Veal osso buco alla Milanese is a savory Italian dish consisting of braised veal shanks and a fabulous lemony garlic gremolada sauce. These Milanese-style veal shanks become melt-in-your-mouth tender as they are braised with white wine, vegetables, and broth. When you're craving a flavor-packed meat-centric main course, serve this veal osso buco Milanese with some risotto and watch your family savor every bite!
Veal Osso Buco Milanese Recipe
Looking for a special meal that everyone will love? This Italian veal osso buco alla Milanese recipe has all the flavors we love in a hearty, rich dinner–braised veal shanks, vegetables, and butter–with a bit of white wine for a powerful flavor boost.
Top off this juicy, Milanese-style meat with a zesty lemon-garlic gremolata for a dish that hits all the right taste buds! It’s like a hearty stew lightened up for serving any time of the year, even in summer.
🥘 Ingredients
This recipe is made without tomatoes, but the remaining ingredients are your typical stew ingredients with the exception of white wine. Wine adds an amazing, unique flavor, and most of the alcohol cooks out.
Veal Osso Buco Alla Milanese
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) divided into 2 equal portions of 1 tablespoon each.
- Veal Shanks - 2 pounds of bone-in veal shanks (4 pieces of ossobuco).
- Salt & Pepper - ½ teaspoon of both salt & pepper to taste.
- All-Purpose Flour - ¼ cup.
- Yellow Onion - ½ cup of yellow onion, thinly sliced. White onion or shallots also work exceptionally well n this recipe.
- Carrots - ½ a cup of carrots, thinly sliced.
- Celery - ½ a cup of celery, sliced.
- Dry White Wine - ½ a cup of dry white wine divided into 2 equal portions of ¼ cup each.
- Butter - 2 tablespoons.
- Beef Broth - 2 cups of beef broth (bone broth or stock).
- Bay Leaf - 1 bay leaf.
- Peas (optional) - ½ cup peas (frozen and thawed).
Gremolada
- Fresh Parsley - 1 tablespoon, finely chopped.
- Garlic - 2 cloves, crushed and boiled.
- Lemon Zest - 1 teaspoon, or the zest of a large lemon.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Make Veal Osso Buco Alla Milanese
There are a few steps in this recipe, but what it comes down to is timing. Cook your vegetables, brown your meat, simmer, then the gremolada is whipped up at the last minute.
- Saute the veggies. Bring a large skillet with 1 tablespoon, or half, of the olive oil to medium-high heat while you prepare 2 pounds of veal shanks. Once the oil is shimmering hot, add ½ a cup of yellow onion, ½ a cup of carrots, and ½ a cup of celery to the skillet and saute for 4-5 minutes.
- Slice. For best results, cut three incisions into the fatty connective tissue around the sides of each veal portion (this prevents them from curling up while cooking).
- Season and flour. Season the veal with ½ a teaspoon of both salt and pepper (more or less to taste), then dust each portion on all sides with a ¼ cup of flour. Gently shake to remove any excess flour and set aside until ready to add to pan.
- Add the wine. Once the vegetables are tender, add the first ¼ cup (out of ½ cup) portion of dry white wine and continue to saute as the wine evaporates, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the vegetables from your skillet and set aside.
Brown & Simmer
- Cook the veal. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter to your skillet and allow the butter to melt. Once melted, add the veal shanks and cook them until golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook the reverse side for 2 more minutes.
- Simmer. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup of dry white wine and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes as the wine evaporates. Add 2 cups of beef broth, then return the sauteed veggies to the pan. Add 1 bay leaf, cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer for 35 minutes.
- Flip. After 35 minutes, gently flip your veal shanks over and replace the lid. If using the optional ½ cup of peas, continue cooking for 20 minutes, then add the peas and cook for 5 minutes more. If not using the peas, cook for an additional 25 minutes straight.
- Boil garlic. As the veal simmers, boil 2 garlic cloves for 2 minutes (optional, but it reduces the 'bite' of garlic flavor) then mince the cloves and combine with 1 tablespoon of fresh, finely chopped parsley and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.
- Serve. Remove from heat and stir in the gremolada. Serve immediately.
Serve with barley risotto, Parmesan risotto, risotto Milanese (saffron risotto), or creamy polenta. Mashed potatoes work too, then add some garlic bread or French bread to complete the meal. Enjoy!
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💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- Boiling the garlic is an optional step to make your gremolada tasty (but not overpowered with garlic). You can also use roasted garlic.
- Your veal will get super tender during cooking. To prevent them from falling apart they can be tied with butcher's twine after they have been browned.
- The combined cooking time should work for most cuts of veal shanks. However, you may need to make adjustments for thin or thick cut veal osso buco.
- Storing: Store leftovers in a shallow airtight container for 1-2 days. Maybe 3 days at most, as this dish is best served fresh. I do not recommend freezing leftover veal osso buco alla milanese.
❓ Recipe FAQs
You can definitely use beef, but the flavor will be different. If you’re looking for something more similar in flavor and less expensive, try swapping out the veal for short ribs or oxtails.
It has to do with the age of the calf it comes from. If it was over the age of six months, it would have been consuming fiber in its diet vs. its younger counterparts who subsist on a diet of milk.
The latter is darker in color. Other than a slight variance in texture, you wouldn’t notice much of a difference if you substituted one for the other in this recipe.
Take your pick. They will both be delicious.
It just comes down to your flavor preferences. Beef is the most common, but some people enjoy chicken broth, as they feel that beef can overpower the taste of the veal.
😋 More Italian Recipes
- Baked Italian Meatballs
- Italian Chicken Pastina Soup
- Lasagna
- Caprese Salad
- Stuffed Italian Sausages
- Baked Rigatoni
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📖 Recipe Card
Veal Osso Buco Alla Milanese
Ingredients
Veal Osso Buco Alla Milanese
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin - divided into 2 equal portions of 1 tablespoon each)
- 2 lbs bone-in veal shanks (4 pieces ossobuco)
- ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup yellow onion (thinly sliced)
- ½ cup carrots (thinly sliced)
- ½ cup celery (sliced)
- ½ cup dry white wine (divided into 2 equal portions of ¼ cup each)
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups beef broth (bone broth or stock)
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup peas (optional, thawed)
Gremolada
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed and boiled)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (grated from 1 large lemon)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Bring a large skillet with the first half of the olive oil to medium-high heat while you prepare the veal shanks. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the skillet once the oil begins to shimmer and saute for 4-5 minutes.
- For best results, cut three incisions into the fatty connective tissue around the sides of each veal portion (this prevents them from curling up while cooking).
- Season the veal, then dust each portion in flour on all sides. Gently shake to remove any excess flour and set aside until ready to add to pan.
- Once the vegetables have sauteed until tender, add the first ¼ cup portion of dry white wine and continue to saute as the wine evaporates, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the vegetables from your skillet and set aside.
- Add the remaining olive oil and butter to your skillet and allow the butter to melt. Once melted, add the veal shanks and cook them for approximately 4 minutes on the first side, or until golden browned. Flip and cook the reverse side for 2 more minutes.
- Stir in the remaining dry white wine and continue cooking as the wine evaporates for about 8-10 minutes. Add the beef broth, return the sauteed veggies, and a bay leaf, cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer for 35 minutes.
- Uncover your skillet and gently turn the veal shanks over to cook the reverse side. Return your lid and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes (then add the peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes), or for 25 minutes if you are not opting to add the green peas.
- During this last cooking time, boil the garlic for 2 minutes (optional, reduces the 'bite' of garlic flavor) then mince and combine with fresh, finely chopped parsley and lemon zest.
- Remove from heat and stir in the gremolada. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Boiling the garlic is an optional step to make your gremolada tasty (but not overpowered with garlic). You can also use roasted garlic.
- Your veal will get super tender during cooking, to prevent them from falling apart they can be tied with butcher's twine after they have been browned.
- The combined cooking time should work for most cuts of veal shanks, but you may need to make adjustments for thin or thick-cut veal osso buco.
- Store leftovers in a shallow airtight container for 1-2 days, maybe 3 days at most, as this dish is best served fresh. I do not recommend freezing leftover veal osso buco alla Milanese.
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