A good braised osso buco with creamy polenta is a crowd-pleasing wow-factor main dish. I love spoiling my guests with indulgent dishes whose flavors unfold with hours of love and cooking. And, luckily, most of the cooking is done passively while in the oven. That sounds like a win-win to me. Also, the side dish is super easy if you go to Trader Joe’s. They make a super convenient cooked polenta log that takes all the work out of polenta making. And the best part is your guests won’t know the difference.
Braised Osso Buco with Creamy Polenta
a classic beef shank braised in tomato sauce
Ingredients
Osso Bucco
- 3 lbs bone in beef shank
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 yellow onion finely minced
- 3 stalks celery finely minced
- 3 carrots peeled and finely minced
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 jar 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tbsp beef base
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 quart chicken stock
- 1 pinch dried rosemary
Creamy Polenta
- 1 log cooked polenta sliced into 1-inch thick slices
- 1/2 cup full fat milk
- 1/3 stick unsalted butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated
Instructions
Osso Bucco
- Season beef shanks with salt and pepper. Then heat a dutch oven on medium heat. When the dutch oven is hot, add in oil. Then sear the beef shanks about 5-6 mins each side until golden brown. Remove beef shanks from the dutch oven.
- Add in minced celery, carrot, onion, and garlic into the dutch oven. Saute for 5 minutes. Then add in tomato paste. Saute another 3 minutes.
- Then add in bay leaves, crushed tomatoes, beef base, dry red wine, salt, chicken stock, and dried rosemary. Mix well together.
- Place beef shanks back into the tomato mixture. Place a lid on the dutch oven and insert into a 350 degree oven.
- Braise in oven for 2 hrs at 350 degrees.
- Remove from the oven and serve with creamy polenta.
Creamy Polenta
- With 15 minutes left of cooking on the osso bucco, begin making the polenta by adding the slices of pre-cooked polenta into a medium sauce pan. Add in milk, butter, and salt into the pan. Cook at medium heat, using a whisk to break down the polenta and mix with the milk and butter, about 5-10 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent sticking.
- When the polenta is smooth and creamy, turn off the fire. Add in grated Parmigiano Reggiano and whisk thoroughly into the polenta. Then season with salt to taste.
