Best Braised Veal Flank Recipes

BRAISED VEAL FLANK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Trim the veal strips to square off the edges. Roll each piece, and tie with twine. Dredge the veal rolls lightly in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
• In an ovenproof skillet large enough to hold all the veal rounds in one layer, heat the oil over medium-high flame and brown the veal on all sides, about 15 minutes. Add the onions, leeks, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook for another five minutes. When the meat is browned, drain off the fat.
• Add the white wine; bring to a boil. Then, add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, cloves and four cups of water. Bring to a boil; then, remove from the heat and place in the oven, covered. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover, reduce oven to 350 degrees, and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf and thyme and serve with roasted vegetable mirepoix and savoy cabbage (see recipes).

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS WITH GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Coarse sea salt, for garnish, optional For the braised veal shanks: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a large enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge the shanks in the flour, making sure to get off any excess. Add the shanks to the pan, in batches if necessary, and cook on all sides until browned, 3 to 4 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate. If browning in batches, repeat with the remaining shanks. Add the onions, carrots, celery, coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and chiles to the pan and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until glossy, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, scraping to deglaze the pan. Add the chicken stock and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Taste the simmering braising liquid at this point; it should taste seasoned. Return the shanks to the pan, cover and braise in the oven until the meat is very tender, 3 to 4 hours.
• For the gremolata: When almost ready to serve, combine the parsley, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt and garlic in a small bowl. Stir to combine. To serve, remove the shanks to a serving platter and spoon the sauce and braising vegetables over the top of them. Sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt and garnish with gremolata.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Make shanks:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat shanks dry. Stir together flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper on a sheet of wax paper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. While oil heats, dredge 4 shanks in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Brown shanks in oil on all sides, turning with tongs, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large (17- by 12- by 2-inch) roasting pan. Add 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and repeat with remaining 4 shanks. Discard remaining flour mixture.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook onion, garlic, anchovies, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine and boil, scraping up any brown bits, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, water, zest strips, and remaining teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, then pour mixture over shanks. Tightly cover pan with foil and braise in oven 1 hour. Turn shanks over, cover, and continue to braise until meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours more.
• Remove from oven and skim fat from surface of sauce, then transfer shanks and sauce to a large platter. Discard bay leaves.
• Make gremolata:
• Stir together parsley, grated zests, and garlic and sprinkle over shanks.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Make stew:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F.
• Bring demiglace to a simmer in a 1-quart saucepan over moderate heat. Remove from heat and keep warm, partially covered.
• Pat shanks dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge shanks in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy ovenproof pot over moderately high heat until just smoking, then brown shanks on all sides, about 10 minutes total, and transfer with tongs to a plate. Add butter to pot and heat until foam subsides, then sauté onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 9 minutes.
• Add wine, scraping up any brown bits, then add warm demiglace, tomatoes, and bay leaf. Return shanks (with any juices accumulated on plate) to pot and bring liquid to a boil, then cover pot and braise shanks in oven until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Carefully transfer shanks with a slotted spoon to a clean plate and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Skim fat from sauce, then simmer, uncovered, on top of stove, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper and add shanks, then cook over low heat until heated through. (Discard strings and bay leaf before serving.)
• Make gremolata:
• Stir together parsley, zest, rosemary, and thyme and sprinkle over osso buco just before serving.
• *Available at specialty foods shops and cooking.com.

MILAN-STYLE BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Tie kitchen twine around circumference of each veal shank so that veal will hold shape while cooking. Set heavy large pot over medium heat (pot should be big enough to accommodate veal arranged in single layer). Add 1/4 cup butter to pot and melt. Add onions, carrot and 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic and sauté until vegetables are tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
• Sprinkle veal shanks with salt and pepper. Coat veal with flour, shaking off excess. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add veal to skillet and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer veal to pot with vegetables. Discard fat in skillet.
• Add 1 cup white wine to skillet and boil until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, scraping up browned bits, about 3 minutes. Pour over veal and vegetables. Add canned tomatoes with juices, 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped basil and lemon peel strips to pot. Add enough beef broth to cover veal. Bring mixture to boil. Cover pot tightly with aluminum foil, then lid. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until veal is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before continuing.)
• Transfer veal to platter; cover to keep warm. Boil sauce until slightly thickened and reduced to 4 cups, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix grated lemon peel, remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and 2 tablespoons parsley in small bowl. Pour sauce over veal. Sprinkle with lemon peel mixture.

BRAISED VEAL SHOULDER

Steps:

• Dry rub veal shoulder with spices and let sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat butter in roasting pan over medium heat. Add veal shoulder and brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Add vegetables and cook until tender. Add flour to make roux. Whisk in your liquid and add veal shoulder. Bring to simmer on top of stove and cover with foil. Cook in the oven for 3 hours.
• Remove veal and puree sauce until smooth. Slice veal and coat with sauce to serve.

BRAISED VEAL SHANK

Steps:

• Tie the bay leaves and rosemary together with string. Pour the chicken broth into a small pot and keep warm over low heat.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the osso buco with the salt. When the oil is hot, add the osso buco and brown on all sides, about 6 to 7 minutes in all. Remove browned osso buco to a plate.
• Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the Dutch oven. Cook until the onion begins to soften and all of the vegetables are caramelized, about 5 minutes. Push aside the vegetables to clear a dry spot in the pan, and add the tomato paste. Let it toast for a minute or two, then stir it into the vegetables. Add the wine and the herb package. Bring to a boil, and cook until the wine is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Drop in the cloves and the orange peel (reserve the zest from the other orange for later). Return the osso buco to the pot in one layer, and pour the chicken stock over the top until it is almost, but not quite, covering the osso buco. Adjust heat so the liquid is simmering, cover, and cook until the osso buco is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Once the meat is tender, uncover, and remove the vegetable chunks to a platter. Put the osso buco on top of the vegetables. Discard the bay leaf/rosemary package. Bring the liquid in the Dutch oven to a boil, and cook down until saucy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the strings from the osso buco. Pour the sauce through a strainer directly over the osso buco on the platter, pressing on any remaining vegetable solids with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle the orange zest over the top, and serve.

BRAISED VEAL SHANKS

Steps:

• Stand the shank pieces up on a flat end. Cut six lengths of twine, each about 2 feet long, and wrap one around the outside of each ossobuco, in the middle (the meat will look as though it's wearing a very tight belt). Tie the twine securely and trim the ends.
• Cut a small square of cheesecloth and wrap up the bay leaves, cloves, rosemary sprig, and juniper berries. Tie the packet with twine. Shave off the peel of the orange and lemon in broad strips with a paring knife or vegetable peeler-remove only the colorful zest, not the bitter white pith. Squeeze and strain the juice from the orange.
• Just before browning the meat, salt the ossobuco lightly, using 1/2 teaspoon in all. Dredge the shanks in the flour to coat all surfaces.
• Pour the vegetable oil into the pan, and set over medium-high heat. Shake off excess flour, and set all the ossobuco in the oil, standing on a cut end. Let them sizzle for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bottoms are well browned; turn to caramelize the other cut side. Flip the pieces onto their round edges, and rotate so the fat crisps all around the shanks. Remove them to a platter when nicely colored-this will take 10 minutes or more.
• When all the ossobuco are browned, carefully pour the hot vegetable oil out of the empty pan, leaving the crusted bits of meat on the bottom. Pour in the olive oil, set over medium-high heat, and dump in the onions. Stir them around for a minute or two, scraping the pan to release the caramelized bits, then stir in the carrot and celery. Drop in the cheesecloth herb sachet, sprinkle on a teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are sizzling and wilting.
• Clear a space in the pan bottom, and drop in the tomato paste; cook the paste in the hot spot for a minute, then stir it into the vegetables. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir well, and bring to a boil. Raise the heat to high, pour in the wine, and cook for a couple of minutes at a boil to evaporate the alcohol. Pour in the orange juice and about 6 cups of the hot stock; drop in all the strips of citrus zest and the remaining salt, and bring the liquids to a boil.
• Return the ossobuco to the saucepan, standing them on end so they're evenly immersed in the sauce. Add more hot stock, if necessary, just to cover the tops of the ossobuco with liquid. Cover the pan, and lower the heat so the sauce is perking steadily but not too fast. Cook for an hour or so, covered, checking that the sauce has not reduced and is still covering the meat (add stock if needed). Turn the ossobuco over in the pan so the meat cooks evenly.
• Uncover the pan, and cook for another hour or more at a bubbling simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain slow but steady concentration of the sauce. As the braising-liquid level gradually drops, carefully turn the shanks again, so no parts dry out.
• Cook for 2 to 3 hours in all, until the meat at its thickest part is tender enough to pierce with a fork with only slight resistance, and the sauce is thick, reduced well below the tops of the shank pieces. Season with fresh pepper to taste and stir. Turn off the heat. Lift each ossobuco from the cooking pot with sturdy tongs, letting the sauce drain off, and place it on a large platter. Snip the knotted twine pieces with a scissors; pull off and discard. Lift out the cheesecloth sachet, press to release all the juices back into the pot, and discard.
• Set a wire-mesh sieve in a bowl or saucepan. Strain all the sauce through the sieve, pressing the liquid from the strips of peel and vegetable bits. The sauce should be thick and velvety, with the consistency of molasses (if it is too thin, quickly reduce it over high heat). Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasoning for the last time.
• Chop and stir together the chopped parsley, garlic, and lemon zest for the gremolata just before serving, for freshness. Spoon the Risotto alla Milanese (page 48) into the center of six wide plates, and nestle the ossobuco in the center of the risotto. Spoon over it some of the sauce, and sprinkle lightly with gremolata (about 1/2 teaspoon per serving). Serve with small spoons for scooping the delicious marrow from the bones, and pass the remaining gremolata at the table.

LEMON BRAISED VEAL SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F; season veal with pepper and half the salt.
• Place in a baking dish and surround with carrots and onions; dot veal with butter and roast until veal is lightly brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Add lemon, bay leaves, garlic, and cloves to dish and mix with vegetables; add stock, wine and remaining salt.
• Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and braise, uncovered, basting every 10 minutes, until tender, about 90 minutes.
• Transfer veal and vegetables to a serving platter and keep warm.
• Strain pan juices into a heat proof bowl, skimming off and discarding fat.
• Heat a saucepan over medium heat and boil vinegar until reduced and syrupy and about 1 teaspoon.
• Stir in pan juices, increase heat to high and boil until reduced by half; taste and adjust seasonings.
• Spoon sauce over veal or serve on the side.