Ossobuco alla Milanese is made with thick slices of veal shank slowly cooked with onion, butter, white wine and stock. Gremolata, added at the end, brings the fresh aromas of parsley, garlic, lemon, sage and rosemary to the cooking sauce.
Pat the ossobuchi dry with kitchen paper and make 3–4 small cuts in the membrane surrounding each slice, without cutting into the meat. This will help them hold their shape during cooking. Lightly coat both sides with flour and gently shake off any excess.
Finely chop the onion. Melt 20 g butter in a wide pan, large enough to hold the ossobuchi in a single layer, then add the onion. Cook gently until soft without letting it brown. If it starts to dry out, add a little hot stock or, alternatively, a little hot water.
Place the ossobuchi in the pan with the onion and increase the heat slightly. Brown them well on both sides, turning them carefully so the marrow stays inside the bone. Season with salt and black pepper.
Pour in the white wine and let it evaporate with the pan uncovered. Once the alcohol has evaporated, add a little hot beef stock, without submerging the ossobuchi.
Cover the pan, reduce the heat and cook gently for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, carefully turning the ossobuchi occasionally. Add more hot stock a little at a time whenever the cooking sauce begins to dry out. When ready, the meat should be very tender and the sauce reduced and creamy rather than watery.
While the ossobuchi finish cooking, finely chop the parsley with part of the garlic clove, the lemon zest, sage and rosemary leaves. Take only the yellow part of the lemon zest, avoiding the bitter white pith underneath.
Shortly before serving, add the gremolata and the remaining 20 g butter to the pan. Gently mix them into the cooking sauce, allowing the butter to melt and the aromatics to release their fragrance without unnecessarily extending the cooking time.
Serve the ossobuchi hot with their cooking sauce. You can serve them on their own or alongside Risotto alla Milanese, one of the classic pairings of Milanese cuisine.
Servings 4
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
The outer membrane of the ossobuchi contracts when exposed to heat. Making a few small cuts before coating the meat with flour helps prevent the slices from curling during browning and slow cooking.
Use a pan wide enough to arrange the ossobuchi in a single layer. The cooking liquid should not completely cover them: add hot stock a little at a time and only when the sauce needs it. The aim is a concentrated cooking sauce rather than a broth.
The ossobuchi are ready when the meat is very tender and begins to pull easily away from the bone. Cooking time can vary slightly depending on the thickness of the slices. If the meat still offers resistance after 90 minutes, continue cooking, adding a little stock whenever necessary.
Prepare the gremolata only towards the end of cooking. When zesting the lemon, avoid the white pith underneath, which can be bitter. Adding the gremolata shortly before serving keeps its aromas fresher and more distinct.
If you serve the ossobuco with Risotto alla Milanese, treat the two preparations as a single dish: place the risotto alongside the meat and spoon the ossobuco cooking sauce over the meat.
We do not know exactly when ossobuco first appeared, but by the end of the nineteenth century it was already well established in Milanese cooking. In 1879 Giuseppe Sorbiatti included it in his Memoriale della Cuoca, describing it as a dish “very commonly used in Milan”. The reference is particularly interesting because the book was intended for family cooking, not just the grand dining tables of the period.
A few years later came an even more famous account. In 1891 Pellegrino Artusi devoted recipe number 358 of Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well to “Osso buco”. Before explaining how to prepare it, he presents it as a speciality of Lombard cuisine and, with a touch of irony, suggests leaving its preparation to the Milanese rather than risking their mockery.
The recipes, however, have not remained identical over time. Differences are already apparent when comparing Sorbiatti and Artusi, and the dish continued to appear in different forms over the following decades. It is one of those cases where tradition is not a recipe frozen in time, but a dish that continued to be cooked in the homes and trattorias of the city.
That connection with Milan eventually received formal recognition. In 2007, the Municipality of Milan recognised Ossobuco as a De.Co. (Denominazione Comunale), placing it among the preparations that represent the city's culinary heritage.