Lamb Ossobuco Recipes

OSSOBUCCO

Steps:

• Soak the porcini for at least 15 minutes in 200ml/7fl oz boiling water. Don't remove the membrane that holds the veal together, but trim off any obviously fatty or lumpy bits. Dust both sides of the meat with the seasoned flour.
• Heat the butter and oil in a very large flameproof sauté pan or casserole over a medium-high heat. When the sizzling stops, put in the veal and fry the slices for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Transfer the meat to a plate.
• Replace the pan over a low to medium heat and tip in the carrot and celery. Gently fry for 5 minutes until the vegetables have slightly softened, then raise the heat and pour in the wine. Bubble the wine furiously for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
• Fish the softened porcini out of the soaking liquid, squeeze out the excess moisture and reserve it. Chop the porcini roughly and add to the sauté pan, together with the soaking liquid. Add the sugocasa or passata and stock, then stir.
• Put the veal back into the pan in a single layer, cover and bring to the boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer very gently for 2 hours, turning the veal slices halfway, until the meat is very soft. The liquid should reduce to a thickish sauce, but if it's still thin after 1¼ -1½ hours, half remove the lid to allow evaporation. Serve with the grain 'risotto' (see link, right).

LAMB OSSO BUCO SLOW-COOKED

Steps:

• Put flour into a shallow wide bowl. Season lamb shanks all over with salt and pepper; dredge through the flour until coated, shaking off any excess flour.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat; add butter and heat until foaming. Cook lamb shanks in the hot butter until golden, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer lamb shanks to a slow cooker.
• Pour wine into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon; transfer to the slow cooker. Add tomatoes with their juice, onion, chicken broth, celery, and thyme leaves to slow cooker.
• Cook on Low until lamb is very tender and almost falling off the bone, 6 to 8 hours. Transfer lamb shanks to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.
• Transfer the sauce in the slow cooker to a large skillet; simmer over high heat until sauce is reduced to about 2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

OSSO BUCO

Steps:

• In a shallow dish, stir together flour, salt, and black pepper. Dredge meat in seasoned flour. In a large skillet, melt butter with oil over medium heat. Brown meat. Remove meat from pan, and set aside.
• Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to drippings in pan. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomato sauce, water, basil, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Return meat to pan. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cover, and cook for 2 1/2 hours.

LAMB OSSO BUCCO WITH RUSTIC LAMB DEMI-GLACE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Season lamb osso bucco liberally with salt and pepper and set aside on a plate. In a heavy-bottomed roasting pan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil on stove top. Carefully place the osso bucco in the hot roasting pan and sear all sides, until nicely browned. Once seared on all sides, remove from pan and set back onto plate. Using the same pot with the lamb drippings in the bottom, add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Saute for approximately 10 minutes using a wooden spoon to scrape the lamb drippings off the bottom of the pan and to caramelize the vegetables. Once caramelized, add tomato paste, coat the vegetables with the paste, and brown slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the drippings off the bottom of pan using a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half and add the Lamb Stock and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Place the seared osso bucco back into the pan. Change to high heat and once the stock starts to boil, put roasting pan into the oven. Cook the osso bucco for about 2 hours until it is fork tender, almost falling off the bone. You will want to turn the osso bucco every half hour so that it cooks evenly and does not burn on the bottom.
• When finished, take the lamb out of the sauce and set aside. In a blender, blend the sauce until the vegetables are pureed. Place about a 1/4 cup of sauce into the bottom of each serving bowl, top with osso bucco and drizzle with a little more sauce. It is best served with roasted carrots, onions, and potatoes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large roasting pan, roast lamb bones in the oven until dark brown. On a sheet tray, roast carrots, celery, and onion in the oven until browned as well. Place the bones and vegetables in a 4-gallon stock pot. Add 2 gallons cold water, salt and pepper, and bay leaves, if desired. Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn down to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 4 to 5 hours to get the best results.
• If using lamb base, roast vegetables as explained above. In a 4-gallon stock pot, add 2 gallons water and whisk in lamb base. Add the roasted vegetables and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for approximately 1 hour.

OSSOBUCO

Steps:

• In a casserole, melt 1 oz (25g) of butter and fry the onion and garlic till pale gold - about 10 minutes. Then remove them to a plate with a slotted spoon. Now add the rest of the butter and fry the pieces of veal, to brown them slightly on both sides. Then pour over the wine, let it bubble and reduce a little before adding the onion, garlic, tomatoes, tomato purée and a seasoning of salt and freshly milled pepper. Then cover the casserole and leave it to cook gently on the top of the stove for 1 hour. After that, take off the lid and let it cook for another half an hour or so until the meat is tender and the sauce is reduced. Before serving, mix the chopped garlic, parsley and lemon rind together, then sprinkle this all over the meat. Serve this with rice (preferably Risotto alla Milanese, see below) - and don't forget to dig out the marrow from the centre of the bone, it's the best bit.

LAMB OSSOBUCO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large braiser set over medium-high heat. Dry the lamb very well and sprinkle with 1 1/4 teaspoons of the salt. Dredge each piece in the flour and then shake off the excess. Add the lamb to the pan and sear on all sides until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lamb to a plate. Add the garlic, celery, carrots and onions to the pan and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until the vegetables begin to brown and the mixture is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring often, to caramelize the paste, about 2 minutes. Deglaze with the wine and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, thyme, bay leaf and rosemary. Nestle the lamb back in the pan and cover with the lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the lamb is soft and tender, 2 hours.
• Remove the meat to a plate and keep warm. Skim the fat from the surface of the sauce and remove the herb sprigs and bay leaf. Return the meat to the sauce and serve sprinkled with the parsley and lemon zest.