One of the greatest Italian dishes and, when done properly (it takes time; do not rush), one of the best meat dishes you can make. The marrow-filled veal shanks (the name means “bone with hole”) practically cook themselves after the initial browning and seasoning. (And the dish holds well enough overnight so you can cook almost the whole thing in advance.) Buy center-cut shank, about 1 1/2 inches thick. (The slices from the narrow end have very little meat; those from the thick end contain little or no marrow.) The mixture of garlic, lemon zest, and parsley stirred in at the last minute, known as gremolata, is a lovely little fillip, but consider it optional. Serve, classically, with Risotto alla Milanese (page 521) or a simpler, leaner rice dish. Other cuts of meat you can use here: it will not be osso buco, but a veal stew made with chunks of veal shoulder in the same style, with the same ingredients, is quite good and considerably faster.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　4 center-cut slices veal shank, at least 2 pounds

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　4 anchovy fillets, optional

　　1 cup chopped onion

　　1/2 cup chopped carrot

　　1/2 cup chopped celery

　　1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic

　　2 bay leaves

　　3 or 4 fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried

　　1 cup dry white wine, chicken or beef stock, preferably homemade (page 160), or water

　　1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

　　2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

　　

Step 1

Put the oil in a wide deep skillet or flameproof casserole, preferably nonstick, with a lid and place over medium-high heat. Wait a couple of minutes and, when the oil is hot, add the veal shanks and brown them well, rotating and turning the pieces as necessary, 15 minutes or more. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper as it cooks. Transfer the veal shanks to a plate.

　　

Step 2

Turn off the heat for a minute, then turn it to medium. Add the anchovies if you’re using them and cook, stirring occasionally, until they break up, a minute or two. Add the onion, carrot, celery, 1 tablespoon of the garlic, the bay leaves, and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and turn the heat to low.

　　

Step 3

Return the veal shanks to the pan and cover the skillet. Five minutes later, check to see that the mixture is simmering—just a few bubbles appearing at once—and adjust the heat accordingly. Cook until the meat is very tender and pulling away from the bone, at least 90 minutes and probably more; turn the veal every half hour or so. (When the meat is tender, you may turn off the heat and refrigerate the dish for up to 24 hours; reheat gently before proceeding.)

　　

Step 4

If the sauce is thin, transfer the meat to a warm platter and turn the heat to high; boil the sauce until it becomes thick and glossy, about 5 minutes. Mix together the remaining teaspoon of garlic, the lemon zest, and the parsley to make the gremolata. Stir the gremolata into the sauce and turn off the heat. Serve the meat with the sauce spooned over it.

　　

Osso Buco, French Style

Step 5

Brown the meat as in step 1, then simmer it in Fast, Fresh Tomato Sauce (page 606), made with a tablespoon of garlic and a teaspoon of fresh marjoram. Once the meat is tender, finish, if you like, by covering with about 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (page 580) and baking in a 375°F oven for about 15 minutes.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.