Osso Buco - Veal or Beef?

Always in my 'most popular posts' category is the perennial question of 'can you use beef shanks instead of veal for osso buco?' I did some quick searching of the other blogs and generally felt it wouldn't' be a good idea. But when I was at the butcher shop I noticed they indeed had beef shanks on the shelf and, for the $4.00 (for the pair) that they were charging, I figured a test was in order as veal shanks can be prohibitively expensive.

Julian's Veal Shank Osso Buco

Veal shanks are typically 1-2 pounds and cut relatively thick (about 3 inches.)  These shown below were not thick and came from Wild Fork. I prefer thicker. The beef shanks on the other hand were cut about 1 1/2 inches thick and were more than double the width of a typical veal shank. Since you are dealing with a larger piece of beef, it is better for them to be thinner, one inch or just a bit more. I used the same technique/recipe I use for veal shanks (below.) If there is silver skin, it does help to keep them together without tying them. But it's not edible and much better to slip a knife under and cut it off, then tie the shanks with butchers twine as shown. 

Trim the Silver Skin from the Shank
Veal Shank Shown Above

As you can see in the photos at right, I tied the beef shanks, browned them in oil and cooked them in my mother's old speckled roaster.  After three and a half hours they were finally tender, which required me to add a little more liquid during cooking. If you use a good Dutch oven as suggested below, the liquid is likely not to reduce as much.  

To my surprise, the beef osso buco came out relatively well.  It was tender and this could easily be seen when I removed the strings just before serving and the meat began falling off of the bone. I spooned some of the sauce on top and provided a side dish of roasted acorn squash. Typically osso buco is served with risotto, polenta or creamy mashed potatoes. 

Beef Shank

While I still prefer the veal, as it has a more delicate flavor, it is quite possible to have a good, inexpensive meal using beef shanks for osso buco. Below is the classic veal osso buco recipe, but you can in fact substitute beef shanks, although you may have to cook them a bit longer. 

The below recipe is classic and sized for just 2 shanks (beef or veal), one shank per person. But it's just as easy to scale up by doubling or tripling the ingredients if you are serving a more. And as noted in the recipe, you can make this ahead and store for a couple days in your refrigerator before a quick finish on the cooktop.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Osso Buco

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 veal shanks

1/4 cup flour

1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 cups)

1 carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)

2-3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves, small

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

Gremolata

3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

¼ cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

Remove any silver skin. To keep the meat attached to the bone during cooking, tie a piece of butchers twine tightly around the thickest portion of each shank. Chop the onions, carrots and celery and mince the garlic and set aside. Gather and measure out the remaining ingredients. 

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325F degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Meanwhile, sprinkle both sides of the shanks generously with salt and pepper then dredge lightly in flour until evenly coated. Swirl oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Place shanks in a single layer in the pan and cook until they are golden brown on one side, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip the shanks and cook on the second side until golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the shanks to a bowl or rimmed plate and set aside. 

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil then add the onions, carrots, celery, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned, about 9 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute longer. Add the white wine and scrape up the browned bits stuck to the pan. Increase the heat to high and stir in the broth and bay leaves. Add the tomatoes; return the veal shanks to the pot with any accumulated liquid. (the liquid should just cover the shanks). Bring the liquid to a full simmer. Cover the pot, cracking the lid just slightly, and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook the shanks until the meat is easily pierced with a fork and the liquid has reduced somewhat and is lightly thickened, about 2 hours. (Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat before proceeding as noted in the next step.)

Remove from oven and let the osso buco cool for about 10 minutes. Prepare the gremotala below. Using tongs, remove the shanks from the pot, cut off and discard the twine, and place 1 veal shank in each serving bowl.

Gremotala: Use a zester, vegetable peeler, or paring knife to remove the zest from a single lemon, then mince it with a chef's knife. Combine the garlic, lemon zest, and parsley in a small bowl. Stir half of the gremolata into the pot after removing the shanks, reserving the rest for garnish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.