Original ossobuco alla milanese: veal shank browned in butter, cooked for two hours without tomato in wine and stock, and finished with lemon gremolata.
Introduction
Ossobuco alla milanese is the Sunday main course in Milan, and its name already says what it is: a slice of veal shank three or four centimetres thick, cut across the bone, with the marrow at its centre. In dialect it is «oss bus», the bone with a hole. It is dusted with flour, browned in butter, deglazed with white wine and then cooked gently in stock for a couple of hours, until the meat comes away from the bone with a fork. At the end the gremolata is scattered over it: lemon zest, garlic and parsley chopped together, raw, which bring a fresh scent to a dish cooked for a long time. The marrow is eaten with a teaspoon, and it is the mouthful many Milanese keep for last.
The recipe we follow is the one in bianco, without tomato, which is the oldest version. The things that matter are few. The cut, which you should ask your butcher for: the hind shank, meatier, in even slices. The browning, done calmly and in a single layer, because that is where the base of the sauce forms. And the low heat, with the lid on, because the connective tissue of the shank melts into gelatine only with time: over a high flame the meat tightens and stays tough. In Milan ossobuco is served beside the yellow risotto, and it is the only case in which a risotto accompanies a main course.
In the glass we pour the Valpolicella Superiore D.O.C. by Comaroto, a red from Illasi made partly from fresh grapes and partly from dried ones: lively acidity for the marrow and an already polished tannin that does not cover the veal. For those who want to stay in Lombardy, the Franciacorta Rosé Extra Brut by Muratori.
The Story of Ossobuco alla Milanese
Ossobuco was born from a humble cut. The shank is the lower part of the leg, a muscle that works hard and is run through with tendons and connective tissue: roasted it would be tough, and for this reason it cost little. Lombard kitchens found the way to use it with long, moist cooking, the same as for a braise, which turns collagen into gelatine and makes the meat tender. The marrow, today the most loved part of the dish, was then a precious fat, and in Milanese cooking it also goes into the yellow risotto: the two dishes have the same origin and the same ingredient, and that is why they are served together.
The oldest version is in bianco: butter, onion, white wine and stock, without tomato. Tomato came in later, in the twentieth century, and today many families use it, so much so that outside Milan ossobuco with tomato is the best-known one. Pellegrino Artusi, in his «Scienza in cucina», considers it a speciality best left to the Milanese. What does not change in any version is the gremolata, which the Milanese call «gremolada»: a mince of lemon zest, garlic and parsley that is added only at the end. Some also put in an anchovy, others rosemary or sage, but the lemon stays at the centre.
Ingredients
For the ossobuco
- slices of veal hind shank (ossobuco), 3-4 cm thick4
- 00 flour for dusting40 g
- butter50 g
- white onion, very finely chopped80 g
- dry white wine150 ml
- hot meat stock500 ml
- saltto taste
- black pepperto taste
For the gremolata
- grated zest of an unwaxed lemon1
- fresh parsley1 bunch
- garlic1 clove
Equipment Needed
- Wide casserole with a lid, in which the ossobuco slices fit in a single layer
- Small sharp knife or kitchen scissors
- Shallow bowl for the flour
- Tongs or a spatula for turning the meat
- Fine grater for the zest
- Mezzaluna or knife and chopping board
Tip: The casserole must be wide enough to hold the four slices in a single layer, without overlapping them: if they are crowded, they steam while browning and do not take colour, and during cooking the ones underneath cook more than the ones on top. A heavy base matters more than the material, because it keeps the heat steady for two hours over a low flame. For the gremolata you need a fine grater that takes only the yellow part of the zest: the white part underneath is bitter.
How to Make Ossobuco alla Milanese — Original Recipe
The ossobuco
Take the ossobuco slices out of the fridge half an hour before. With a small knife or with scissors, nick the thin membrane that surrounds them in three or four places along the edge, without cutting the meat. Dry them with kitchen paper, salt them and coat them in flour on both sides, then tap them lightly to remove the excess.
Chef's tip: The outer membrane shrinks as it cooks: if you do not nick it, the ossobuco curls up like a cup, the meat lifts off the base of the casserole and the marrow can slip out of the bone.
The browning
Melt the butter in the casserole over medium heat and, when it stops foaming, lay the ossobuco slices in a single layer. Brown them for four or five minutes per side, until golden, then take them out and set them aside. In the same butter put the onion and let it soften over gentle heat for five minutes, scraping the base with a wooden spoon.
Chef's tip: Do not move the meat until it comes away from the base on its own: it is the sign that the crust has formed. If the butter starts to darken too much, lower the flame.
The cooking
Put the ossobuco back in the casserole, raise the flame and deglaze with the white wine, letting it evaporate for two or three minutes. Pour in a couple of ladles of hot stock, enough to come halfway up the meat, cover and lower to the minimum. Cook for about two hours, turning the slices halfway through and adding stock when the sauce dries out. They are ready when the meat comes away from the bone with a fork and the sauce is thick and glossy.
Chef's tip: The heat must stay very low, with a barely visible simmer. At a lively boil the fibres of the meat tighten and the shank stays tough even after two hours.
The gremolata
While the meat finishes cooking, grate the lemon zest, only the yellow part. Chop the garlic and parsley together very finely and mix them with the zest. A few minutes before serving, taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper, then scatter half the gremolata over the ossobuco, cover and turn off the heat. Serve them hot, with their sauce and the rest of the gremolata on the table.
Chef's tip: The gremolata goes in only at the end and with the heat off: cooked, it loses the scent of the lemon and the garlic turns sweet. It must stay raw, and it is the contrast with the meat that makes the dish.
Wine to Pair with Ossobuco alla Milanese
Ossobuco puts three different things on the plate, and the wine has to answer all three. The first is the meat: veal shank is a lean cut but full of connective tissue, which two hours over a low flame melt into gelatine, so in the mouth the dish is not fatty but dense and sticky. The second is the marrow, at the centre of the bone, which is eaten with a teaspoon and is the richest mouthful on the whole table: pure fat, sweet, coating the palate. The third is the gremolata, that is raw lemon zest, garlic and parsley, scattered over the meat at the last moment: a fresh, sharp note with nothing cooked about it. Hence the two demands. You need real acidity, the only thing that lifts the gelatine and the marrow off the palate between one mouthful and the next. And you need an already polished tannin, because veal is a delicate meat that a surly red covers, and because in Milan ossobuco often arrives on the same plate as the yellow risotto, where a hard tannin turns bitter against the saffron. A medium-bodied red, fresh and already soft, or a sparkling Pinot Nero: those are the two roads.
The Red We Recommend
Valpolicella Superiore D.O.C. — Comaroto — The **Valpolicella Superiore D.O.C. by Comaroto** comes from Illasi, in eastern Valpolicella, from the winery of the Dal Forno brothers, and it is built in a way that comes in useful with ossobuco: 70% of the grapes are vinified fresh and 30% after a few weeks of drying. The fresh part brings the acidity, which the technical sheet calls harmonious and which is the reason the wine stays light from the first sip to the last: on the marrow and the gelatine of the shank it is what resets the mouth. The dried part brings depth and softness, that is just the body needed to stand level with a reduced sauce. Twenty-four months in tonneaux and another twenty-four in bottle have rounded the tannin of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina and Oseleta, and that is why the wine does not crush the veal and does not quarrel with the saffron, if the yellow risotto is on the plate. The aromas do the rest: ripe morello cherry and raspberry sit well with braised white meat, and the notes of incense, smoke and flint gather up the crust of the browning. Two limits. With 13,5% vol and the dried part it is a wine with weight, and on an ossobuco that has not reduced much, with a pale sauce and plenty of gremolata, the lemon and raw garlic stay fresher than the glass. And at 50 € a bottle it is a wine for Sunday lunch, not for the kitchen: to deglaze the meat any dry white will do. Serve it at 16-18 °C, opening it half an hour before.
Want to know more about the grape? our guide to Valpolicella
The Lombard Alternative
Franciacorta D.O.C.G. Rosè Extra Brut — Muratori — Those who want to stay in Lombardy, the dish's own region, have a different road an hour from Milan. The **Franciacorta Rosé Extra Brut by Muratori** is a traditional-method sparkling wine made mainly from Pinot Nero, from vineyards in all six of Franciacorta's vocational zones, aged at least twenty-four months on the lees. On ossobuco it works with its bubbles where the red works with acidity, and with more force: the carbon dioxide carries away the butter of the sauce and the fat of the marrow with every sip. Pinot Nero gives it a body that a white Franciacorta would not have, and the structure to stand up to braised meat. The aromas of fresh citrus and white peach bind with the lemon zest of the gremolata instead of suffering it, which is the thing a red does with more effort. And it is the easiest choice if risotto alla milanese is on the table too: bubbles and saffron get along, and there is no tannin to turn bitter. With 4 grams of sugar per litre it stays dry. The limit lies in the sauce: on an ossobuco with a dark, heavily reduced sauce the wine stays lighter than the dish, and what you mostly taste is its freshness. With 12,5% vol, serve it at 8 °C, in a white wine glass rather than a flute.
Want to learn more about the grape? our guide to Franciacorta
Craft Beer as an Alternative
Reckless Bock Beer — doppio malto — With ossobuco a beer works if it has body and little bitterness. The **Reckless Bock by Norah's Farm** is a bottom-fermented Dunkel Bock from the Venetian foothills, deep copper in colour, with 7% vol. The caramel and dried fruit of the malt lean on the golden crust of the floured meat browned in butter, while the carbonation does on the gelatine and the marrow the job that acidity does in wine, and cleans the mouth. The hops, which the producer marks as low, stay in the background, so they add no bitterness to the saffron of the risotto. The limit has to be said: the finish of this beer is sweet, and the gremolata is all freshness, lemon and raw garlic. The two meet head-on instead of keeping each other company, and with plenty of gremolata the contrast shows. Those looking for a pairing that goes unnoticed should stay with the wine. Serve it at 8-10 °C: any colder and the malty notes stay closed.
Want to explore the style? dark and doppelbock beers
Serve It With
The classic companion is risotto alla milanese, served on the same plate, beside the ossobuco: the cooking juices of the meat slide into the yellow rice and dress it, and the marrow of the two dishes meets again. Make it during the last half hour of the ossobuco's cooking, so they reach the table together. Those who want a less rich plate can serve the ossobuco with soft polenta, which gathers up the sauce in the same way, or with mashed potatoes.
Bring the gremolata to the table in a small separate bowl as well: some want more of it, and some prefer just a hint. On the side a green salad is enough, dressed with a little vinegar, which refreshes the mouth after such a dense dish.
Variations
- With tomato: after the white wine, add 200 g of crushed peeled tomatoes, or two spoonfuls of passata, and cook with the stock as in the recipe. The sauce comes out redder and more acidic, and the dish closer to the version found outside Milan. With tomato the wine changes too: better a slightly fresher red.
- With vegetables: in the soffritto, together with the onion, put a carrot and a stick of celery, very finely chopped. It is a version common in many Lombard homes, and it gives a sweeter, fuller sauce.
- Gremolata with anchovy: an anchovy fillet chopped together with the garlic and parsley brings a savoury note that you taste on the marrow. Others add a few rosemary needles or a sage leaf, but it is better not to cover the lemon.
- The day before: ossobuco can be cooked ahead and kept in the fridge in its sauce. The next day it is reheated gently, with a splash of stock, and the gremolata is made and added only when serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the original ossobuco alla milanese made with or without tomato?
The oldest version is **in bianco**: butter, onion, white wine and stock. Tomato came in later, and today many families use it, especially outside Milan. Both are good, but the dish in bianco leaves more room for the flavour of the veal and the marrow, and for the gremolata. If it is served with risotto alla milanese, the version without tomato is the one that gets along best with the saffron.
Which cut of meat do you need for ossobuco?
**Veal shank**, cut into slices three or four centimetres thick across the bone, with the marrow at the centre. The **hind** shank is larger and meatier, the fore shank smaller. It is worth asking your butcher for it and having slices of the same thickness, so they cook in the same time. Veal is the traditional choice; with beef the ossobuco is more flavourful but also needs an extra hour of cooking.
Why does ossobuco curl up while it cooks?
Because of the thin membrane that surrounds it, which shrinks with the heat and pulls the edges upwards. It is enough to nick it with a small knife or scissors in three or four places, before flouring the meat. That way the ossobuco stays flat, browns evenly and the marrow does not slip out of the bone.
What is ossobuco alla milanese served with?
With **risotto alla milanese**, on the same plate: it is the classic pairing, and the juices of the meat dress the yellow rice. Alternatively with soft **polenta** or mashed potatoes, which gather up the sauce in the same way. On the side a green salad is enough.
Which wine goes with ossobuco alla milanese?
A **medium-bodied red**, with lively acidity and an already soft tannin: the acidity lifts the marrow and the gelatine of the meat off the palate, and the polished tannin neither covers the veal nor turns bitter against the saffron of the risotto. A **Valpolicella Superiore** answers both demands well. Those who want to stay in Lombardy can choose a **Franciacorta Rosé**, whose bubbles cut the fat and whose citrus aromas bind with the gremolata. Alternatively, a bottom-fermented dark beer with little hopping.
