Beef Oso Buco is traditionally made with beef shanks. "Osso Buco" in Italian, means "bone in a hole". Served over cheesy, creamy polenta, let me tell you it was amazing!
I chose not to use the actual shank, I'm using a beef round roast, cut into 6 large pieces. Season the meat with House Blend and heat an oven proof dutch oven on high heat. We're using fresh roasted tomatoes in this dish, so place about 3 plum or roma tomatoes on a baking sheet and broil for about 12-15 minutes or until the skins start to turn black.
Add oil to pot and brown meat on all sides. Look at that nice crust forming, this will help to seal in all the juices while the meat is slow cooking. Once the meat is browned, remove from pan and set aside. Look at all those yummy brown bits too!
You may need to add a little more oil to the pan. Saute the onions, carrots and celery for about 4-5 minutes or until oniosn get translucent in color, then add in garlic.
Stir in about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. This will help bind the ingredients and thicken the sauce.
Once the tomato paste is combined with the veggies, stir in Super Tuscan Blend and some House Blend.
Throw in some sliced cremini mushrooms and combine with the other vegetables.
Now we need some wine. In the pot and in a glass :) Any variety of dry red wine will work, I used a Cabernet for this. Be sure to scrape up all those yummy brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
I'm also using low sodium beef broth. You want enough liquid to almost cover the meat. So about 1 cup of wine and 1 - 1/2 cups beef broth.
So the tomatoes that we put in the broiler earlier, should be done and look like this. Take them out and let them rest a few minutes. Lower the oven to 325 degrees(f) while your at it.
Add meat and any accumulated juices back in the pot and adjust the liquid to cover meat about 3/4 up.
The skins on the tomatoes should remove easily with the tongs.
Place tomatoes in on top of the meat. Give them a squish and break them up a bit with the tongs. Put the lid on and cook for an hour. After the 1st hour, remove the lid and cook another hour.
In the last 20 minutes of the meat cooking, you can make the polenta. Start with boiling some water, then slowly whisking in the cornmeal. Be sure to whisk fast and continuously to avoid lumps. Stir continuously for about 10 minutes until smooth and creamy. If it gets too thick, add a little more water. Stir in your favorite cheese (I used a shredded Italian blend here), season with a pinch of salt and you're ready to serve.
I never knew polenta was so easy to make! Look how creamy and delicious this looks!
The Osso Buco is done! Look at all that luscious sauce. The roasted tomatoes have broken down and blended in with everything and the meat is fall apart tender.
To serve, spoon some of that ooey, gooey, cheesy polenta in a shallow dish and place meat in center. Spoon vegetables around meat.
Don't forget all that delicious sauce!! Garnish with fresh parsley and dig in!
RECIPE
BEEF OSSO BUCO
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 2 Hours, 20 Minutes | Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 4 |
Ingredients:
Directions:
Place tomatoes on baking sheet and place in broiler for 12-15 minutes or until skins start to turn black.
Heat oven proof dutch oven pot on high heat. Season the meat with House Blend.
Add oil to pan and brown meat on all sides, then remove and set aside.
Add oil if needed, then saute onions, carrots and celery until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes, then add in garlic.
Stir in tomato paste and combine well with vegetables, then stir in Super Tuscan Blend and House Blend.
Add wine, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then add in 1 cup of the beef broth.
Once tomatoes are blackened and have rested for a few minutes, remove the skins and discard.
Add meat and any accumulated juices back into the pot. Place tomatoes on top of meat, smashing them with the tongs and breaking them up a little. Meat should be 3/4 covered in liquid, if needed, add the remaining beef broth.
Place lid on pot and cook for an hour. After the 1st hour, remove the lid and cook another hour.
During the last 20 minutes of cook time, boil 4 cups of water and slowly whisk in cornmeal. Whisk fast and continuously to avoid lumps. Whisk for about 10 minutes until polenta is thick and creamy, adding a little water if needed. Stir in shredded cheese, season with salt and place into bowls.
Top polenta with meat and vegetables and spoon sauce over. Garnish with chopped parsley.
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