{ "slug": "ossobuco-alla-milanese", "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/", "name": "Ossobuco alla milanese", "english": "Braised veal shanks, Milanese style", "aka": [ "ossobuco", "osso buco", "ossibuchi alla milanese", "òss büs", "braised veal shanks" ], "summary": "Milan's braised veal shank, floured, browned in butter and cooked slowly in a little broth, then finished with a gremolada of lemon, parsley and anchovy: a De.Co. of the City of Milan since 2007.", "essentials": [ "Slices of veal shank 4 cm thick, from the lower part of the hind leg, where the small bone is full of marrow.", "Floured and browned in butter with a little onion, then cooked covered with a little broth over low heat for about an hour and a half.", "Cooked in bianco, that is without tomato, or with one very small one at most; and with no wine.", "Finished with gremolada, lemon zest, parsley, anchovy and, if you like, garlic, chopped together and stirred in five minutes before serving.", "Served with risotto alla milanese." ], "diet": [], "region": { "slug": "lombardia", "name": "Lombardia", "url": "https://nonnario.com/regions/lombardia/" }, "place": "Milano", "coords": [ 45.464, 9.19 ], "course": { "id": "secondi", "it": "Secondi", "en": "Main Courses" }, "level": { "id": "consortium", "name": "Consortium or town standard", "it": "Consorzio o comune", "description": "A reference recipe set by a protection consortium or by the town the dish is named after.", "url": "https://nonnario.com/method/#level-consortium" }, "status": "checked", "published": "2026-10-26", "checked": "2026-10-27", "cooked": null, "provenance": { "by": "Comune di Milano (City of Milan)", "reference": "De.Co. (Denominazione Comunale) recipe for ossobuco alla milanese, recognised by the city's executive (Giunta comunale) on 14 December 2007 (resolution P.G. 1034992/2007); read in a published transcription, as the city's own sheet could not be found", "year": 2007 }, "sources": [ { "label": "Ristorante La Tavernetta da Elio (ossobucoallamilanese.it): the De.Co. recipe, transcribed from the sheet attached to resolution P.G. 1034992/2007 (Wayback Machine copy, Italian)", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20110325080457/http://www.ossobucoallamilanese.it:80/index.htm" }, { "label": "City of Milan, Food Policy: the register of De.Co. food products, with ossobuco recognised in 2007 (Italian)", "url": "https://www.comune.milano.it/amministrazione/food-policy/risorse-e-materiali-di-approfondimento" }, { "label": "YesMilano, the city's promotion agency Milano & Partners: ossobuco, with a recipe (Italian)", "url": "https://www.yesmilano.it/articoli/ossobuco-un-secondo-da-gustare" }, { "label": "Accademia Italiana della Cucina: ossobuco alla milanese, from its recipe collection (Italian)", "url": "https://www.accademiaitalianadellacucina.it/it/ricette/ricetta/ossobuco-alla-milanese" }, { "label": "Pellegrino Artusi: ‘La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene’, recipe 358, osso buco (Project Gutenberg, 25th edition, Italian)", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59047" }, { "label": "Scatti di Gusto: ossobuco alla milanese, the scientific recipe, by Massimo D'Alma (Italian)", "url": "https://www.scattidigusto.it/2019/01/27/ossobuco-milanese-ricetta-scientifica/" }, { "label": "La Cucina Italiana: ossobuco alla milanese (Italian)", "url": "https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/ricetta/primi/ricetta-ossobuco-alla-milanese/" }, { "label": "Giallo Zafferano: ossobuco alla milanese (Italian)", "url": "https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Ossibuchi-alla-milanese.html" } ], "story": [ "Ossobuco is Milan's braised veal: thick slices cut across the shank, each with a round of bone full of marrow in the middle. The name is Milanese dialect for a bone with a hole, and tradition has a long, thin spoon for the marrow, nicknamed the tax collector. Some date the recipe to eighteenth-century cookbooks; others find few traces before the nineteenth century, when Giuseppe Sorbiatti, cook to noble Milanese families, named it in 1879, and Pellegrino Artusi later gave it in his cookbook, warning that it was a dish best left to the Milanese. It was the Sunday dish of middle-class Milanese families.", "On 14 December 2007 the City of Milan's executive gave ossobuco alla milanese a De.Co., its municipal designation, with the recipe on a sheet attached to the resolution. We have not been able to read the city's own sheet, so this page follows a published transcription of it, for four. Published accounts of the recipe differ slightly, on whether the garlic and the tomato are optional, so no step here is marked as the official text. The dish is cooked in bianco, without tomato or with a very small one at most, and with no wine: butter and a little onion, a ladle of broth, about an hour and a half over low heat, and the gremolada stirred in just before serving. Many cooks add white wine before the broth, and others celery, carrot and tomato: they are among the variants. The extra broth kept hot, the cuts in the skin and the turn halfway through are ours, so the slices lie flat and the pan never dries." ], "serves": 4, "minutes": { "handsOn": 39, "cooking": 95, "resting": 0 }, "plan": "Make the meat broth beforehand: it takes about 6 hours, and the day before is best. If you serve the ossobuco with risotto alla milanese, make enough broth for the risotto too. On the day, about 2 hours: 15 minutes to prepare, 15 to brown, then about an hour and a half of slow cooking, during which you make the gremolada and, if you serve it, the risotto alla milanese (start it about 35 minutes before the end).", "equipment": [ "Wide, heavy pan with a tight lid, about 28 cm across, to hold the four slices in one layer", "Small saucepan, to keep the broth hot, and a ladle", "Kitchen scissors or a small sharp knife", "Kitchen paper and a plate for the flour", "Tongs or a spatula, to turn the meat without piercing it", "Fine grater, chopping board and a large knife, for the gremolada", "Small spoons, for the marrow" ], "ingredients": [ { "group": "For the ossobuco", "items": [ { "quantity": 4, "unit": "pc", "item": "veal shank slices, 4 cm thick", "note": "about 300 g each; from the lower part of the shank, where the bone is small and filled only with marrow, not spongy bone; the hind shank is the most tender", "text": "4 veal shank slices, 4 cm thick (about 300 g each; from the lower part of the shank, where the bone is small and filled only with marrow, not spongy bone; the hind shank is the most tender)", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": null, "unit": null, "item": "plain white flour", "note": "for dusting; about 30 g in a plate is plenty", "text": "plain white flour (for dusting; about 30 g in a plate is plenty)", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": 50, "unit": "g", "item": "butter", "note": null, "text": "50 g butter", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": 0.25, "unit": "pc", "item": "onion, finely chopped", "note": "a quarter of a medium onion", "text": "¼ onion, finely chopped (a quarter of a medium onion)", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": 150, "unit": "ml", "item": "meat broth, hot", "note": "one ladle", "text": "150 ml meat broth, hot (one ladle)", "recipe": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/brodo-di-carne/" }, { "quantity": 1, "unit": "pc", "item": "very small fresh tomato, peeled and chopped", "note": "not essential; or the tip of a spoonful of tomato sauce", "text": "1 very small fresh tomato, peeled and chopped (not essential; or the tip of a spoonful of tomato sauce)", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": null, "unit": null, "item": "salt", "note": null, "text": "salt", "recipe": null } ] }, { "group": "For the gremolada", "items": [ { "quantity": 1, "unit": "pc", "item": "lemon, unwaxed", "note": "the grated yellow zest only", "text": "1 lemon, unwaxed (the grated yellow zest only)", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": null, "unit": null, "item": "parsley leaves, chopped", "note": "a handful", "text": "parsley leaves, chopped (a handful)", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": 1, "unit": "pc", "item": "whole anchovy, boned", "note": "a salted one, rinsed; or two fillets in oil", "text": "1 whole anchovy, boned (a salted one, rinsed; or two fillets in oil)", "recipe": null }, { "quantity": 0.5, "unit": "clove", "item": "garlic", "note": "not essential", "text": "½ clove garlic (not essential)", "recipe": null } ] }, { "group": "In reserve", "items": [ { "quantity": 350, "unit": "ml", "item": "meat broth, hot", "note": "kept hot, to add a little at a time if the pan dries", "text": "350 ml meat broth, hot (kept hot, to add a little at a time if the pan dries)", "recipe": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/brodo-di-carne/" } ] } ], "method": [ { "phase": "Beforehand: the broth", "intro": "This follows the City of Milan's De.Co. recipe in a published transcription. No step is marked as the official text, since we could not read the city's own sheet and the published accounts differ slightly; the times, heat levels and checks the text does not give are ours, some in tips marked ‘Our guide’.", "steps": [ { "n": 1, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-1", "title": "Make the broth", "text": "Make the meat broth following its own recipe and strain it.", "kind": "active", "minutes": null, "celsius": null, "heat": null, "official": false, "check": null, "tips": [ "Our guide: you need about 500 ml: a ladle for the pan, the rest kept hot in case the pan dries." ] } ] }, { "phase": "Preparing", "intro": null, "steps": [ { "n": 2, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-2", "title": "Heat the broth", "text": "Pour the broth into a small saucepan and keep it hot over low heat until the end.", "kind": "active", "minutes": 2, "celsius": null, "heat": "low", "official": false, "check": "Steaming, with a few small bubbles at the edge.", "tips": [ "Our guide: hot broth keeps the pan at a simmer when it goes in." ] }, { "n": 3, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-3", "title": "Cut the skin round the slices", "text": "Pat the slices dry with kitchen paper. With scissors or the tip of a knife, cut through the thin skin that runs round the edge of each slice in three places, evenly spaced, without cutting into the meat.", "kind": "active", "minutes": 5, "celsius": null, "heat": null, "official": false, "check": "Three short cuts in the skin of every slice.", "tips": [ "Our guide: the skin shrinks as it cooks; uncut, it pulls the slice into a curl and it browns unevenly." ] }, { "n": 4, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-4", "title": "Chop the onion and the tomato", "text": "Chop the quarter onion finely. If you use the tomato, peel it and chop it.", "kind": "active", "minutes": 5, "celsius": null, "heat": null, "official": false, "check": "The onion is in small, even pieces.", "tips": [ "The De.Co. recipe calls the tomato not essential and keeps it to the minimum: Milanese cooking took to tomatoes later than most.", "Our guide: to peel it, cut a cross in the skin and plunge it into boiling water for 20–30 seconds." ] } ] }, { "phase": "Browning", "intro": null, "steps": [ { "n": 5, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-5", "title": "Cook the onion golden in the butter", "text": "In the wide pan, cook the onion in the 50 g of butter until golden, stirring now and then.", "kind": "active", "minutes": [ 5, 7 ], "celsius": null, "heat": "medium-low", "official": false, "check": "The onion is soft and pale gold; the butter foams but does not brown.", "tips": [] }, { "n": 6, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-6", "title": "Flour the slices", "text": "Coat the slices lightly with flour on both sides, then tap them gently to shake off the excess.", "kind": "active", "minutes": 2, "celsius": null, "heat": null, "official": false, "check": "A thin, even coat, with no dry patches or lumps of flour.", "tips": [ "Our guide: flour them only now, just before they go in: floured meat that waits turns damp and pasty." ] }, { "n": 7, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-7", "title": "Brown them on both sides", "text": "Put the slices in the pan and brown them on both sides, turning them without piercing them.", "kind": "active", "minutes": [ 6, 8 ], "celsius": null, "heat": "medium", "official": false, "check": "A thin golden crust on both sides; the onion golden, not dark.", "tips": [ "Our guide: push the onion to the edges first, then give each side 3–4 minutes. Turn them with tongs or a spatula, never a fork.", "Our guide: if the onion starts to darken, lower the heat a little." ] } ] }, { "phase": "Slow cooking", "intro": null, "steps": [ { "n": 8, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-8", "title": "Add the broth, the tomato and salt", "text": "Pour in a little broth, the tomato if you use it, and salt.", "kind": "active", "minutes": 2, "celsius": null, "heat": null, "official": false, "check": "The broth bubbles gently round the meat.", "tips": [ "Our guide: one ladle of the hot broth, about 150 ml, and only a light pinch of salt: the broth is salted, and so is the anchovy." ] }, { "n": 9, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-9", "title": "Cover and cook slowly", "text": "Cover the pan and cook over low heat for about an hour and a half, until the slices look slightly glazed.", "kind": "passive", "minutes": 90, "celsius": null, "heat": "low", "official": false, "check": "The slices look slightly glazed in a short sauce; the meat is tender and comes away from the bone at the touch of a fork.", "tips": [ "Our guide: keep it at the barest simmer. Turn the slices once halfway with tongs, and every 20 minutes or so lift the lid: if the bottom is nearly dry, add 2–3 tablespoons of the hot broth.", "Our guide: never let it boil hard: at a high heat the meat squeezes out its juices and turns tough and dry.", "Our guide: not tender yet? Give it 15–30 minutes more, with a spoonful of broth if needed." ] }, { "n": 10, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-10", "title": "Make the gremolada", "text": "While the meat finishes, grate the yellow zest of the lemon. Chop the parsley, the anchovy and, if you use it, the half clove of garlic together very finely with a knife, then mix in the zest.", "kind": "active", "minutes": 10, "celsius": null, "heat": null, "official": false, "check": "A fine, damp, bright green mince, with no large pieces of anchovy or garlic.", "tips": [ "Our guide: rinse a salted anchovy, open it and pull out the bone before chopping.", "Our guide: make it in the last part of the cooking, not hours ahead, so it stays fresh and fragrant." ] }, { "n": 11, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-11", "title": "Stir in the gremolada", "text": "Five minutes before serving, add the gremolada and mix well.", "kind": "passive", "minutes": 5, "celsius": null, "heat": "low", "official": false, "check": "The sauce smells of lemon; the parsley is still green.", "tips": [ "Our guide: scatter it over the slices and into the sauce, stir the sauce gently round them and cover again for the last minutes." ] }, { "n": 12, "url": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/#step-12", "title": "Serve", "text": "Serve each slice with its sauce and with risotto alla milanese, and a small spoon for the marrow.", "kind": "active", "minutes": 2, "celsius": null, "heat": null, "official": false, "check": null, "tips": [ "It is also served on its own, or with polenta, mashed potatoes or buttered spinach." ] } ] } ], "quick": [ "Cut the skin round four 4 cm slices of veal shank in three places, and chop a quarter of an onion.", "Cook the onion golden in 50 g of butter in a wide pan.", "Flour the slices lightly and brown them on both sides, turning them without piercing them.", "Add a ladle of hot meat broth, the very small chopped tomato if you use it, and a little salt.", "Cover and cook over low heat for about an hour and a half, adding a little broth if the pan dries, until tender and slightly glazed.", "Chop lemon zest, parsley, an anchovy and, if you like, half a clove of garlic into the gremolada.", "Stir it in five minutes before serving, and serve with risotto alla milanese." ], "when": { "text": "The Sunday dish of middle-class Milanese families.", "source": { "label": "Scatti di Gusto: ossobuco alla milanese, the scientific recipe, by Massimo D'Alma (Italian)", "url": "https://www.scattidigusto.it/2019/01/27/ossobuco-milanese-ricetta-scientifica/" } }, "keeps": { "text": "It keeps for a day in the fridge: cool it and put it in within 2 hours, in a shallow covered container, and bring it back to the boil (75 °C) before serving. Freezing is not recommended.", "source": { "label": "Giallo Zafferano: ossobuco alla milanese (Italian)", "url": "https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Ossibuchi-alla-milanese.html" } }, "variants": [ { "name": "With white wine", "text": "The version most widespread among cooks: the floured meat cooked long with butter and onion, then white wine, then meat broth a little at a time, with the gremolada at the end.", "source": { "label": "Scatti di Gusto: ossobuco alla milanese, the scientific recipe, by Massimo D'Alma (Italian)", "url": "https://www.scattidigusto.it/2019/01/27/ossobuco-milanese-ricetta-scientifica/" }, "recipe": null }, { "name": "With olive oil", "text": "Extra virgin olive oil with the butter or in its place, one of the few variations counted as accepted.", "source": { "label": "Scatti di Gusto: ossobuco alla milanese, the scientific recipe, by Massimo D'Alma (Italian)", "url": "https://www.scattidigusto.it/2019/01/27/ossobuco-milanese-ricetta-scientifica/" }, "recipe": null }, { "name": "With pancetta", "text": "Pancetta in the butter and onion.", "source": { "label": "YesMilano, the city's promotion agency Milano & Partners: ossobuco, with a recipe (Italian)", "url": "https://www.yesmilano.it/articoli/ossobuco-un-secondo-da-gustare" }, "recipe": null }, { "name": "With tomato, celery and carrot", "text": "Artusi's version: one piece per person on a raw mince of onion, celery, carrot and butter, seasoned with salt and pepper; then butter worked into flour, to colour and bind the sauce, and water with tomato sauce or paste to finish the cooking. The sauce is strained, skimmed and scented with lemon peel cut small and a pinch of chopped parsley.", "source": { "label": "Pellegrino Artusi: ‘La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene’, recipe 358, osso buco (Project Gutenberg, 25th edition, Italian)", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59047" }, "recipe": null } ], "variantOf": [], "usedIn": [], "mistakes": [ "Leaving the skin round the slices uncut: they curl as they cook.", "Piercing the meat to turn it: the De.Co. recipe turns the slices without piercing them.", "Cooking it at a boil: the meat toughens and dries. It cooks at a low heat, with liquid added a little at a time.", "Turning it into a red stew: the original recipe is cooked in bianco, without tomato, or with a very small one at most.", "Adding the gremolada early: it goes in five minutes before serving." ], "abroad": [ "Ask the butcher for veal shank cut across into osso buco slices 4 cm thick, from the lower part of the hind leg, where the bone is small and full of marrow.", "Whole salted anchovies are rinsed, opened and boned; two anchovy fillets in oil can replace one whole anchovy.", "Rice flour can replace wheat flour, for a gluten-free dish.", "Vegetable broth can replace meat broth; the sauce is less savoury." ], "image": "https://nonnario.com/assets/img/ossobuco-alla-milanese.jpg", "video": null, "versions": { "page": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese/", "markdown": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese.md", "json": "https://nonnario.com/recipes/ossobuco-alla-milanese.json" }, "cite": "Cite the recipe's page and the month its sources were checked; for the official text itself, cite the document listed under its sources." }