Osso Buco Beef Shanks with Roasted Garlic Mascarpone Polenta
“Osso buco” is an Italian dish. The phrase means “bone with a hole” in Milan’s dialect, which is a fitting name for a dish that stars a succulent piece of meat—a shank—with a bone in the center, releasing the rich bone marrow at the center as it cooks. To begin, the meat is browned and then a trio of aromatic vegetables is added and sautéed, along with white wine—use a wine that you like enough to drink as-ish—fresh herbs, and tomatoes. All of these classic flavors marry together through the low and slow braising process, as the marrow from the center of the bone cooks down and creates a dreamy sauce that just begs to be poured over a bed of creamy polenta or even risotto.
Ingredients
Beef Shanks
- 4 two-inch thick beef shanks
- Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced small
- 2 carrots diced small
- 1 stick celery diced small
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 cups dark ale or porter beer
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1/3 cup chopped curly parsley
Roasted Garlic Polenta with Mascarpone (optional)
- 1 head of garlic
- Olive oil
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup mascarpone
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves chopped
- A big pinch of kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper lots
Instructions
Beef Shanks
- Preheat oven to 325
- Using kitchen twine, tie the shanks around their equator to keep them from coming apart when they become super tender
- Season them with salt & pepper, then dust well with flour
- Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large cast iron pan or oven proof pot or pan with a lid, and brown beef 3-4 minutes each side until beautifully browned – remove to a plate and set aside
- Add a little more oil, then put in the onion, carrot and celery – cook 5 minutes or until softened and browned slightly
- Add garlic, cook for 30 seconds, then add tomato paste, stirring well to incorporate
- Finally add the stock, beer & soy add thyme – mix well, bring to a boil, add the shanks, then cover and place in oven approx 2 hours, or until super tender
- Stir in chopped parsley and serve with the polenta (see below)
Roasted Garlic Polenta with Mascarpone
- Preheat the oven to 400
- Cut the top 1/3 off the head of garlic, put on a sheet of foil, drizzle with oil, season lightly with salt and wrap tightly in a sheet of foil – bake 45 minutes – remove from oven and foil and let cool, then squeeze cloves out into a small bowl and mash well
- Put water into a medium pot and bring to a boil
- Add cornmeal slowly, whisking continually, then reduce heat and cook until it begins to thicken, remembering to stir and scrape the bottom so it doesn’t stick and burn
- When it’s smooth and creamy, 20 to 30 minutes add the garlic, butter, mascarpone, thyme and salt & pepper
- Serve with the beef shanks
