Osso Buco with Lamb Shanks

A robust Northern Italian stew made with lamb shanks, vegetables and white wine. Easy prep with a long slow braise in the oven

Course dinner

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Italian stew, lamb shanks, osso buco, Oxtail soup

Meat & Poultry beef, oxtail, pork, veal

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Braising time in the oven 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 35 minutes

Servings

Calories 627kcal

Author dorothy stainbrook

Equipment

dutch oven or oven safe pot

Ingredients

2 large lamb shanks approx. 1½ pounds each
1-2 Teaspoons Kosher salt
1-2 Teaspoons Thyme Crushed fine
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil refined or “light” olive oil has higher smoke point
1 1/2 cup onions Or 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
10-12 Baby carrots Or 4 long carrots, coarsely chopped
4 stalks of celery 8” long coarsely chopped
8 garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups White wine
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary finely minced or crushed (can use dried, but decrease to 2 tablespoons
2 Bay leaves
2 cups Chicken stock
1 tablespoon lemon zest Or zest from 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon Parsley

Gremolata (optional)

3 Tablespoons Flat leaved parsley
2 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 Tablespoon Lemon zest
2 Anchovy fillets Minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Pat the lamb shanks dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. The shanks will brown better when they are dry. Season each shank with salt and crushed thyme.
In a large Dutch oven pot, heat oil until smoking. Add shanks to the hot pan and use tongs to turn and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.
In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute (do not burn). Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and bring to a low boil for a couple of minutes. Add the rosemary and bay leaves and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a simmer or low boil.
Add enough water to just cover the lamb shanks in the pot (can use more chicken stock or wine for the liquid, but water is fine). Cover the pot and place in the oven for 3 hours. Check after a couple of hours to make sure liquid hasn’t reduced too low. If the shanks are looking gray instead of deep brown, uncover the pot for the last hour.
Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in a serving platter. Pour all the juices, vegetables and sauce from the pot over the shanks and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest. See notes for making gremolata.

Notes

For the Gremolata:

Shortly before serving, combine the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, and anchovies. Add two Tbs. of the gremolata to the stew. Serve the osso buco topped with the stew sauce and a small sprinkling of the remaining gremolata.

Nutrition