Beef Stew, Osso Buco-style (and the best Polenta recipe!)
This is a basic and simple but really delicious and nourishing beef stew, in the style of the traditional Italian dish Osso Buco, which is traditionally made with veal shanks. Veal is harder to come by these days, and you can easily use this recipe with great success with beef shanks. If you do use shanks, remember that the marrow inside the bone is edible and uber-nutritious, and particularly delicious when spread on a piece of crusty bread and sprinkled with fleur de sel.
Whatever meat you use, this dish is enhanced and superb served with the optional gremolata topping. Osso Buco is traditionally served with delicious soft polenta like in the recipe below. A balanced plate with some green vegetables on the side!
The stew can be cooked a day or two ahead of time. Cool completely, uncovered, then chill, covered. Skim off any congealed fat if desired, and reheat, covered, on low heat until warmed through and serve with the gremolata.
INGREDIENTS
Ghee, chicken fat, beef fat or other high heat-appropriate fat
2 ½-3 or so pounds of beef stew meat, like chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces OR about 4-6 veal or beef shanks in the range of 8-10 ounces each
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1 1/2 cups dry white wine (red wine or a mix works too)
2 onions, diced (about 2 cups)
2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
6-8 cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 can whole peeled or diced tomatoes , with juice, chopped or smushed up if whole
up to 2 cups of chicken or beef broth, or water, as needed
zest of half a lemon
For the optional gremolata topping, stir together the following in a small bowl:
3 cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press
about 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
METHOD:
Heat some ghee or chicken or beef fat in a large ovenproof Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sprinkle the meat generously with salt and pepper to taste. Place as much as will fit in a single layer in the pot and cook until golden brown. Stir around and cook until turning mostly golden brown all over, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer the meat to a bowl or plate and set aside.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the wine to the pot, scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Pour the liquid into the bowl with the browned meat.
You might have browned all of the meat, but if not, return the pot to medium-high heat, add more fat and brown the remaining pieces in a similar fashion. Transfer to the bowl, and add the rest of the wine to the pot, scraping the bottom to loosen the browned bits. Pour the liquid into the bowl.
Set the pot back over medium heat. Heat more fat and add the onions and carrots and some salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook about a minute or two longer.
Add the tomatoes, the meat and the accumulated juices, and bay leaves and thyme. Add a bit more stock or water so that the liquid should just cover the meat.
Bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover and cook, stirring from time to time, until the meat is very tender, maybe 1-2 hours depending on your cut of meat. An hour into the cooking, add the lemon zest. If the meat is not getting tender, don’t despair and give it more time!
When you check and the meat is very tender, you can continue to cook it all a bit longer, uncovered, until the sauce is reduced and thickened up if you like.
Taste the sauce, adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle each serving with some of the gremolata. Serve immediately.
Basic Polenta
Polenta is simply the Italian name for medium-grind cornmeal. Powdery cornmeal, otherwise labeled as corn flour, is not suited for this polenta as it cooks into a mushy mass. Look for cornmeal that has a texture similar to that of granulated sugar. To find this kind of cornmeal, try the bins at natural foods stores, where it is generally much cheaper than the “polenta” sold in fancy packages. Stone-ground is always best. Also, note that instant polenta is something completely different: It consists of cornmeal that has been cooked and dried. I usually avoid it.
Try to use a heavy-bottomed saucepan, as you want it as low as possible to cook polenta slowly without burning the bottom of the pot. Polenta is also easy to make in an Instant Pot, just stir in the polenta, salt, and water, set it manually at high pressure for 10 minutes, then do a quick release
Into the cooked polenta, you can stir in any amount of butter, cheese, or seasonings that you like. A great trick is to heat cream with a variety of herbs, chopped garlic, and some crushed chilis, simmer for about ten minutes to let the flavors infuse the cream, then pour it into the polenta before serving, instead of or in addition to the butter called for.
When piping hot and soft, creamy polenta is an excellent pairing with almost any stew or braise, especially this Osso Buco. Cooked leafy greens also make excellent toppings for soft polenta.
6 cups water
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
1 ½ cups medium-grind cornmeal
3 tablespoons butter, cut into large chunks and/or 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
finely grated cheese sharp, hard cheese such as Parmigiano Reggiano
freshly ground black pepper plus more salt to taste
Bring the water to a rolling boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan (at least 4 quarts—bigger is better) over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting, add the salt, and pour the cornmeal into the water in a very slow stream from a measuring cup, all the while whisking to prevent lumps.
Cover and cook, vigorously stirring the polenta with a wooden spoon for about 10 seconds once every 5 minutes and making sure to scrape clean the bottom and corners of the pot. Keep cooking about 30 minutes, until the polenta has lost its raw cornmeal taste and becomes soft and smooth. It’s hard to give exact measurements for liquid to cornmeal ratio, as it depends on how much water evaporates from the pot while cooking, as well as the heat. Don’t worry, the proportions will vary a bit with each cooking, so if your mixture gets too thick while you are still cooking; just whisk more water into the mixture and keep going.
Once polenta is tender, stir in the butter, cream or cheeses, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Or keep warm for up to 1 hour before adding the butter and cheese. (You can just leave in a very heavy pot covered with its lid, or put a smaller pot into a larger pot filled with simmering water. Whisk well before serving to break up any lumps that have formed and add cheese, cream, butter etc.)