Ossobuco alla milanese
Photo: Mogens Engelund · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

The ossobuco (literally 'bone with a hole') is first recorded in 19th-century Milanese trattoria menus as a working-quarter dish that made use of the cheaper veal shank cut. The Pellegrino Artusi 1891 codification calls for tomato in the sauce; the older purist version uses only white wine and brodo. The dish is served on its own or atop a saffron risotto giallo as the canonical riso e oss buss. The gremolata (the lemon zest, garlic and parsley raw garnish at the finish) is the dish's defining note. Trattoria Masuelli San Marco, Ratana, Trattoria del Nuovo Macello and Giannino all serve canonical versions; the marrow on toast is the bonus snack.

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Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 4 veal shank cross-cuts, 4 to 5cm thick, 300g each
  • Plain flour, for dredging
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 celery stick, finely diced
  • 250ml dry white wine
  • 300ml veal or beef stock, hot
  • 200g peeled plum tomatoes, hand-crushed (optional, the purist version omits)
  • Sea salt, black pepper
  • For the gremolata: zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 garlic clove minced fine
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley chopped

Method

  1. Tie a length of butcher's twine around each shank to hold it together during the braise.
  2. Dredge each shank in flour. Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy casserole; brown the shanks on all sides over medium-high heat, 5 minutes per side. Remove.
  3. In the same pan, sweat the onion, carrot and celery over low heat for 8 minutes until soft.
  4. Pour in the wine and reduce by half. Add the tomatoes if using, then the hot stock. Return the shanks to the pan. Season.
  5. Cover and braise in a 160C oven for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, turning the shanks once at the halfway point. The meat should be falling-tender; the marrow still in the bone.
  6. While the braise rests, make the gremolata: combine the lemon zest, minced garlic and parsley.
  7. Lift the shanks onto warm plates. Spoon the sauce over. Scatter the gremolata on top at the table. Serve with risotto giallo or polenta.

Tip from the editors. The marrow inside the bone is the prize. Eat it with a small spoon (a marrow scoop if you have one); spread on the gremolata, then on bread, then in the mouth.

Where to eat ossobuco alla milanese

Ossobuco alla milanese in Milan

Trattoria Masuelli San Marco ★ 4.5

€€ Lombard TrattoriaPorta Romana

Trattoria Masuelli San Marco in Milan's Porta Romana has cooked the Lombard canon since 1921, family-run by the Masuelli family for four generations.

OrderThe risotto alla milanese with bone marrow, the ossobuco and the cassoeula in winter.

TipBookings open ten days ahead by phone. Cash and card; the wine list runs deep on Lombard producers.

Directions Book

Trattoria del Nuovo Macello ★ 4.6

€€ Lombard TrattoriaPorta Romana

Trattoria del Nuovo Macello in Milan's south-east has cooked the Lombard trattoria canon since 1927, near the old slaughterhouse. Located in Porta Romana.

OrderThe risotto alla milanese, the cotoletta alla milanese with bone in, and the ossobuco when on the carte.

TipBookings open one month ahead on the website. Lunch is the calmer service; Friday evening fills up first.

Directions Book

Ratana ★ 4.8

€€€ ItalianIsola

Ratana in Milan's Isola district is Cesare Battisti's modern Lombard kitchen, housed in a 19th-century railway building since 2009. Priced at €€€.

OrderThe risotto alla milanese with bone marrow, the cotoletta alla milanese and the ossobuco.

TipBookings open three weeks ahead. Lunch sittings 12:30 and 14:00; dinner from 19:30. The garden is the spot in summer.

Directions Book

Giannino ★ 4.3

€€€ Lombard, Modern ItalianPorta Venezia

Giannino in Milan since 1899 is the historic Lombard dining room near Stazione Centrale, the family-run kitchen that has fed Milan's industrial bourgeoisie.

OrderThe risotto alla milanese, the cotoletta alla milanese and the ossobuco con risotto plate.

TipBookings open by phone or website; lunch sittings 12:30 and 13:30. The marble-and-mahogany dining room is the destination.

Directions

Savini ★ 4.1

€€€€ Lombard, Classical ItalianCentro Storico

Savini in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele has cooked classical Lombard and Italian cuisine since 1867, the historic dining room of opera-going Milan.

OrderThe risotto alla milanese, cotoletta alla milanese and the tortelli di zucca from Mantua.

TipBookings open a month ahead. The post-Scala dinner sitting at 22:30 is when the opera crowd arrives.

Directions Book

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