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Sous Vide Osso Buco is made with veal shanks, red wine and miso paste and slowly cooked in a sous vide water bath for 36 hours.
The result is tender, juicy and fall-off-the-bone osso buco that’s infused with incredible flavor and topped with homemade gremolata.
When I’m craving rich, comfort food, this sous vide osso buco recipe hits the spot! Osso buco is normally made with braised veal shanks, which transforms this tough cut of meat into a tender and juicy meal.
Since osso buco requires a long, slow and moist cooking process, it’s well suited to sous vide cooking.
While it takes 36 hours to cook, it is mostly hands off, so you have plenty of time to prepare side dishes like this Instant Pot couscous or truffle mashed potatoes.
If you love veal, you’ll also want to try these pan seared veal chops with truffle butter, this decadent veal stew, or sous vide veal chops with miso mushroom sauce.
Jump to:
What is Sous Vide?
Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator (i.e. the sous vide machine). This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.
Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.
To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking and the benefits of sous vide cooking."
What is the Water Displacement Method?
The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).
Use a clip (I use sous vide magnets) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.
Tools Used
You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!
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Why this recipe works
- Cooking veal shanks slowly in a water bath results in moist, rich and succulent osso buco. The sous vide cooking method locks in flavor and controls the cooking temperature, so you never have to worry about your osso buco over cooking.
- While veal is a tender cut of beef, the shanks can still be a bit tough. Cooking them over a long period of time in a temperature controlled water bath breaks down connective tissue, resulting in juicy and tender meat.
- It’s not a difficult recipe to make, you just need to plan ahead for the long cooking time. As the veal shanks cook in the sous vide water bath, it’s almost hands off. Just make sure you check on the water level from time to time.
- The gremolata is super easy to make and adds amazing flavor to the osso buco. It also makes a bright, vibrant and pretty garnish, which is perfect for dinner parties!
What is osso buco?
Osso buco (also spelled ossobuco) is an Italian dish that means "bone with a hole". It’s made with veal shanks that are crosscut to expose the rich bone marrow. When cooked low and slow, the marrow softens and the shanks become meltingly tender.
What is gremolata?
Gremolata is a simple Italian garnish or condiment made with fresh parsley, lemon zest and garlic. It’s bright and fresh and goes perfectly with rich meat and seafood dishes. It’s often served with osso buco, or veal in general.
Ingredients
Please refer to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
You’ll need 2 veal shanks for this osso buco recipe, or about 2-3 pounds. The shank is taken from the leg area of a young calf.
Veal is available at grocery stores but can sometimes be difficult to find and sometimes expensive. If this is the case where you are, you can substitute beef shank or pork shank to make osso buco.
To cook along with the veal shanks, you’ll need ½ cup of red wine. I like to use Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.
One tablespoon of white miso paste will add a mild, sweet and umami flavor to the osso buco. This is a soybean paste where the soybeans are fermented with rice.
For the gremolata, you’ll need flat leaf parsley, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and olive oil.
If you don’t have flat leaf parsley, you can substitute with curly parsley.
For the garlic, make sure you use fresh cloves and not garlic powder.
Lemon zest is a key ingredient. To zest the lemon, you can use a zester or the fine holes on a box grater. You'll want to focus on zesting the yellow outer peel, and not the white part or the pith underneath as it can taste bitter.
You’ll also need fresh lemon juice. Please don’t use bottled lemon juice. It doesn’t have the same fresh flavor and usually has additives.
Step by step instructions
Heat a sous vide water bath to 160F degrees.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to form a paste.
Rub the paste all over the veal shanks then place in a vacuum seal bag.
Seal and cook for 36 hours. Remove from the water bath and place immediately in an ice bath if you will be serving it later.
Otherwise, remove the veal from the bag and pour the bag sauce in a saucepan.
Simmer the sauce until thickened. If it’s too thin (should be like gravy), slowly stir in a cornstarch slurry while simmering until the desired thickness is reached.
**For a cornstarch slurry, just mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water.
Serve the veal shanks over polenta drizzled with the sauce and garnished with gremolata (below).
How to make gremolata
Blend all ingredients (reserving 1 tablespoon of olive oil) in a food processor until fully combined. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
Expert tips
- When sealing the veal shanks in the bag, make sure air is properly removed from the bag so bacteria doesn’t get in.
- For a long cooking time of 36 hours, some air may get in the bag and cause it to float. Just open the bag, release the air and seal it again.
- For safe and even cooking, the bag should be fully submerged in the water bath. To help prevent floating, you can weigh the bag down with something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
- You’ll also want to check on the level of the water occasionally. If it looks like it is evaporating, just add more water to the water bath.
- The sauce that goes with the osso buco should be thick like gravy. If it isn’t thick enough for you, just use a cornstarch slurry to thicken it.
- For the freshest gremolata, use the freshest ingredients possible. If your parsley is wilted, your gremolata won’t last long.
- To change things up, use lime or orange zest and juice in the gremolata in place of lemon.
- You can also use other fresh herbs in the gremolata like basil, cilantro or mint.
Common questions
Veal shanks are typically used to make osso buco, but you can also use beef shanks, pork shanks or lamb shanks. Just keep in mind that different shanks may require different cooking times and temperatures.
At a temperature of 160F degrees, it will take about 36 hours for the veal shanks to cook. Cooking them low and slow breaks down the connective tissue and tenderizes the shanks.
Yes, you can use frozen veal shanks to make sous vide osso buco. Since it’s a long cooking time, you don’t need to add any extra time to the water bath cooking time.
Osso buco is often served with gremolata. You can also try this chimichurri sauce. For a side dish, you can serve osso buco with polenta, rice, risotto, mashed potatoes or noodles. Our favorites are garlic mashed potatoes and black truffle risotto.
Storage instructions
Leftover osso buco can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, place in a Dutch oven and warm in the oven at 325F degrees for about 30 minutes. If frozen, let it thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Make ahead instructions
If you’d like to make this osso buco recipe in advance, you can easily do so.
Once the veal shanks are done cooking in the sous vide water bath, plunge the bag into an ice bath to cool it down quickly (at least 10-15 minutes). Then, store in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, place the bag in a water bath set to 160F degrees and keep there until heated through. If the osso buco is frozen, let it defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating in the water bath.
Once reheated, proceed with the rest of the recipe to make the sauce and gremolata.
More sous vide recipes
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Recipe
Sous Vide Osso Buco
Ingredients
- 2 veal shanks about 2-3 pounds, (substitute pork shank)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- Cornstarch slurry optional
Instructions
- Heat a sous vide water bath to 160F degrees.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to form a paste.
- Rub the paste all over the veal shanks then place in a vacuum seal bag.
- Seal and cook for 36 hours. Remove from water bath and place immediately in an ice bath if you will be serving it later.
- Otherwise, remove the veal from the bag and pour the bag sauce in a saucepan.
- Simmer the sauce until thickened. If too thin (should be like gravy), slowly stir in a cornstarch slurry while simmering until the desired thickness is reached. (Just mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water for the cornstarch slurry).
- Serve the veal shanks over polenta drizzled with the sauce and garnished with gremolata (below).
Gremolata:
- Blend all ingredients (reserving 1 tablespoon of olive oil) in a food processor until fully combined. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
Expert Tips:
- When sealing the veal shanks in the bag, make sure air is properly removed from the bag so bacteria doesn’t get in.
- For a long cooking time of 36 hours, some air may get in the bag and cause it to float. Just open the bag, release the air and seal it again.
- For safe and even cooking, the bag should be fully submerged in the water bath. To help prevent floating, you can weigh the bag down with something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
- You’ll also want to check on the level of the water occasionally. If it looks like it is evaporating, just add more water to the water bath.
- The sauce that goes with the osso buco should be thick like gravy. If it isn’t thick enough for you, just use a cornstarch slurry to thicken it.
- For the freshest gremolata, use the freshest ingredients possible. If your parsley is wilted, your gremolata won’t last long.
- To change things up, use lime or orange zest and juice in the gremolata in place of lemon.
- You can also use other fresh herbs in the gremolata like basil, cilantro or mint.
Nutrition
Jerilynn
I just made this for company and served it over the polenta. Both were amazing! My veal was a little dry though but I think it’s because I had smaller pieces. I could only find .7 lbs each. I probably should have reduced the water bath time. I also prepared them ahead and had to reheat. Perhaps the additional time in the water was what dried them more. Regardless of my mistakes, the flavor was excellent! And might I add here that the polenta was excellent as well! Everyone loved their meal. I want to try this recipe again with pork shank. Thanks for the great recipes!
Danielle
Hmmm I wonder why they were dry? Every so often cut of meat are cut without quite enough fat and can come out a little drier. I'm glad you still enjoyed it 🙂
Yolly
So so good. I had t hunt down veal but am so glad I did. It came out so tender and delicious it was such a treat!
Danielle
It's totally worth it IMO.
Lonny
One of my most favorite meals ever! I made it over the weekend and it was fabulous - highly recommeneded!
Danielle
I'm so happy to hear it!