Veal Shanks With Caramelized Onions And Sage Recipes

VEAL SHANKS WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND SAGE

Steps:

• Sprinkle veal with salt and pepper. Combine flour and dried sage in shallow bowl. Set 3 tablespoons flour mixture aside. Dredge veal in remaining flour mixture to coat; shake off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large very wide pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook veal until brown, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer veal to bowl.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same pot. Add onions and sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and sauté onions until very deep brown, about 35 minutes longer. Add garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Add whole sage leaves and reserved 3 tablespoons flour mixture; stir 2 minutes. Add wine; bring to boil.
• Arrange veal in single layer in pot. Add broth. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until meat is very tender but does not fall off bone, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Uncover; simmer until juices thicken enough to coat spoon, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place 1 veal shank on each plate. Spoon sauce and onion mixture over. Sprinkle with additional fresh sage.

VEAL SHANK WITH BALSAMIC ONIONS AND WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Heat dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and sprinkle with sugar and 1 teaspoon thyme. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir to mix. Add 1/2 cup wine. Cover and cook until onions are very soft, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar and cook until liquid evaporates and onions are caramelized, about 14 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer all but 1/2 cup onions to bowl. Season veal with salt and pepper and add to onions in pan. Add broth, tomatoes with liquid, garlic, red pepper, remaining 1 cup wine, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme. Partially cover and simmer, turning occasionally, 1 hour 15 minutes. Uncover; cook until veal is very tender, about 45 minutes.
• Stir beans into veal. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until heated through. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cover stew and onions separately and refrigerate. Reheat stew and onions over low heat.)
• Mix basil into veal. Transfer veal shanks to bowls. Pour vegetables and juices over. Top each with reserved onion and serve.

SLOW ROASTED VEAL SHANK WITH MELTED CABBAGE AND CIPPOLINI ONIONS

Steps:

• Season shank with sea salt and pepper. Sear off the shank in a hot roasting pan with oil and butter in a preheated 450 degree F oven. Continually baste shank and cook until brown. Add mirepoix (carrots, celery and onions) and brown slowly. Add white wine and bouquet garni (garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns) wrapped in the green leek. Continually baste while roasting. Cook for about 2 to 3 hours until shank is bronzed and fork tender, with no liquid left in pan. Remove shank and add water to pan and reduce to make a sauce. Strain and reseason with sea salt and pepper.;
• CABBAGE: Heat a rondeau, add bacon fat, duck fat, onions, and shallots. When shallots are lightly caramelized, add cabbage. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until cabbage is lightly caramelized. Add caraway, white wine, and oxtail stock. Reduce down. Add butter, vinegar and check seasoning.
• CIPPOLINI ONIONS: In a large saute pan, melt butter and sugar. Stir in cippolini onions, salt and thyme, then pour chicken stock over onion mixture to cover. Cook until onions are glazed and lightly caramelized. Set aside.
• TOMATO MARMALADE: Over medium heat in stainless steel saute pan, combine all ingredients completely. Cook until dry or jam-like consistency. Check seasoning.
• PLATING: Place cabbage on plate, top with shank. Ladle onions and marmalade over top, then sprinkle with truffle oil, thyme leaves, fleur de sel or sea salt, cracked pepper.
• Wine Suggestion: Caine Five, 1995

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH APRICOT, ORANGE AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pat shanks dry with paper towels and season very liberally with salt and pepper.
• Place a large, heavy roasting pan across two stove-top burners over high heat. Add 4 tablespoons of oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add veal and sear until well browned on both sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer veal to a platter. If pan looks dry, add another tablespoon oil, and onion, carrots, celery, garlic, diced fennel bulb, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a generous pinch of pepper. Sauté over medium heat until onions are translucent and tender, 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to sauté for 2 minutes longer.
• Pour in wine and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Let simmer for 2 minutes, then add broth and simmer until liquid is reduced by a third, about 5 minutes. Stir in orange juice, anchovies (if using), sage, thyme, bay leaf, half the apricots and 2 tablespoons fennel fronds. Nestle meat into vegetable mixture and pour in any meat juices from platter. Cover pan with foil, leaving a corner turned up so some steam can escape, and braise in oven for about 2 hours, turning shanks two or three times as they cook.
• When meat is quite tender, transfer it to a platter (on top of hot kasha if desired). Cover with foil to keep warm. Remove bay leaf from pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about a third of the vegetables to a blender or food processor and purée.
• Add purée back to pan juices. Add remaining apricots and bring to a simmer for 3 minutes. Taste and correct seasonings. Spoon sauce over meat, and serve garnished with more fennel fronds.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Stand the shank pieces up on a flat end. Cut six lengths of twine, each about 2 feet long, and wrap one around the outside of each ossobuco, in the middle (the meat will look as though it's wearing a very tight belt). Tie the twine securely and trim the ends.
• Cut a small square of cheesecloth and wrap up the bay leaves, cloves, rosemary sprig, and juniper berries. Tie the packet with twine. Shave off the peel of the orange and lemon in broad strips with a paring knife or vegetable peeler-remove only the colorful zest, not the bitter white pith. Squeeze and strain the juice from the orange.
• Just before browning the meat, salt the ossobuco lightly, using 1/2 teaspoon in all. Dredge the shanks in the flour to coat all surfaces.
• Pour the vegetable oil into the pan, and set over medium-high heat. Shake off excess flour, and set all the ossobuco in the oil, standing on a cut end. Let them sizzle for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bottoms are well browned; turn to caramelize the other cut side. Flip the pieces onto their round edges, and rotate so the fat crisps all around the shanks. Remove them to a platter when nicely colored-this will take 10 minutes or more.
• When all the ossobuco are browned, carefully pour the hot vegetable oil out of the empty pan, leaving the crusted bits of meat on the bottom. Pour in the olive oil, set over medium-high heat, and dump in the onions. Stir them around for a minute or two, scraping the pan to release the caramelized bits, then stir in the carrot and celery. Drop in the cheesecloth herb sachet, sprinkle on a teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are sizzling and wilting.
• Clear a space in the pan bottom, and drop in the tomato paste; cook the paste in the hot spot for a minute, then stir it into the vegetables. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir well, and bring to a boil. Raise the heat to high, pour in the wine, and cook for a couple of minutes at a boil to evaporate the alcohol. Pour in the orange juice and about 6 cups of the hot stock; drop in all the strips of citrus zest and the remaining salt, and bring the liquids to a boil.
• Return the ossobuco to the saucepan, standing them on end so they're evenly immersed in the sauce. Add more hot stock, if necessary, just to cover the tops of the ossobuco with liquid. Cover the pan, and lower the heat so the sauce is perking steadily but not too fast. Cook for an hour or so, covered, checking that the sauce has not reduced and is still covering the meat (add stock if needed). Turn the ossobuco over in the pan so the meat cooks evenly.
• Uncover the pan, and cook for another hour or more at a bubbling simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain slow but steady concentration of the sauce. As the braising-liquid level gradually drops, carefully turn the shanks again, so no parts dry out.
• Cook for 2 to 3 hours in all, until the meat at its thickest part is tender enough to pierce with a fork with only slight resistance, and the sauce is thick, reduced well below the tops of the shank pieces. Season with fresh pepper to taste and stir. Turn off the heat. Lift each ossobuco from the cooking pot with sturdy tongs, letting the sauce drain off, and place it on a large platter. Snip the knotted twine pieces with a scissors; pull off and discard. Lift out the cheesecloth sachet, press to release all the juices back into the pot, and discard.
• Set a wire-mesh sieve in a bowl or saucepan. Strain all the sauce through the sieve, pressing the liquid from the strips of peel and vegetable bits. The sauce should be thick and velvety, with the consistency of molasses (if it is too thin, quickly reduce it over high heat). Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning for the last time.
• Chop and stir together the chopped parsley, garlic, and lemon zest for the gremolata just before serving, for freshness. Spoon the Risotto alla Milanese (page 48) into the center of six wide plates, and nestle the ossobuco in the center of the risotto. Spoon over it some of the sauce, and sprinkle lightly with gremolata (about 1/2 teaspoon per serving). Serve with small spoons for scooping the delicious marrow from the bones, and pass the remaining gremolata at the table.