Friday, January 28, 2011

Osso Buco a la Milanaise from Emeril for January's "Great Osso Buco Quest"


Last month I declared that I would celebrate my love for osso buco, that meltingly tender dish of braised veal shanks by having a monthly throwdown of sorts. Starting with the Food Network, I am making an osso buco each month to determine my favorite. I also said I was coming up with a rating and ranking system, however my week got crazy with meetings plus writing and giving a large presentation today. I am tired to the bone and so the rating system will come next month. For January's selection I decided to go with Emeril's Osso Buco Milanaise. Emeril has several osso buco or osso buco-related recipes on the Food Network site. This one seemed simple for a busy week and outside of the veal shanks and fresh pasta, I had all of the ingredients in the panty and fridge.


You can find the recipe at The Food Network here.

Osso Buco a la Milanaise
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse
(Makes 6 Servings)

2 1/2 pound veal shanks, cut into 1 1/2-inch thick sections
salt and pepper
flour, for dredging
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 cup white wine
1 cup chopped tomatoes, with juices
3 cups brown stock
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
2 garlic cloves
chopped parsley and lemon wedges, for garnish

Generously season the veal shanks on all sides with salt and pepper. Dredge lightly in flour, shake off excess. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Brown the shanks on both sides until golden, you may need to do this in batches.

Remove all the shanks from the Dutch oven, and add the onions, carrots, and celery, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the wine, tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, thyme, and garlic. Place the seared shanks back into the Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Adjust seasonings, and serve with chopped parsley and lemon wedges.


Notes/Results: Good--extremely easy and low-fuss to make. Emeril's version is not my favorite osso buco to date. Although, I will wait to rank the recipes next month once I have the official ratings system, I will say that out of the recipes of the 3 other chefs that I have made so far (Mark Bittman, Mario Batali, and Giada Delaurentiis), Bittman still gets first place. Emeril's version was colorful and very tender, but lacked some of the flavor the other recipes had. Maybe more garlic was in order--although I did toss in an extra clove. The lemon added brightness to the dish which helped somewhat and I managed to enjoy it--it's osso buco for Pete's sake--it would be hard not to enjoy it. ;-) Emeril has a few more chances to rate higher with his other recipes as I wok my way through them.



I am sending this freshly-made, slowly cooked comfort food goodness to Roz's weekly event at La Bella Vita. Go by and take a look at all the wonderful recipes and fresh ideas.



Happy Aloha Friday!

11 comments:

  1. all look wonderful...will be interesting to see the results :)

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  2. Osso buco is my dad's favorite meal and so I'm excited to see which recipe ends up being the ultimate winner in your book so that I can make it for him! I'm sorry this wasn't IT but at least it was a delicious meal to eat in the meantime!

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  3. This is definitely a journey I can get behind! Personally I am not a fan of carrot & celery in osso bucco, and I like a mixture of orange and lemon in my gremolata.

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  4. Ooo, I LOVE osso bucco. I can't wait to see which other ones you make... and which one the winner is.

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  5. Emeril's does look really good served over the pasta. Hooray for Bittman being in the lead right now, especially with Batali in the running. It'll be interesting to hear about the results each month.

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  6. You have a quest! How exciting, I cannot wait to see more versions of this scrumptious dish. That definitely does look mouthwatering. But hey....good ol' Bitty ;)

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  8. ckDeb,

    I've never tried very many Osso Bucco recipes, but I am going to wait until your final winner is decided and posted. We love Osso Bucco so much that we served it at our daughter's rehearsal dinner and of course, those who have never enjoyed this classic dish were just amazed! Thanks for sharing on Fresh Clean and Pure Fridays . . . it is certainly is a 'purely' Italian recipe, that's for sure! Roz

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  9. sorry for the typo above Deb! slippery fingers tonight! Roz

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  10. As you say - it's osso bucco - what's not to like. Looks pretty darn good to me, and I would be very happy to have a big plate of that :-)
    Sue

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  11. Could not take part in this week's Souper Sundays :-(.
    the collection looks fabulous; the tomato soup looks really rich and delicious

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