin, small spoon that is slightly bent on one end for extracting the ossobuco bone marrow. The other side features a curved fork to extract the pulp from even the most difficult parts of the bone. This tool can also be used for extracting shellfish meat after breaking the shell with pincers.