The easiest way to make super cute, crumble robust bone marrow and osso buco ever.

How often do you go from the pasta part of the menu in a good Italian restaurant? Usually, we never do. But if I see osso buco in the menu, I make room to ask for it. How can you not love a slow stew, melted in your mouth meat cane in a fleshy and marrow tomato sauce? Sometimes you even get a small spoon for the bone marrow. If it’s on the menu, you can bet it’s usually the best thing on the menu. Osso buco is even often served with pasta, so everyone wins!

But better yet, you can do it at home in an hour in the instant pot for 1/4 of the cost. It tastes like you’re enslaved in the kitchen for hours. It’s perfect for special occasions, but easy enough that you can also have it on any night of the week.

What is osso buco? Osso buco is

an Italian dish of veal cane long stewed in a sauce infused with white wine bone marrow originating in Lombard. The long time of stew melts the connective tissues in the stem and leaves you with melted meat in your mouth. It tastes amazing because the stem cut is a complex muscle filled with connective tissue that just falls apart. Because it is slowly stewed in the bone (Osso Buco means bone with a hole), the bone marrow infuses the sauce and gives it incredible richness and flavor.

Historically, this recipe does not include tomatoes because they are a New World crop, but these days, almost everyone does it with tomatoes. This version we’re making today takes it to another level with fresher-tasting passata tomato sauce instead of the classic canned tomatoes.

How to make osso buco

1. Brown your beef well on both sides. I use the Instant Pot stir-fry setting high for 2-3 minutes on each side with a splash protector on top, and it honestly works better than doing it on the stove. The high sides of the instant pot mean much less splashing and clutter.
2. Cook your aromatics. Transfer the meat stem to a dish or something else to catch the juices, then add the aromatics and cook until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes.
3. Deglazing with wine. Add the wine and scrape all the brown pieces from the bottom of the instant pot with a wooden spoon or spatula. Let the wine cook until halved, at least 2 minutes.
4. braise. Add the meat stem, passata and herbs to the instant pot and stew over high heat for 1 hour. You will be rewarded with the most tender and crumbling meat of all time.

Instant pot osso

buco

Osso

buco is classically a braise-it-all-day affair, but, if there’s one thing the Instant Pot (or any pressure cooker) excels at, it’s crushing stew times for this type of dish. It is by far the best option, in my opinion. If you do not have one, you can make it by simmering until it is soft on the stove, it will only take longer, about 4-6 hours. You can also brown meat and aromatics in a Dutch oven- or oven-proof skillet, then transferring to a 250-300ºF oven for 4-6 hours. If you go to the stove or oven, check it again from time to time to make sure your liquid isn’t too low.

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Crock pot osso buco (or stove too)

But what if you don’t have an instant pot handy? The next best thing in that case is a clay pot. The slow cooker can’t get hot enough to brown the meat, so you’ll still have to cook some on the stove, but it’s just as easy:

1. brown your meats in a large skillet over high heat. Transfer to the clay pot and put it at height.
2. Cook the vegetables in the same pan until soft, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the wine and reduce, about 2 minutes.
4. Add passata. Once it is hot, transfer everything to the clay pot and cook slowly for 5-6 hours.
5. Reduce heat to low after about 2 hours.
6. enjoy!

If you do not have a clay pot, you can simmer in the pan, just add the stems again, partially cover and set it to its lowest heat. Check again every hour and add water or passata as needed.

The dinner and chill special

Traditionally there are many more ingredients and steps for this dish, but here I have reduced it to a minimum and let the flavors speak for themselves. Before writing this recipe, Steph and I went to a very well-regarded Italian restaurant. We tried their 24-hour osso buco made with beef stem and extra marrow bones. It was amazing, but this one compares favorably, and it’s much easier.

The biggest step I removed is the flour dredge. Usually, people dredge the stem into flour and use it to brown the meat and thicken the sauce. I don’t think this needs it, the thick bone marrow sauce is more than enough and the flour is always messy. However, if you want to do that, you’ll add a little extra body to both your meat and sauce.

Veal

vs Veal The

default meat option for osso buco is veal, but I’ve found that it’s pretty hard to find beef stem. It’s worth looking for if you want to stay true to the original. You should be able to find it at your neighborhood butcher shop or at a major supermarket. However, meat tastes just as good (if not better) and is much easier to find. It’s even often cheaper, even though beef should technically be a lower-cost meat.

Ingredients of Osso buco

• Shank is an economical cut that should be easy to find. If you can’t get it at your local supermarket, whole foods will carry meat stems (but not beef).
• Herbs to make a bouquet garni. I just threw a sprig of oregano because that’s what we had and it was great. If you have bay leaves, fresh thyme, fresh Italian parsley, etc. on hand, feel free to add a little. If not, just skip, the recipe does not need it.
• Passata is a cooked and strained tomato puree. I chose passata because the fresh tomato flavor really lights up the dish, but if you have a can of regular old crushed tomatoes, feel free to use it.
• white wine. Wine adds a complexity and authenticity to the dish that is impossible to replace. If you need to be alcohol-free, you can swap it for sodium-free chicken broth.

How do you serve it?

Osso Buco is typically served with risotto, gnocchi or pasta, but we like ours with bread or alone. If you plan to eat this on your own, you may want to double down on the recipe to get enough meat for 2.

If you wanted to really go above it (for example, for a Valentine’s dinner at home), a little caviar makes this one of the most extra surfing and lawns you could do at home.

-Mike